DALLAS — With many more heralded names available, the Rangers pulled off the first major surprise of the 2018 NHL Draft when they selected 6-4, 184-pound right wing Vitali Kravtsov of Traktor Chelyabinsk with the first of their three first round picks, at No. 9 overall.
Kravtsov, 18, was the third-ranked European skater available, according to the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau, but his name hadn’t been mentioned often by the draft prognosticators. With Rasmus Dahlin having gone first, as expected to the Sabres, and Andrei Svechnikov having gone second, as expected, to the Hurricanes, the big names started to come off the board.