Tucked away in Scott Wheeler’s latest mock draft, where he had the Rangers taking defenseman Alberts Smits, is the Rangers may listen to offers to trade down. This at least makes some sense, as it seems Viggo Bjorck is on their radar, and they may be able to snag him in the 7-9 range. With the Rangers willing to trade down, it seems they aren’t quite set on a specific defenseman just yet. As we’ve seen from Will’s fantastic draft previews, there are many defensemen available, but only a few centers.
If the rumors are true with the Rangers willing to trade down, then it becomes a question about where their best fit is, and who might be available should they do it. It seems picks 1-3 are going to be forwards Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, and Caleb Malhotra, in that order. Then it seems to be a mix of just defensemen from picks 4-7, covering all the names you’d expect to see.
Bjorck is likely to slide to the 8-10 range, where we have Winnipeg (full rebuild), Ottawa (competitor), and Nashville (middle of the pack). It’s tough to gauge what these teams have on their boards, but it’s safe to say Bjorck will be a top-ten pick. It’s likely he goes in the first eight picks.
It would be intriguing to see if Drury can work with Ottawa to grab the 9th overall pick and defenseman Jordan Spence for the 5th overall pick, though that puts grabbing Bjorck at risk. It’s hard to see Bjorck falling that far, but height seems to be a hold up for many teams.
Naturally, there will be more to come. Even if the rumors are true with the Rangers willing to trade down, trades in the top five picks are exceedingly rare.