The New York Rangers ended up making three picks in the NHL Draft’s first round. How did the team make out? The New York Rangers had a very interesting draft. They seemed to zig when others expected them to zag, especially with their first two picks, but overall, they acquired some solid prospects for their system. As this is being written, the first round of the draft just ended about 20 minutes ago, so these takes and grades in this post are going to be coming-out-of-the-oven hot. When things simmer down by the end of next week, we’ll do this exercise again, but I think it will be interesting to look back on how we felt immediately afterwards in a few years from now. The Rangers currently have six picks to make on Saturday morning, three of which are in the top two rounds. There is still plenty of work to be done, but let’s evaluate how the Rangers did on the draft’s first day.<doc-sep>DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: General Manager Jeff Gorton of the New York Rangers looks on from the draft table during the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) The New York Rangers made seven draft picks on the second day of the NHL Entry Draft. Below is quick analysis of each player. #39: Olof Lindbom, G, Sweden U18 Lindbom was one of the best goaltenders at the U18 international tournament this past year. He posted a 1.66 goals against average and a .948 save percentage. Lindbom has fantastic instincts, high hockey IQ and is very positionally sound for his age. He seems to be a guy who is right up Benoit Allaire’s ally. The problem with this pick is that it appears to have been a reach. He is very raw at 17 years old and won’t be anywhere close to MSG for at least four or five years. At his worst, Ragnarsson appears to be a 200-foot player, a guy who could hold his own in both ends. At his best, he can be an impactful offensive player for the Rangers in the future. Ragnarsson led all defenders under the age of 20 in his league in goals, assists and points in 2017-18. He was Central Scouting’s 44th ranked European skater, so the pick was well within a solid range for the Swede. At 6-feet tall, he has solid NHL size, too. He’s probably a few years away — like most of the Rangers’ picks on Saturday — but he may have the most upside of the lot. Keane checks off a couple of boxes the Rangers said were important to them; speed, skill and character. Keane was an alternate captain for the Barrie Colts last season, where he contributed 12 goals and 44 points in 62 games as their power play quarterback. He has lots of hockey IQ, as well, which definitely is a good thing too. The two biggest issues with Keane are, firstly, he’s an overager as he’ll turn 19 on July 2. Secondly, for all the good things about his game, it is fair to speculate how much more upside there is here. Anyway, not a bad pick at 88 for a team desperately trying to revamp their defensive prospect pool. Gross just finished his first season with the Oshawa Generals where he tallied four goals and 10 assists in 58 games. At 6-foot-1 and 185 lbs, he has good size to be an NHL defender, and he can definitely use his size well to deliver crushing hits. He has pretty good wheels and is very calm with the puck. Like Keane, though, Gross has very little, if any, offensive upside. If everything breaks right, Gross is a third pairing, shut down defender who could play on the penalty kill. #132: Lauri Pajuniemi, RW, Liliga #TPSCup: RW Lauri Pajuniemi (2018/1999) getting top-line mins for TPS. Here he sets up a Patrik Virta (NYR) who was hooked but no call. pic.twitter.com/M3OON9TfoX — Steve Kournianos (@TheDraftAnalyst) August 19, 2017 An overager, Pajuniemi actually has some offensive upside to be an intriguing prospect over the next few years. He has a lot of potential as a playmaker, as he was able to make many tape-to-tape passes for TPS last season. His regular season numbers don’t really inspire to much excitement, but he did post three goals and four points in nine playoff games. His main issue is consistency. Kjellberg seems to be a questionable pick at best. I don’t know much about him and there isn’t much written about him anywhere but it appears that he’s a big body defender at 6-foot-3 inches tall who’s numbers this past season weren’t too strong. The Rangers acquired the second to last pick in the draft from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for the Bruins seventh round pick next year. Smith played just two games last season for the Sioux Stampede of the USHL after finishing the season with his high school team at St. Sebastien’s Prep, where he tallied 21 goals and 15 assist in 30 games. Hughes has good size at 6-foot-1 and seems like an incredibly low risk/high reward pick here. He has a good shot, wheels and vision. He needs to work on the physical part of the game, but the tools are there. And for what it’s worth, The Athletic’s Corey Pronman said that he was one of his sleeper picks, so that’s nice.<doc-sep>
Stay updated with the NHL Draft 2018 with our live updates The NHL Draft 2018 will get underway on Friday, June 22. Friday evening will feature the first round. Meanwhile, Saturday will have the remaining six rounds. The NHL Draft can be a very fast-paced event. Here at Puck Prose, we have you covered with our live updates! We’ll give you our instant reactions and analysis for every pick and trade made. Be sure to bookmark this post so you can stay up to date with everything that goes on. Each round will feature its own slide so it’s easy to find the picks. The last slide will be dedicated to listing draft picks by team. Friday’s action begins at 7:30 p.m. ET while Saturday’s begins at 11:00 a.m. ET. Saturday’s action tends to be much more fast-paced than Friday’s. You can watch the first round of the NHL Draft 2018 on NBCSN in the United States. In Canada, SportsNet and TVA Sports will be the hosts. On Saturday, NHL Network will televise the remaining rounds in the United States. Canada will have to tune into SportsNet and TVA Sports. Keep an eye on the New York Rangers, who have three first-round picks. They could move up or trade one of those picks for a young player. The New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers also have multiple first-round picks. Without further ado, let’s get underway! Trades Avalanche Acquire Philipp Grubauer and Brooks Orpik TRADE | The Washington Capitals have acquired a second round pick, 47th-overall from the Colorado Avalanche in the 2018 NHL Draft in exchange for defenseman Brooks Orpik and Philipp Grubauer. #ALLCAPS https://t.co/xUUHHVPQfu — Washington Capitals (@Capitals) June 22, 2018 Analysis: This is a really good trade for both teams. The Avalanche are wise to use their salary cap space to acquire assets. Philipp Grubauer gives the Avs a much-needed goalie for the future and should split starts with Semyon Varlamov next season. The Capitals wanted a first round pick for Grubauer. However, getting a second-round pick is perfectly fine, especially considering they’re getting rid of Brooks Orpik’s contract. He has one year left on his deal with a $5.5 million cap space. Orpik will be missed, but now the Capitals should have more than enough space to re-sign John Carlson and the rest of their free agents. Want your voice heard? Join the Puck Prose team! Write for us! Round 1