It’s been a tough two seasons for the Rangers with a ton of negativity we are all tired of and are hoping this marks the end of it all. I still don’t believe Chris Drury is the right person to lead this team forward, and his position should be heavily scrutinized as soon as the horn blows after the last game of the season. The recent surge of prospects projected for the Rangers bottom 6 has left me hopeful about a the future of the team, even if I am still not optimistic about the long-term future as the people running the team leave a lot to be desired.
While Brennan Othmann has departed the organization and Brett Berard has stagnated in the AHL, several players long earmarked for the Rangers bottom 6 contributors at the NHL level have made the jump and delivered on that promise.
Adam Sykora leads the new Rangers bottom 6
Adam Sykora is only 21 years old, but it may feel like he has been around for a while. That makes sense, as he had already played 3 professional seasons in Slovakia before turning 19 and this marked his third season down in Hartford. Before making his NHL debut, he played 300 professional games between Europe and the AHL. That is rare for someone who wasn’t a blue-chip prospect.
I have long believed that he came to the US too early, and could have used a step up to a stronger European league (SHL, Liiga, NLA, DEL) before making the jump to the AHL. His impressive production in Slovakia indicated some untapped skill and offensive potential, but I no longer believe he has that upside. That said, through 7 games, he has delivered on exactly what made him a popular pick on draft day: A good skating, high-energy competitor who will never give up on a play.
Sykora leads the way, but there are more kids driving the future
While Adam Sykora leads the way for the new Rangers bottom 6 forwards, there are others who are stepping up a bit sooner than we expected.
Jaro Chmelar was even less of a blue-chip prospect, but anyone who watched him at the World Juniors or with Providence knew he had the size, speed, and compete level to have a serious shot at NHL games. He will never be overly productive or more than a solid piece to the Rangers bottom 6 forwards, but he can clearly play at this level and be a positive catalyst.
Adam Edstrom has been a healthy scratch recently, but I like his game and believe he has an NHL future. Dylan Roobroeck has shown promise both in Hartford and in pre-season, and Nathan Aspinall has been one of the best players in the OHL.
When you add the speedy and defensively secure Noah Laba and waiver wire darling Tye Kartye to the picture, you can’t help but start romanticizing what the future of the Rangers bottom 6 will be as players continue to mature. Fast. Strong. Competitive. Likable. Cheap. Exactly what you need from the bottom half of the lineup.
There’s still the skill issue
One big step of the retool or rebuild or whatever you want to call it is finding that cheap talent to fill out the Rangers bottom 6. That step appears to be done, however there’s far more work to do. Priority number one for whomever leads the Rangers into the 2026 NHL Draft should be focusing on adding high end skill to supplement the new top line of Alexis Lafreniere-Mika ZIbanejad-Gabe Perreault. The future of the Rangers bottom 6 gives us hope that the front office can and will be focusing on the important skill issues.
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