Rangers Draft

Alright, the Ranger draft, such as it is, starts at 3pm EST and 12pm PST tomorrow, and runs till it's done.  They used to make more of a weekend of it, but for some reason not this year.  Maybe because it's at the Pru.   Should once again be full of Ranger fans, but right now, they'll be waiting till the third for the Rangers first pick.  For some reason, I still think they're going to end up with a first round pick, though I have no idea what that deal would look like or who they might be targeting.

Okay, so why do I think they'll trade in for someone they've targeted.  It's because there are always guys they target.   Every year.   Usually they get them, like Kreider, MeIlrath, and Miller.   Sometimes they get them a little later like McDonagh, Lindberg, and Erixon (who they then traded away).  Sometimes they'll grab a guy who's falling, like they did when they traded Evgeny Grachev to jump into the third round two years ago and get Stephen Fogarty.   So they have targets and they pursue them.  So that's one.

Two, and I think this is important: they have gotten really good at scouting and finding prospects.  In other words, their scouts have earned not only a great deal of credibility over the last 6 years or so, but it always behooves the Rangers to give them picks to work with.  You always want to go with your strengths, and scouting is now a big Ranger strength.  You want to spend assets that way.

Third, this is supposed to be a blue chip first round and a red chip draft thereafter.   Now, I think teams with good scouts have an advantage in red chip drafts because some of those kids will turn into blue chip players, and good scout tend to find which ones better.   But in a blue chip draft, you have a chance to take a great player or even a Hall of Famer.   The Rangers should be giving their scouts a chance to do that themselves.

Finally, the draft will be on TV and Cablevision which owns the Rangers loves sizzle.   They sort of made a meal out of finding a new coach.   Then did something perfectly dumb by holding onto Richards (though I still hope they change their mind by the 4th).   They have yet to name their assistant coaches, and I think they'll want to make a splash in the draft.   Because of the Richards decision, they probably won't be cap capable of making a splash when FA starts.

So there are my reasons and let's see what happens.