Rangers win NHL Draft Lottery: What Alexis Lafrenière means to Rangers rebuild

The New York Rangers won the strangest draft lottery in NHL history, what does getting the top pick mean for their rebuild?

After a bizarre set of circumstances and an exceptionally long wait, the New York Rangers are getting the first overall pick and the potential to become a powerhouse in the NHL for years to come.

After being swept by the Carolina Hurricanes in the qualifying round of the NHL’s expanded 24-team playoff, the Rangers were entered into Phase 2 of the NHL Draft Lottery, where they and seven other teams eliminated in the qualifying round would have a 12.5% chance at getting the first overall pick. After a weird process of having Gary Bettman make sure that the logos on each lottery ball were right, the Rangers ping pong ball was the one to rise out of the machine, meaning they got the first overall pick.

The Rangers last had the first overall pick in 1965 where they drafted André Veilleux, who never played in the NHL. They also drafted second overall last season when they won a spot in the standard draft lottery, which they used to draft Kappo Kakko.

This draft lottery had the potential to go horribly wrong after a placeholder team won the first phase of the lottery back in phase one of the lottery June, followed by both the five seeds in the East and West getting upset in the first round. Luckily everything ended alright, and the first overall pick didn’t go to a team that would’ve been in the playoffs in a normal season.

It took several extra months, but here is the final draft order for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft which will take place October 9 after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

What does this mean for the New York Rangers?

The Rangers have been rebuilding sent out a letter to their fans at the 2018 Trade Deadline signifying they were taking a step back, and so far they’ve done a great job and had the odds in their favor. However, getting a chance to draft Alexis Lafrenière with this first overall pick, means that the rebuild may have just come to an end.

18-year old Alexis Lafrenière is a left winger, and the consensus top prospect in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft for good reason. The term “generational talent” is horrendously overused in hockey, but there’s a chance for Laffreniere to be just that once he reaches the NHL. He scored 112 points with Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL in just 52 games while winning just about every award you can in the league, and was also named the MVP of the 2019-20 World Juniors for Canada after scoring ten points in five games.

Lafrenière has drawn comparisons to Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby in terms of his hockey IQ and elite skillset, and is expected to have an impact right away. Some first overall picks struggle as rookie due to their size, but that won’t be a problem for Lafrenière who already weighs 192 lbs. He’s just about everything you would want in a hockey player.

Lafrenière would be joining an already stacked young Rangers team with the likes of Hart candidate Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, Kakko, and Pavel Buchnevich. With the emergence of Igor Shesterkin as a staring goalie for years to come, Adam Fox and several other young defensemen coming soon, the Rangers are set with all the talent that they need for at least the next decade.

If Lafrenière comes even close to being as advertised for the Rangers, they will be Stanley Cup contenders for easily the next decade and a potential powerhouse in the Metropolitan division. This rebuild could not have gone any better for them, and the fruits of the labor might begin to show as soon as next season.