The Rangers made three selections last night as the full rebuild continues. Much of the focus was on selecting Vitali Kravtsov over Oliver Wahlstrom. But before Day Two starts, I have some quick thoughts on the picks:
- Last year, we all killed the Rangers for selecting Lias Andersson because he was the “safe” pick and you want to swing for the fences. This year, I see a bunch of people killing the Rangers for taking Kravtsov over Wahlstrom for the exact opposite reason. I would have loved Wahlstrom at 9, but Kravtsov has possibly the highest non-Svechnikov ceiling in the draft. He’s an elite talent. A bit of a project, but his ceiling is higher than Wahlstrom’s.
- The Rangers really liked K’Andre Miller, moving up four spots to grab him at 22 overall. The price to move up four spots was high, at least to me, with the 26th and 48th picks heading to Ottawa, but they got their man. Miller is just a pure specimen. He’s a kid with size (6’3:, 200 lbs) and it’s all muscle. The kid is a natural athlete, a converted forward to defenseman and he’s already a first round pick at that level.
- At 28th, the Rangers took Nils Lundkvist, and I am going to call him Lundqvist at least 500 times. He’s another strong skating defenseman. I love that he’s a Swedish defenseman, because you know my feeling on Swedes. Just draft them.
- The Blueshirts did very well last night. There’s a bit of disappointment surrounding Wahlstrom, but it’s not like the Rangers swung and missed. This was a solid first round, and something we should be happy with.
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