Wrapping up the 2023 NY Rangers prospect series, with extended rankings by position
Another year of ranking the top prospects in the New York Rangers’ organization is in the books.
This was my fifth time doing it, and while it’s certainly a heavy lift – one that required more than two dozen interviews and well over 10,000 words written – it’s also a labor of love. It helps that my familiarity with the prospect pool grows each year, as does the network of sources I rely on for input. A big thanks goes out to everyone who helped make it happen.
Admittedly, the order of the top 10 is somewhat arbitrary. It’s largely based on the opinions of scouts, coaches, executives and others I trust, but also undoubtedly influenced by what I see with my own eyes in settings like development camp. The hope is that we land on rankings that are fair to the players involved and produce stories containing substantive evaluations of strengths and weaknesses, along with insight into the work these young men put in behind the scenes and what makes them tick.
It's an inexact science, but I’ll do my best to explain the criteria. An important part of the equation is projecting what these players will become if they hit their ceilings. Typically, the higher the upside, the higher the ranking. But we also can’t just assume it will click for all of them. Likelihood of reaching the NHL is another factor because, ultimately, we’re trying to decipher which prospects will eventually impact the Rangers’ roster. That’s why, in some instances, a skilled player who looks like a long shot may land behind a grinder who has a good chance of carving out a bottom-six role.
Make sense?
The good news is we'll have a chance to see many of these prospects in action very soon. Rangers' rookie camp is set to begin Wednesday, so let's have one final discussion about how the list came together while going more in-depth with extended rankings by position. Below that, you'll find links to prospect profiles for each member of this year's top 10 overall.
Top 12 forwards
Gabe Perreault, LW/RW
Brennan Othmann, LW
Will Cuylle, LW
Adam Sýkora, LW
Bryce McConnell-Barker, C
Brett Berard, LW
Jaroslav Chmelař, LW/RW
Ryder Korczak, C/RW
Noah Laba, C
Bobby Trivigno, LW
Maxim Barbashev, LW
Kalle Väisänen, LW/RW
Analysis: If we were organizing by tiers, Perreault and Othmann would be alone in the top group. Neither is considered a star-level prospect, but they’re clearly the best in the system at the moment.
I began the process open-minded to ranking either No. 1, but found the consensus strongly favored this year’s first-round selection. I can tell you that five of the six scouts, executives and prospect experts I posed that question to picked Perreault, with the main reason being what most consider an elite hockey IQ and feel for the game offensively. Othmann is two years older and much closer to being NHL-ready (there’s a decent chance he’ll debut at some point this season), so there’s obviously some projection involved. But Perreault is the upside pick having just passed the likes of Auston Matthews and Jack Hughes for the USNTDP single-season scoring record.
After the top two, it’s a group of prospects most believe profile as bottom-six forwards if/when they reach the NHL. Cuylle is the current standout among that group because he’s got an NHL body at 6-foot-3, 212 pounds (with a physical edge to go along with it) and has scored at every level so far, including leading AHL Hartford with 25 goals last season. The 2020 second-round pick is also the furthest along in his development and the safest bet to receive the NHL call in 2023-24.
It was a close call between the next three forwards on the list, but Sýkora was a favorite among sources because they feel he has the best chance of flourishing in the type of forechecking, defensive role that many of these prospects will be vying for. His combination of speed, fearlessness and nonstop motor screams third-line menace. McConnell-Barker is also someone who seems to be rising in the eyes of many onlookers. The 2022 third-round pick has clearly taken on the title of best center prospect in a system that's quite light at that position. Berard has some similar traits to Sýkora, with more skill to boot, but concerns about durability and consistency of his play style landed him slightly behind the other two.
The order of the top six could be debated, but there was widespread agreement on the names included. After that, it became more of a crapshoot. There were six or seven players who came up in conversations about who the seventh forward (and No. 10 prospect overall) should be, but Chmelař eventually emerged as the preferred option. Korczak certainly has him beat in the skill department, but the general feeling is that the 6-foot-5 Chmelař has better odds of sticking in the NHL as a role player. He's made significant strides the past year and impressed with his performance for silver-medal-winning Czechia at the World Juniors.
Laba was also in that conversation after posting 22 points (11 goals and 11 assists) in 35 games as a freshman at Colorado College, giving the Rangers another much-needed center to develop. And while Trivigno didn't light up the AHL in the way some were hoping (26 points in 57 games), he did earn regular playing time with Hartford and should have a chance to build on that this season.
The list is rounded out by Barbashev, who just about a point-per-game player for the Moncton Wildcats in the QMJHL last season, and Väisänen, who earned a spot for Team Finland in the World Juniors but hasn't produced much for TPS in Liiga.
Top 7 defensemen
Drew Fortescue, LD
Rasmus Larsson, LD
Ty Emberson, RD
Victor Mancini, RD
Brandon Scanlin, LD
Hank Kempf, LD
Analysis: It's important to note that 2019 third-round pick Zac Jones was ineligible for this list because he no longer holds NHL rookie status, otherwise he would have been the clear choice for No. 1. That left Robertson in the top spot, despite questions about why he still hasn't received a call-up from the Rangers. The enticing physical tools that got him drafted in the second round of the 2019 draft remain, but a combination of organizational depth at the position, his own injuries and not playing instinctively enough have held him back to this point. This will be a critical season for the 22-year-old as he enters the final year of his entry-level contract.
After Robertson are a couple of 2023 draft picks. The Blueshirts had to replenish their defensemen pipeline following a slew of graduations in recent years (namely Adam Fox, Ryan Lindgren, K'Andre Miller and Braden Schneider, plus the trade of Nils Lundkvist to Dallas) and opted to use two of their first three selections on D. Fortescue projects as a bottom-pair guy with offensive limitations, but he's considered a reliable defender who became a go-to player for a loaded USNTDP squad. Larsson is raw, but he brings an interesting blend of mobility, puck skills and size to develop.
The rest look more like AHL depth, but Emberson is coming off an impressive season as a top-pair D for Hartford. He was relied on heavily and ranked second behind Jones in points for a defensemen, with 27 (seven goals and 20 assists) in 69 games played. If the Rangers are in need of a right-handed D call-up this season, he's positioned himself as first in line.
Mancini, Scanlin and Kempf have similar profiles − big and mean with very little offense in the tank.
Top 4 goalies
Hugo Ollas
Talyn Boyko
Olof Lindbom
Analysis: Garand was the only netminder to land in the top-10 overall and is clearly the cream of the crop among this group. He had an up-and-down first pro season with Hartford, but finished very strong in the playoffs and has many believing he'll at least be a backup in the NHL someday.
The others are longer shots with a lot of rawness to them. Ollas and Boyko are huge − both listed at 6-foot-8 − but have work to do to get those long limbs all moving efficiently enough to play at the highest level. One scout I spoke to who watched a lot of Ollas at Merrimack College this season, where he posted a .915 save percentage and 2.32 goals against average, felt that the 21-year-old has made significant progress, which gave him a slight edge over Boyko.
Meanwhile, Lindbom's prospect status is on life support. There were high hopes when he was selected 39th overall in the 2018 draft, but it's largely been a disappointment since then. Injuries have plagued the 23-year-old Swede and he's mostly struggled when he has played. In 28 appearances for ECHL Jacksonville last season, he posted an .890 SV% with a 3.01 GAA.
Top 10 overall
Thanks again to everyone for following along with our prospect rankings this summer! Here's a look back at the top 10 overall, with links to each article:
No. 10: LW/RW Jaroslav Chmelař
No. 9: LD Drew Fortescue
No. 8: LD Matthew Robertson
No. 7: LW Brett Berard
No. 6: G Dylan Garand
No. 5: C Bryce McConnell-Barker
No. 4: LW Adam Sýkora
No. 3: LW Will Cuylle
No. 2 LW Brennan Othmann
No. 1: LW/RW Gabe Perreault
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Wrapping up the 2023 NY Rangers prospect rankings
