Chris Drury’s overhaul of the Rangers’ prospect pool is drawing attention for one reason above the rest: effort.
In Corey Pronman’s annual NHL team prospect rankings for The Athletic, New York climbed six spots to No. 18 overall, and the biggest theme running through the list was simple enough. The Rangers are stockpiling players whose compete level stands out, sometimes even more than their raw skill.
That showed up clearly in the grades. Of the Rangers’ top 14 prospects, eight were tagged “above NHL average” in compete. Two of them - center Cole Beaudoin and forward Malcolm Spence - were singled out for “high end” compete.
Pronman had plenty to say about Spence, the University of Michigan sophomore. “Spence’s compete is excellent and is the calling card of his game,” Pronman wrote about the University of Michigan sophomore.
“He’s a tenacious worker who wins a ton of battles and gets to many pucks due to his length, speed and effort. He comes back hard and is a great two-way forward who plays the body often.”
Beaudoin, whom the Rangers got from the Utah Mammoth in the Vincent Trocheck trade July 1, also drew strong praise. Pronman called the 2024 first-round pick “a very likable player” and “a tremendously hardworking center.”
“He’s quite physical and doesn’t shy from getting to the tough areas of the ice and does so without taking bad penalties,” Pronman also noted.
Beaudoin checks in at No. 2 on the Rangers’ prospect list, while Spence is fifth. The other Rangers prospects who received above NHL average compete marks were 2026 first-round pick Alberts Smits at No. 1, skilled center Tomas Chrenko at No. 7, Hartford center Carey Terrance at No. 8, 2025 draft pick Mikkel Eriksen at No. 10, 2024 first-rounder EJ Emery at No. 11, and defenseman Charlie Morrison at No. 12, a 2026 third-round pick.
Emery is the most interesting case in that group. His effort isn’t the issue, but Pronman doesn’t sound sold on him becoming the top-four defenseman the Rangers were hoping for when they picked him in 2024.
“He’s a clear NHL defender, but he will need to make a steady outlet to play full-time, and I would say that aspect of his game is on the bubble,” Pronman wrote.
Pronman did offer a broader compliment on the system, saying, “New York has a nice blend of skill and compete in a system that should produce reliable NHL talent but still has a lot of work ahead in this next rebuild.”
Still, the actual grades leaned much harder toward compete than toward the usual skill markers like skating, puck skills, hockey sense, and shot. The only high-end grade handed out to any Rangers prospect was Smits’ shot, and the 18-year-old defenseman was also the lone player Pronman labeled a “top of the lineup player.”
Four Rangers were slotted as “middle of the lineup” players: Beaudoin, Spence, Liam Greentree at No. 3, and Nathan Aspinall at No. 4. Beaudoin, as most prospect evaluators tend to see him, projects as a third-line center - the kind of piece every team needs.
Greentree, whom the Rangers acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in the Artemi Panarin trade in February, got strong marks for his puck game and creativity. “He makes difficult plays often with the puck as a handler and passer and possesses high-end creativity while also having a good shot,” Pronman said about the 2024 first-round pick. “He competes well enough and can use his size to get to the net.”
But Pronman also flagged a concern that seems to keep Greentree from a higher ceiling in his view.
“The main concern on Greentree is his pace,” he stated. “He’s a so-so skater, and when the game gets fast and hard, he can fade into the background at times.”
The most eyebrow-raising placement may have been Gabe Perreault, who landed sixth among the 14 Rangers prospects despite posting 27 points in 49 games as a rookie with the Rangers last season and projecting as a top-six fixture in 2026-27.
Pronman pushed Perreault down largely because of his size - 5-foot-11, 180 pounds - and what he sees as “below NHL average” skating. Even so, Perreault still got “above NHL average” grades for puck skills and hockey sense, and Pronman placed him in the “NHL prospect” tier alongside Chrenko, Terrance and Hartford center Dylan Roobroeck, among others.
He also made the case against himself a bit with this description: “Perreault is a very skilled and intelligent winger. He makes highly creative and unique dekes and passes with the puck at a high rate, both off the perimeter and in small areas. His puck game is clear NHL power-play quality, and he will score as a pro.”
Then came the caution: “I have concerns about his long-term projection unless the offense is so off-the-charts good, which I’m on the fence about whether it will be or not.”
That’s where the debate sits for the Rangers’ prospect group right now - plenty of players who work, battle and fit a certain mold, but also plenty still trying to prove their upside will match the promise.
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