LAS VEGAS — The Rangers are collecting players listed at 6-foot-5 and above like trading cards.
Such has been a theme of the past two NHL drafts for the Rangers, who took their third towering skater in two years in 6-foot-7 left wing Nathan Aspinall with the 159th-overall pick in the fifth round of the 2024 draft at The Sphere on Saturday.
Aspinall, who has played for the Flint Firebirds in the Ontario Hockey League the past two seasons, joins a Rangers depth chart that already features a multitude of vertically gifted players who have seemingly piled up over the past few years.
“[Size] is certainly helpful,” said John Lilley, the Rangers’ director of personnel and amateur scouting. “There’s plenty of excellent small players out there, but the size is definitely a benefit, especially when you look at the playoffs and the harder games. You have to play big, as well, but it’s nice to start out being big and then using that size to your advantage.”
Forward Nathan Aspinall #76 of the Flint Firebirds celebrates a goal against the Windsor Spitfires at WFCU Centre on February 16, 2023 in Windsor, Ontario.
The fact that the 6-8 ½ Matt Rempe and the 6-7 Adam Edstrom popped out of the pipeline this past season and used their enormous on-ice presences to make an impact, the Rangers evidently didn’t mind adding another player of similar stature to their collection.
Both Rempe and Edstrom were drafted by the Rangers in the sixth round, 165th overall in 2020 and 161st overall in 2019, respectively.
Making their NHL debuts roughly two months apart, the two menacing skaters made strong impressions and will certainly be competing for roster spots next season.
Though Rempe made a louder splash with three points — 71 penalty minutes, three ejections and one four-game suspension in 17 regular-season games and 11 playoff games, which made him a cult hero of sorts for blue-blooded fans — Edstrom quietly posted two goals in 11 solid games.
Matt Rempe made his presence known this past season.
“Those guys have done a great job, they were drafted — same thing — later, middle-late round type of guys with potential,” Lilley said. “Credit to those players, they’ve put the time and work in to make themselves a big part of our organization, and now these players we’ve drafted [recently] have the same opportunity.
“Like I say every development camp, it’s up to them. Everything from now moving forward, the ball is in their court as to what work they put in.”
At last season’s draft in Nashville, the Blueshirts selected Dylan Roobroeck, a 6-7, 205-pound center out of the OHL, at 178th overall, as well as the 6-5 left wing Ty Henricks, who also weighs in at 216 pounds, at No. 183.
The Rangers also took 6-foot-3 defenseman Rasmus Larsson at 152nd overall.
Lilley made a point to say the Rangers value Aspinall’s size, adding that he improved his skills the second half of the year and really figured out what he needed to do to be an effective player. In 94 OHL games over the past two seasons, Aspinall has totaled 19 goals and 19 assists.
“Just how he figured out how to use his body,” Lilley said. “It’s another bigger player that still has to fill out and just get stronger.”
Raoul Boilard is selected by the New York Rangers with the 119th overall pick during the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Sphere on June 29, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Rangers identified Raoul Boilard as a player they wanted to move up the draft board for, and they made it happen by sending the 127th-overall pick and a 2026 seventh-rounder to the Predators to select the 61 center at 119.
And with their final pick in the 2024 draft, the Rangers took Swiss forward Rico Gredig at No. 191.
Describing himself as a defensive center with offensive tools who can make plays, be strong on the forecheck and in faceoffs, Boilard is coming off a 62-point campaign in his first season in the QMJHL.
“It means a lot,” Boilard said of the Rangers trading up to select him. “It means they like me, so that’s good. A good organization that likes me, it’s a good sign.”
