34.
Nils Lundkvist, RHD, 21 (New York Rangers — 28th overall, 2018)
Lundkvist is one of a handful of NHL prospects who I’m most fascinated to see where his career ends up because he has played, for the last two years, like one of the best young players in the sport with Lulea. And in just about any organization that would, when combined with his handedness (he’s a righty!), guarantee a path into the kind of role that he’s capable of filling: a top-four defender who runs one of your power plays and can really drive offense while also being relied upon, despite his 5-foot-10 frame, to give you comfortable minutes defensively. But because he’s on the Rangers, he’s going to have to try to find those minutes and that role on a team that already has
Adam Fox and
Jacob Trouba down the right side, and a similarly constructed player in lefty
Zac Jones inevitably vying for power play usage on the left side. And yet despite all of that, I’m still confident Lundkvist will end up where he deserves to be somehow. He’s too good not to. I absolutely adore the way he operates on the ice. He has built upon a solid, efficient foundation by developing a harder point shot (he’s as comfortable stepping into a one-timer as he is walking into the high slot to use his writer), adding a little more tempo to his game, making plays through seems more regularly and escaping with his feet more often.
42. Zac Jones, LHD, 20 (New York Rangers — 68th overall, 2019)
None of the players ranked ahead of Jones were selected after where he was, and only two of the ones that followed were, so Rangers fans should count their lucky stars here. I do think it’s kind of interesting that all three of the prospects who were selected in the third round or later and made the list were defensemen, though. I don’t think that’s a coincidence and anecdotally I’d probably guess that it’s linked to the bigger challenges that still exist in evaluating defensemen (especially teenaged ones) than forwards. But Jones belongs here given everything he has accomplished in the last three years. He just gets it. He understands how to make plays that drive results. He understands how to defend without needing to be big or powerful while doing it. He manufactures offense without ever looking like he’s forcing it. He’s just a functional, methodical defender whose game fits in with the way the NHL game is trending. His ceiling probably tops out as a No. 3 or a No. 4, but I think he can be really good in that kind of role long term.
Honorable Mention:
Vitali Kravtsov
