2025 NHL Draft Series: Rangers 3rd round draft targets

In the third round of the 2025 NHL draft, the New York Rangers own the 70th overall pick, which they received from the Seattle Kraken in the Kaapo Kakko trade. While the team currently only has one pick in this round, I wouldn’t be too surprised if they picked up another pick in this range before or during the draft, based on some of the chatter around their off-season plans. Even with just one pick, there are plenty of potential Rangers 3rd round draft targets that would be great value.

2025 NHL Draft Series recaps:

There are many great potential Rangers 3rd round draft targets at this stage in the draft, but I chose to stick with some players who have risen a bit in the rankings recently. These are the types of players I believe the Rangers should be targeting; they’re not the kind of big question marks plenty of players in the later rounds are, but instead are solid prospects in that you know exactly what you are getting when you draft them.

Ryker Lee (Michigan State University) 

Ryker Lee has been one of the biggest risers on my own personal watch list for the 2025 draft. The Illinois native is 6’0” and 181 lbs, and spent the last season playing in the USHL. Playing for the Madison Capitols, Lee had 74 points (34 goals and 40 assists) in 64 total regular season and playoff games. While he is primarily a right winger, Lee has the ability to play both sides really well if needed.

Despite not being the biggest guy, I would describe Lee’s game as aggressive and exciting. He combines outstanding stickhandling with strong vision, which allows him to create chances that others might not be able to. He is a good skater, and one of the biggest positives to his skating is that he knows best how to use his smaller stature to escape his opponents, making what would usually be a weakness into one of his strengths.

There are areas of his game that could use some work. Lee is willing to try to make those flashier and riskier plays, which can burn him, especially in the USHL. Given time to develop in the NCAA, though, I think that will be something he can improve on especially after his growth spurt this past season. While his skating makes him more elusive than other skaters, his physical game could be improved as well, especially because the skill level between him and others in his current league is vastly different from what he would experience in the NHL.

College is the perfect place to improve in this area in a way that isn’t just him running around to toughen himself up. Nothing is guaranteed in the draft, but if the Rangers draft Ryker Lee, they are getting an offensively skilled, shifty winger who has the chance to become a dynamic top six player if given the time and space to develop his game to be more all-around. Ideally, the Rangers find a way to get a pick at the end of the second round or the beginning of the third round to scoop Lee up because his stock keeps rising. 

Gustav Hillström (Brynäs IF)

Gustav Hillström is a player I went back and forth on where to put him on my draft target list. I wasn’t sure if he should be one of the potential Rangers 3rd round draft targets, as there’s a chance he slides. Ultimately I think his natural skill will have more teams interested in him, so he is likely to go earlier. The Swedish center is 6’2” and 176 lbs. Hillström spent this season between Brynäs IF J20, where he had 40 points (17 goals and 23 assists) in 48 games, and the main Brynäs IF team in the SHL, where he had 2 points (1 goal and 1 assist) in 18 games.

Despite what some may see as a concerning decline in play between the junior Brynäs team and the top league team, it should be mentioned that Hillström was primarily playing in a right wing role while up with the main team, which isn’t his usual position, so I would take that sample size of his play with a grain of salt when evaluating him as a player. 

Hillström is one of the most mature and reliable centers in the draft, even with his currently limited offensive game. He is one of the better face-off guys in his draft class; he can be trusted in all zones, and his defensive play is miles ahead of a lot of other players his age. Hillström is outstanding on the penalty kill; he is a strong passer and a strong playmaker, even if he isn’t the flashiest player. He is very rarely out of position, he sees the ice really well and can anticipate what his teammates will do, but also what his opponent is most likely to do, thereby showing off his intelligence on the ice.

Hillstrom is a player whom coaches can trust, his offensive game can be worked on in his continued development, but the player he already is now is a two-way center any team would be lucky to have.

Quinn Beauchesne (Guelph Storm)

Quinn Beauchesne may seem like a reach at the 70th overall pick; plenty of scouts don’t have him ranked till later in the third round, but there is something about his game that I love. The 18-year old defenseman is 6’0” and 187 lbs. He spent this past season with the Guelph Storm in the OHL, where he had 24 points (6 goals and 18 assists) in 49 games. He then played in the U18 Worlds, representing Canada, where he had 4 points (1 goal and 3 assists) in 7 games and went home with the gold medal.

While Beauchesne isn’t the biggest defenseman, he isn’t small either, and his raw skill and skating make him a highly effective player, despite not getting as much attention as some of the other defensemen in this draft class. His skill set is raw, making him one of the sneakier Rangers 3rd round draft targets.

I would consider Beauchesne not only one of the best-skating defensemen in the 2025 draft, but one of the best skaters in the draft, period. His edgework and separation speed put him closer to the same level as NHL skaters, not 18-year old defensemen in junior hockey. He is a strong puck-moving defenseman, something the Rangers seem to struggle with finding. His speed and elusiveness with the puck make him a hard player to catch, which means his opponents often take penalties trying to stop him.

Beauchesne can also play a physical game, but he doesn’t make it his whole game. Beauchesne will play the body, but he will also immediately skate away with the puck, showing a willingness to engage without risking the play itself. He needs to work on his shot selection; it’s the area of his game that is his most obvious weakness, especially because he is such a good passer, but he could increase his offensive output if he worked on better selecting the shots he does take. If he is given a role to fulfill, I believe he can do it well without ending up being a huge boom-or-bust prospect. 

The three players I chose as potential Rangers 3rd round draft targets might come as a surprise to some people, but when coming up with my draft targets list, I noticed a tendency for the organization to go for the safer, more conservative picks in this range. I wanted to stick to players who will be exactly the type of player you would expect when watching them. They are still safe bets in a way, but in reality they are valuable players because every little thing doesn’t need to go right for them to find success. 

Next week, we move onto the second round, where it took me the longest to narrow down my choices for players the Rangers should target. A small spoiler: all of my choices are players who have moved up in a lot of rankings in the last part of the season specifically. I’m excited to get to share the players I have really enjoyed with you, and I hope you are just as excited, too.