The New York Rangers First Round Pick Should Be...

Over the course of the past month I have done previews of 10 different prospects: Mark Scheifele, Mark McNeill, Zack Phillips, Joel Armia, Sven Bartschi, Ty Rattie, Matt Peumpel, Vladislav Namestnikov, Rocco Grimaldi and Tyler Biggs. The looks at these players was to find out more about them individually, along with how they might fit with the Rangers.

As I said earlier this morning, the Rangers are likely to go for a forward in tonight’s first round.  The names that seem to be most popular around the Rangers fans are Mark McNeill, Joel Armia and some for Tyler Biggs. If the selection were up to me it would not be any of those three, rather I would take center Mark Scheifele.  Despite playing on a poor Barrie team Scheifele managed to score 22 goals and add 53 assists in 66 games.

Beyond the statistics Scheifele has a reputation as an excellent two-way player that is where he is because of dedication and work ethic.  Arguably the most complete forward available in this portion of the draft, Scheifele has excellent playmaking ability, good vision and hands and plays both sides of the puck.  Physically he has the frame that you look for standing 6-foot-3, though he must add muscle and mass to his 177-pound body in order to maximize his potential. 

Everything I have seen written about him tells me he would fit into the type of players the Rangers want in their organization from both a hockey IQ and character standpoint.  The two-way style and willingness to go to the net would make him a natural fit for the system on the ice while having skill and upside.

Scheifele was way off the radar coming into this season, but has continued to climb the rankings and has been ranked 12 in Bob McKenzie’s final rankings as well as Red Line Report.  There have been a lot of comparison’s to Ryan Johansen who went number 4 last year to Columbus.  One that is closer to home for Rangers’ fans might be Derek Stepan with more height.

Other Options:

Mark McNeill: Bruising forward from Prince Albert that also put up good numbers with a less than stellar supporting cast.  Has more size than Scheifele, but possibly not the offensive upside down the road.  Likely to be off the board by 15.

Joel Armia: Tremendous sniper from Finland who at 6-foot-3 would be an intriguing winger to take, but concerns over his work ethic and one-way play could scare off the Rangers, if he is even available.

Trade Down: Scheifele or McNeill are the only players, unless Bartschi surprisingly slips, that I would stay at 15 to draft.  If both are off the board the team can move down to 20 with PHX or 25 with Toronto and still have similar players available.  At the later spots the main targets should be Matt Puempel, Nicklas Jensen or Tyler Biggs.

Should Rangers Trade Down In Round 1 To Add More Picks In Draft?

Earlier this week, I openly wondered if the New York Rangers should consider trading up in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft in order to get a higher quality talent to increase the chances of getting a game changing type player.  Now that the Rangers included both of their 2011 second round picks in the trade to acquire potential top-10 pick Tim Erixon, we have to consider whether the organization should consider moving down in the first round in order to add more picks in the draft. 

Obviously this would depend on how the draft unfolds because you don’t move down if the player they are targeting with the #15 pick is still on the board, then they will stay and take the player they want with the pick.  Also, if a player who was expected to go earlier in the draft falls for some reason, they should consider selecting him, if it is a forward.  Beyond that trading down might not be a bad idea as it helps to continue stocking the system with assets and the more forwards they can add to the system, the better chance they have of finding the scoring they need down the line.  Other than the top few selections in this draft many of the players are of a similar talent level with differing question marks, so the drop in moving down into the 20’s is not as significant as it might initially appear.  The Rangers could potentially use their #15 selection and one of the many defensive prospects (Valentenko, Kundratek) to secure a later first round selection and a second rounder in return and use those picks to select multiple forward prospects.

The two main players that I would stay at #15 to select as the consensus projections go, if they are on the board, would be centers Mark McNeill and Mark Scheifele.  Both players are expected to go in the area surrounding the Rangers selection and for different reasons would be excellent fits for the organization.  Check out the scouting reports on both.