Category: Sports News

One of the more NHL-ready prospects available in this year’s draft is a Ranger. 

The Blueshirts selected Alberts Šmits with the No. 5 pick in the NHL draft Friday night, adding the left-handed defenseman to a defensive prospect pool that is in need of some shoring up during this retool. 

“It’s kind of a relief that the Rangers took me,” Šmits said on a Zoom call after he heard his name called in Buffalo. “I’m really happy to go to New York.” 

Equipped with two first-round picks as Friday began, the Rangers ended up trading the No. 26 selection to Vegas — as well as one of their four third-rounders (No. 92) plus a top-10 protected first-rounder in 2028 — in exchange for young sharpshooter Pavel Dorofeyev. 

Hanging on to the fifth-overall pick and still landing Dorofeyev certainly was a win for the organization. Signing the 25-year-old Russian to a seven-year, $77 million contract put a bow on the deal. 

That fifth-overall pick was an important asset to utilize and the Rangers came away with a prospect who is believed to be the most NHL-ready defenseman available in this draft class. 

The 18-year-old Šmits spent the last season playing professionally in Finland’s Liiga and for Munich in Germany’s DEL. Going up against grown men in Europe’s top professional leagues, the 6-foot-3 Latvian is said to have the build and defensive prowess to make the jump to the NHL. 

It’s likely that Šmits will sign his entry-level contract sometime soon and report to New York for this upcoming training camp. 

“Alberts is very competitive,” Rangers director of player personnel and director of amateur scouting John Lilley said on Zoom. “He’s a very good two-way defenseman, defends very hard, good shot, offensively moves the puck. He just has a very well-rounded game. In terms of when he’s ready to play, that’ll take care of itself. That’s not up to me. That’s something that Dru and [head coach Mike Sullivan] will figure out as we move forward, but we think he’s an excellent prospect and just thrilled to get him. 

Šmits played a ton of hockey in 2025-26, participating in his first full pro season, the Olympics, World Juniors and World Championship. 

At the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics this past February, Šmits made waves as the youngest player and lone draft-eligible prospect to compete in the tournament. He recorded two assists in four games for Latvia. 

Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury, who served as assistant GM for Team USA at the Olympics, likely had a front-row seat to Šmits’ performance in Italy. 

With Jukirit in the Finnish Liiga last season, Šmits posted 13 points (six goals and seven assists) in 38 games while averaging around 20 minutes per game. 

“I’m a two-way defenseman,” Šmits said when asked to describe his game. “I’m trying to take care of the D-zone first. And then I also can create some offense and help the forwards in the offensive zone and create some offensive plays and try to create some chances for scoring.” 

The maturity in Šmits’ game may put him on a faster track to the NHL level than some of the other prospects taken around him. There’s a hard-nosed edge to his game that the Rangers clearly covet on their back end. 

Šmits, who is inspired by Detroit’s Moritz Seider, said he visited New York City last week. 

“I loved it there,” he said. “It’s a great city.” 

The Rangers selected defenseman Alberts Smits with the No. 5 overall selection in the 2026 NHL Draft on Friday.

Smits, 18, is a 6-foot-4 blue liner out of Latvia, who represented his country at the 2026 Winter Olympics. He played professionally with Jukurit in Finland's Liiga and for Municah in Germany's DEL.

He was the recipient of the E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence ahead of the draft, which is presented annually by the candidate who "best exemplifies commitment to excellence through strength of character, competitiveness, and athleticism."

In 52 professional games over the past two seasons, he has seven goals and nine assists. Smits got a taste of playoff action with Munich and tallied six points (two goals, four assists) in 11 games.

Smits played four games for 10th-placed Latvia at the Olympics with two assists. And he is the highest-drafted player from that country in NHL history.

New York entered the night with another first-round selection, but packaged the No. 26 pick with the No. 92 pick and a 2028 first-round selection, but packaged them in a deal with the Vegas Golden Knights for winger Pavel Dorofeyev. 

The NHL world waited in anticipation for the 2026 No. 1 overall pick to be announced Friday night.

As expected, it was Penn State’s Gavin McKenna selected by the Maple Leafs. But the bigger surprise was who announced the pick.

Fellow Canadian and devoted Maple Leafs fan Justin Bieber announced the selection in Buffalo on Friday night.

Before the draft commenced, the NHL shared that a special guest would be taking the stage to announce the pick.

Bieber’s presence brought on mixed reactions, however.

About halfway through Bieber’s nearly three-minute appearance, boos were heard spreading through Buffalo’s KeyBank Center.

Fans had opinions on social media as well, with many commenting on the length of Bieber’s opening spiel.

“CEASE YOUR SPEAKING BIEBER,” one fan wrote on X.

“Wow the Leafs made this cringy as hell with Bieber,” another griped.

Others had more well-thought-out opinions on the subject. One fan commented on how the biggest moment of McKenna’s life felt more centered around Bieber than McKenna.

“Really feel like the NHL dropped the emotional ball on this,” the tweet read.

Immediately after the pick, McKenna posed for a picture with Bieber and sat down for an interview with ESPN and Sportsnet alongside the singer.

McKenna hails from Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon. Bieber has a song named “Yukon” on his 2025 album “Swag.”

The scene was slightly awkward, considering the anticipation surrounding the pick. McKenna is a franchise-altering selection for a team in need of an immediate boost. The 18-year-old has been receiving attention from the media and fans since he started high school.

Now, he will take the biggest stage in hockey, in one of its biggest markets.

He might also now have Bieber in his corner.

The New York Rangers have selected defenseman Alberts Šmits with the fifth overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. 

Šmits, a 6-foot-3, 209-pound defenseman, is the No. 2-ranked international skater per NHL Central Scouting.

“Šmits is a tall defenseman with impressive mobility and smarts,” The Athletic’s Corey Pronman writes. “He can make a reliable first pass and has a big point shot, projecting to have quality amounts of offense at the top level. He isn't a super smart puck-mover, but there's enough touch in his game to project to be reliable with the puck in the NHL. 

“He defends very well due to his length and feet, while also competing hard and being willing to play the body. He projects as a top-pairing defenseman.”

The 18-year-old defenseman was the youngest player at the 2026 Winter Olympics, representing Latvia and recording two assists in four games while averaging 18:44 minutes per game.

Many consider Šmits to be the most pro-ready defenseman in this year’s class.

In 38 games for Jukurit in Liiga, Finland's top league, Šmits recorded six goals, seven assists, and 13 points.

The Vegas Golden Knights never shy away from making bold, aggressive moves. And after coming up just short in the Stanley Cup Final, they were bound to take a swing.

On Friday, they began the offseason by doing just that. The Golden Knights traded 25-year-old RFA Pavel Dorofeyev, their leading goalscorer for the past two years, to the New York Rangers. In return, they receive two picks in the 2026 Entry Draft— the 26th and the 92nd overall picks— as well as a conditional pick in the 2028 Draft.

For years, the Golden Knights have traded their futures for proven NHL players to help them win now, leaving them with an empty cupboard. Trading Dorofeyev for picks either allows them to refill that cupboard or gives them ammunition to load up and take another big swing.

Earlier this month, Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon sang Dorofeyev’s praises during his Media Day availability ahead of the Stanley Cup Final.

“Pavel’s a goal scorer– that’s what our amateur staff saw in him when we drafted him out of Russia,” said McCrimmon. “For me, I’m a big believer that the playoffs make you better as a player. This playoff has been really good for Pavel, and not only in terms of his production. He’s really playing well; to me, his game is growing as a really good young player.

“He’s been able to play with some really good players. Our power play was a big part of his production this year, which he was a big part of himself. Now he’s playing on the right side of Jack Eichel, who’s a real good player to play with. So, he’s made the most of his opportunities, but he really continues to improve and he is a natural goalscorer.”

Dorofeyev went on to score just two goals during the Golden Knights’ six-game loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, both coming during their 4-2 Game 5 loss.

Elliotte Friedman just reported that the Rangers signed Dorofeyev to a seven-year, $11 million contract, and the Golden Knights are a team strapped for salary cap space. They couldn’t have given Dorofeyev that deal without some serious roster surgery.

Believe there is a long-term extension coming for Dorofeyev w/NYR.

I think 7 years, approx $11M https://t.co/xAFmbYTErN

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 27, 2026

However, the Golden Knights’ past two seasons ended in the exact same way: getting shut out. Trading a 25-year-old sniper who led the team in scoring for the past two years is just one more bold move in a nine-year history of bold moves. 

Instead of becoming the hometown pick many envisioned, Carson Carels will now be a player the Winnipeg Jets have to game plan against for years to come.

The 18-year-old Manitoba product was selected sixth overall by the Calgary Flames in Friday night's 2026 NHL Draft, coming off the board before Winnipeg had the opportunity to make its selection.

The Jets had been heavily linked to Carels throughout the draft process and would have loved the opportunity to bring the Cypress River native home, but Calgary ensured that wouldn't happen.

Carels celebrated the biggest moment of his hockey career surrounded by family and friends back on his family's farm in Cypress River, Manitoba, making for a fitting backdrop as one of the province's brightest young stars officially became an NHL player.

The smooth-skating defenseman earned his lofty draft status after a sensational season with the Prince George Cougars. After recording 35 points the previous year, Carels exploded for 20 goals and 53 assists for 73 points in just 58 games, vaulting himself into the conversation as one of the top prospects in the 2026 class.

Some scouting services ranked him as high as third overall, while Elite Prospects' consolidated rankings placed him around sixth.

Carels also represented Canada at the World Junior Championship, recording an assist and a plus-three rating in five games while helping the team capture a bronze medal, further cementing his reputation as one of the premier defensemen available.

Instead of adding one of Manitoba's brightest young talents to their blue line, the Jets will now have to face him as a member of a division rival.

What could have been a storybook homecoming has instead become another compelling chapter in the rivalry between Winnipeg and Calgary.

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

The Calgary Flames bolstered their blue line by selecting Carson Carels with the sixth overall pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.

Carels plays for the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League (WHL) and posted 20 goals and 73 points in his second season in 2025-26.

The Cypress River, Manitoba product projects as a cornerstone defenceman and will continue his development at the University of North Dakota next season, a path that should allow him to round out his game before making the jump to the professional ranks.

Carels has all the tools to emerge as one of the biggest steals in the top 10. Viewed as a future top-pairing defenceman, he possesses the skating, hockey sense, and all-around game to log heavy minutes.

Paired alongside Zayne Parekh in Calgary’s future top four, Carels could help form a dynamic defensive duo capable of driving play at both ends of the ice.

On the night of the 2026 NHL Draft, the Rangers acquired a veteran forward.

The Blueshirts added winger Pavel Dorofeyev in a deal with the Vegas Golden Knights. 

The Rangers will send out a first-round selection (No. 26) and a third-round selection (No. 92) in the 2026 draft and a top-10 protected 2028 first-round selection.

Dorofeyev, who turns 26 in late October, is an impending restricted free agent the Rangers will now have to work out a deal with. And he is coming off a solid season after he scored 38 goals with 27 assists in 82 games and was a minus-3 while averaging 17:36 time on the ice. It was his second-straight year of 30 goals, after scoring 35 in 82 games in 2024-25 to go along with 17 assists in 16:32 average ice time.

The Russian skater should really help New York in the power play. He scored 33 power-play goals with the Golden Knights over the past two seasons.

He also comes to the Rangers with a bit of playoff experience, with 31 games under his belt, including 22 last campaign during Vegas' trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. During that run, which came up short to Carolina, Dorofeyev had 16 points (12 goals, four assists) and was a plus-4 while averaging 17:04 time on the ice. He led the playoffs with his five power-play goals and his 58 shots on goal.

A third-round selection by Vegas in 2019, the lefty shooter has 92 goals and 57 assists (149 points) in his first 231 NHL games and is a career plus-11.