2025 NHL Draft Series: Rangers 4th round draft targets

The New York Rangers will have two picks in the fourth round of the 2025 NHL Draft this year, neither of them being their own pick — instead, they are both picks they received in trades. They have the 111th overall pick, which they received in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche for Ryan Lindgren, Jimmy Vesey and more, a pick that originally belonged to the Vancouver Canucks. The other pick they have is the 104th overall pick, which they received in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks for Jacob Trouba. There are some solid potential Rangers 4th round draft targets available this year.

2025 NHL Draft Series recaps:

The fourth round and above is where I believe things start to get really interesting. This is where we see the most fluctuation between a player’s ranking and where they are actually drafted. I will be giving a range of different types of players and positions for this round. Some of these players might be reaches, some of them might be wishful thinking to still be available in the fourth round, but what is true for all of them is that it is very hard to predict when exactly players in this range will be picked.

L.J. Mooney (USNTDP)

L.J. Mooney is the type of prospect that teams should be falling over themselves to draft, but because he is 5’7” and 157 lbs, he will likely fall farther in the draft than he should. Mooney is fast, he is flashy, and he is unafraid. Playing for the United States National Team Development Program this season, Mooney collected 79 points (15 goals and 64 assists) in 77 games, then he added 11 points (2 goals and 9 assists) in 7 games at the U18 World Championship. Like most other small players, his obvious skill is always marked with an asterisk due to his size, and it’s something that will definitely affect where he ends up getting drafted. 

Mooney is a great puck handler; he sees the ice really well and he can create offense out of thin air. While he has good speed and is an above average skater in my opinion, he doesn’t have the elite skating that similar skilled, small players have, and that is a worry when it comes to his transition to the NHL. He is a higher-risk pick the earlier in the draft he goes, but I think he is worth taking a chance on in the fourth round because if it weren’t for his size, based on his skillset alone, he would be drafted in the first round.

While Monney has struggled with some injuries the last couple of seasons, I think he is the exact type of player that fans will describe as a steal of the draft in a few years. The Rangers as a team have taken risks in the draft plenty of times before, but this one has a higher chance than usual of actually paying off.

Lasse Boelius (Ässät)

Lasse Boelius is one of the draft-eligible prospects I have had my eye on for the longest time. The Finnish defenseman is 6’1” and 187 lbs. Boelius spent most of this season playing with the Ässät U20 team where he had 19 points (4 goals and 15 assists) in 36 games. He also managed to play a few games with the Ässät team in Liiga. He had two points, both assists, in seven games while in the Finnish top league.

It doesn’t stop there. Boelius also represented Finland throughout the season and managed to put up 18 points (5 goals and 13 assists) across 19 games for his country, including 6 points  during the U18 Worlds that took place in Texas in April.

Boelius is one of the more underrated defensive prospects in this draft class. He combines really strong skating with near-elite passing and outstanding hockey IQ. The result of that is a strong and steady young defenseman. Boelius is not only a strong skater; I would argue that his agility, separation speed and edgework make him one of the better defensemen in transition in the 2025 draft class. He isn’t the most physical player, but he doesn’t need to be because he is so much smarter than he gets credit for.

Boelius is good under pressure, he can be relied on to quarterback a power play, and he is an elite passer who sees the ice extremely well. His rankings are a little bit all over the place, but he would be a steal in the fourth round if he is available. 

Jacob Rombach (University of Minnesota)

Jacob Rombach is the type of defenseman teams like the Rangers fall over themselves to draft. Rombach is 6’6” and 201 lbs. This past season he played for the Lincoln Stars in the USHL where he put up 18 points (3 goals and 15 assists) in 64 games during the regular season and his team’s brief playoff run. Rombach improved his game greatly from the season before, which is a really promising sign for his continued development. He is committed to play for the Gophers at the University of Minnesota next year.

Rombach is a big, steady, defensive-minded defenseman,  which is something a lot of teams, including the Rangers, still place a lot of value on. He played big minutes this past season, with a significant portion of them being short-handed, as he was on his team’s first unit for the penalty kill.

While his game isn’t flashy and he won’t have the offensive upside some other defensemen in his draft class will, he is willing to sacrifice his body and he is outstanding at breaking up opponents’ entries into the offensive zone. This makes him a highly effective stay-at-home defenseman.

Despite his size, Rombach plays a relatively clean and simple game; he isn’t afraid to hit, but he doesn’t rely on his size to be physically imposing. While that can be seen as a knock on his game, especially by more traditional hockey fans, I believe it makes him a better player.

Rombach can be taught how to be more physical in college, but without making it the focus of his play to an extent where other parts of his game end up lacking. He is a skilled defenseman and there would be little to no risk in drafting him in the fourth round. 

Mikkel Eriksen (Färjestad BK J20)

Mikkel Eriksen is the youngest player available in the draft this year. Born on September 13th, 2007, he just barely made the cut-off for the 2025 draft class. The Norwegian center is 5’11” and 185 lbs. This past season, Eriksen played for the Färjestad BK J20 at the highest level of junior hockey in Sweden, where he had 45 points (23 goals and 22 assists) in 42 games including playoffs.

Eriksen ended up playing in the playoffs for the J18 team as well, where he had 6 points (3 goals and 3 assists) in 3 games. He also represented Norway in some international games this season; he played in U18 Worlds and had 4 points (2 goals and 2 assists) in 5 games.

The New York Rangers are no strangers to drafting one of the youngest players in the draft; they did it with Adam Sykora in 2022, and I think Eriksen is another great candidate. The biggest compliment to Eriksen’s game is that he is mature; he doesn’t play like he is younger than the rest of the draft class. He is a reliable and steady center who, when needed, can be just as effective on the wing. He is strong offensively, but not at the cost of his defensive play; he can be trusted with the puck in every zone. He is a shoot-first guy; it’s the reason he led his team in goals this season.

One area of his game that could use work is his skating. By no means is he a bad skater, but in a heavier and stronger league like the NHL, it won’t be as easy for him to outpace or outplay his opponents like he can in juniors. The good news is that because he is so young, there is plenty of time for him to focus and work on what his game is lacking, but the raw skill is already there. As long as you are patient with him, he could be a great middle-round pick. 

Michal Svrcek (Brynäs IF)

Michal Svrcek is a prospect on whom there are a lot of differing opinions. The Slovak forward is 5’10” and 176 lbs. He spent this past season playing between Brynäs IF J20, where he had 34 points (16 goals and 18 assists) in 33 games, and the main Brynäs team, where he had 5 points (1 goal and 4 assists) in 27 games.

Like a few other prospects on this list, he represented Slovakia at the U18 Worlds and had 4 points (2 goals and 2 assists) in 7 games for his country. Similar to fellow countryman and current Rangers prospect Adam Sykora, Svrcek is often described as being a high-energy player, and I absolutely agree with that assessment. 

One of the biggest strengths of Svrcek’s game is his skating; he is an above average skater with outstanding edge control, giving him the ability to separate himself from opponents in the blink of an eye. He is also a strong passer and great at puck handling, which allows him to create offense that others might not be able to. Svrcek got a decent amount of special teams time and proved himself to not only be trustworthy in the offensive zone, but in all three zones.

Despite being on the smaller side, he plays like he is half a foot taller, never shying away from contact and generally making himself known all over the ice. There will be plenty of time for Svrcek to bulk up before he makes the jump to the NHL, too. While there is no questioning his awareness and effort, he does sometimes go for risky plays, so improving his management of the puck will do wonders for his game. Overall, I think he is a player with a lot more strengths than weaknesses. 

Viggo Nordlund (IK Oskarshamn)

Viggo Nordlund is probably one of the most underrated players in the 2025 draft. The Swedish forward is one of the older first-year eligible players, as his birthday was just one week after the cutoff for the 2024 draft. Nordlund is 5’9” and 168 lbs, which has him as one of the smaller players available. He spent the season between Skellefteå AIK J20 where he had 61 points (30 goals and 31 assists) in 46 games including playoffs and Skellefteå AIK, the main team in the SHL, where he had 1 assist in 22 games.

While the dip in production when he was up in the SHL compared to when he was down in the junior league is a little bit concerning, he is still a young player, and the experience of playing in the Swedish top league was useful to help him develop his game. 

I would consider Nordlund one of the stronger offensive talents in the draft; he creates so many chances and his hockey IQ is off the charts. He sees the ice very well and is outstanding at reading his opponents to ensure their chances are limited. Nordlund is an exceptional skater and on top of that, his skating seems effortless; he can keep up with almost anyone on the ice — something that is needed when you are a smaller player like he is.

I tend to not want to make comparisons to existing NHL players in these draft predictions, but he very much reminds me of Mats Zuccarello.

Nordlund definitely needs to bulk up to remain effective at a higher level of play than he is currently playing, but I think he has a higher ceiling than some scouts think — he has been left off a lot of the bigger names’ rankings for this draft class. If Nordlund was a couple of inches taller and maybe 15-20 lbs heavier, he would likely be going in the first round. Sadly he can’t change his height, so that means some team is going to get an outstanding player in the middle of the draft because of it, and the Rangers should be that team. 

It was so hard to choose only six players I think would fit the Rangers, and some of these guys may go earlier or later in the draft, but I feel like the fourth round works well for them, especially for the smaller players who may seem like riskier picks to fans.

Unfortunately the selections will only get harder from here as we move on to the first three rounds of the draft, but I am already working hard to find the players that not only best fit the Rangers’ organizational needs, but are also realistic choices in the range of where their remaining picks are. It’s the final stretch; the draft is just over three weeks away and we still don’t know if the Rangers are keeping their first round pick, so we all have a nerve-wracking few weeks coming up.