With the 2025 National Hockey League Entry Draft over, here is a review of how we think the Rangers did. Right off the bat the Rangers made a solid selection with their first overall pick LW Malcom Spence of the Erie Otters.
Spence played in the shadow of Michael Misa and Matthew Schaefer, which in this case helped them. Spence is going to play at the University of Michigan for the 2025-2026 season. Considerable size (6’2 2025). Rangers’ fans are going to love him because of his work ethic as he plays all 200 ft in all three zones.
Needs to work on improving his overall consistency but that will come with maturity.
Dave Brown the Erie Otters General Manager:
“As an organization, it’s a privilege to have players recognized and selected by the National Hockey League and the 32 teams,” Brown said. “The Otters are very proud of Malcolm and his accomplishment of being selected, and we are super excited for this future hockey endeavor. Malcolm is proof that hard work and determination are a recipe for achieving your personal goals. We are excited to watch Malcolm work toward becoming yet another member of a large group of alumni who leave their mark on the National Hockey League.”
Here is what Gordon Monro of Recruit Scouting said about him:
“Malcolm Spence is a two-way forward who plays an aggressive forechecking game with adept defensive skills, logging significant time on both special teams. The Otters’ forward may not have the dynamic offensive abilities of some of the higher-end players in the draft but he has consistently produced well on the international stage amongst some of the best players in his age group. His game has many great qualities that coaches will love and his versatile skillset should make him an attractive option to NHL teams”.
Third Round saw first Sean Barnhill of the Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL) at 70 who was one of the players we covered as a possible pick:
Another prospect heading to the Hockey East, Barnhill will get the Rangers attention because of his 6’4 214 lbs. size. Like Trethewey, his offensive game lacks consistency but is a better passer. It is his physical defensive game that makes us want him as he has been a solid backchecking defender who is strong on the penalty kill. His skill at reading the ice makes him excellent at breaking up the rush.
Barnhill is headed to Northeastern in the Hockey East next season.
Then the Rangers turned around and took defenseman Artyom Gonchar at 89. Gonchar is the nephew of the former NHLer Sergei.
At 6’ 156 lbs., the smallish size is what scared other teams, but the Rangers might have themselves a steal. Put 30 or more pounds on his frame and he will do well.
Here is what Neutral Zone hockey says about him:
Gonchar is a quick and agile two way defenseman. He rushed the puck up ice with confidence and joined the play deep into the offensive zone on multiple occasions. He was tasked with minutes on the first powerplay unit and snapped the puck around with intention. He picked up an assist, shooting from the point and his teammate redirected the puck past the goalie. He played solid defense, Using his body to close opponents off into the boards and also using his agility to keep up with opponents circling the defensive zone. A high paced, notable performance from a young defenseman with lots of time to mature into a quality player.
Fourth round saw the Rangers select center Mikkel Eriksen a smallish 5’11 187 but a prospect that saw scouts praise as the best junior player from Norway last season. Plays for Farjestad in Sweden’s junior league where he was 22-21-43.
Daily Faceoff had this to say about Eriksen:
Eriksen was consistently Norway’s best forward. His mix of speed and skill proved lethal at points, and while he didn’t rack up a ton of points, it wasn’t due to a lack of effort. I think he’s good enough with the puck to earn some draft consideration (he’s also one of the youngest players in the draft), and I know scouts liked his play in the Swedish U-20 league. No question about it, he’s a mid-pack pick, and someone I expect to play a big role internationally moving forward.
I know the Farjestad franchise, and they do a particularly respectable job developing their younger players. Since he is so young, would like to see him come over and play in the USHL or Canadian juniors in 2026-2027 to help his development.
In the fifth round, the Rangers selected defenseman Zeb Lindgren of Sweden who plays for Skellefteå AIK J20. This is not someone I would have picked as while he is good defensively, he has little offensive upside to keep teams honest.
Gets rattled under pressure and at times will panic. Has one gear when it comes to his skating and that is terribly slow speed. He needs a lot of work to warrant serious consideration as a prospect but to be fair here is what Neutral Zone Hockey had to say about him:
Zeb Lindgren is a defensively reliable, left-shot defenseman with pro size, strong hockey sense, and above-average skating ability. He’s a stabilizer on the backend, excelling through stick detail, body positioning, and quick decision-making. While his offensive ceiling appears limited, Lindgren’s ability to defend in space, absorb minutes, and compete in physical situations gives him legitimate NHL projectability as a shutdown, middle-pairing defender. He has been a key figure for Skelleftea’s J20 squad, logging regular special teams time and showing consistency against top junior competition in Sweden.
In the sixth round the Rangers had two more selections, the first at 166. Samuel Jung a 6’3 right wing who plays for Kärpät U20 in the Finland Under 20 league. Jung has so little known about him that only one scouting service (McKeen’s) even had him ranked (300).
This sleeper selection has considerable size 6’3 172 to develop into a power forward but he needs to step up against better competition to get a good read on. For now, he remains a major question mark based on how little anyone knows about him. Sorry could not find any video on him to share.
At 171, the Rangers selected defenseman Evan Passmore of the Barrie Colts (OHL), a 6’5 212 lb. project. Little offensive upside will be a sixth or seventh defenseman if he makes it that far.
Here is what Joe Aleong of Future Considerations said about Passmore:
“Passmore is a long, rangy defender who makes the most of his great size with consistent physicality and is a good enough skater to match up against small, speedier forwards. Passmore is a strong skater, with long, powerful strides that allow him to accelerate well despite average foot speed”.
Finally, the Rangers finished their draft with the 203rd overall pick when they selected defenseman Felix Färhammar of Orebro JR program in Sweden. Everyone has panned this pick, but I am not going to because (a) other Swedish young defenders (Marcus Pettersson) had their inconsistencies when they were 17.
Most places list him as a third pair defender but his +25 stands out as that suggests he has more defensive skill than he is being credited with. Going to consider that this is the 203 draft pick and once upon a time the Rangers drafted a Swedish player with the 205th pick by the name of Henrik Lundqvist.
Again sorry but there is no video available to share with you.
Overall, it is hard not to like Malcom Spence or Sean Barnhill picks. Mikkel Eriksen is a negligible risk, high reward selection but after that the picks close your eyes and pray selections. But the Rangers with two selections from the OHL, one from the USHL, and five from Europe only hurt themselves by not finding more immediate help for the prospect pipeline.
Give the Rangers a C- for their draft as maybe one or two players will come out of this draft for them,
