With the dust settling on Saturday’s lottery, the long wait for the 2018 NHL Draft drags on. As Dave and Pat have noted, the ninth overall pick that the Rangers possess is by no means a death knell. Trading up is a possibility, but conventional wisdom holds that unless Jeff Gorton can maneuver into the top three, it’s better to hang onto the pick and see if some classic #HockeyMan folly results in a very good player falling into the Rangers’ laps. Being an optimist, I’d be fine with this strategy.
However, there’s a counterargument, which in my mind starts starts here, with a tweet from noted smart Rangers fan and friend to the blog @HockeyStatMiner:
Former #9’s:
2017 – DET – Michael Rasmussen
2016 – MTL – Mikhail Sergachev
2015 – SJS – Timo Meier
2014 – WPG – Nik Ehlers
2013 – VAN – Bo Horvat
2012 – WPG – Jacob Trouba
2011 – BOS – Dougie Hamilton
2010 – MIN – Mikael Granlund
2009 – OTT – Jared Cowen
2008 – NYI – Josh Bailey— HockeyStatMiner (@HockeyStatMiner) April 28, 2018
As you can see, there are a lot of brand names on this list.