Whom Rangers could draft if they stay at No. 9

DALLAS — The Rangers are in an enviable spot going into the first round of the NHL entry draft starting here Friday night, holding picks Nos. 9, 26 and 28. Also with a bevy of restricted free agents on their roster, general manager Jeff Gorton has quite a bit of flexibility if he wants to make a move — either up or down in the draft, or for a current player.

Leaving the GMs meeting Thursday night, Gorton made it clear he was listening to all options, but he was also comfortable using the picks.

“We intend to use them, but they are in play,” Gorton said. “So as of right now, we’re going to use them, but if something comes up, that’ll change.”

If the moves are contained in the draft, there are some interesting scenarios and players Gorton could pursue. Consider that the Sabres are taking Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin with the No. 1-overall selection, while Carolina (No. 2) and Montreal (No. 3) are likely going to take in some order wingers Andrei Svechnikov and Filip Zadina.

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But after that, it seems like the draft opens up a bit in terms of who might go where. Ottawa is likely to stay at No. 4, and the same with Arizona at No. 5. But Detroit very well could be looking to move back from its spot at No. 6, and if Gorton can get his Red Wings counterpart, Ken Holland, to swap picks with some sort of sweetener — say, one of Gorton’s two second-rounders or two third-rounders — then the Rangers could move themselves into a terrific position.

That would likely only happen if the Blueshirts are in love with a player still available, like Canadian defenseman Evan Bouchard (87 points as the captain of OHL London this past season) or Brady Tkachuk (the gritty Boston University winger who would reunite with his old coach in the Rangers’ new headman, David Quinn).

There is a group of players who might fall to the Rangers if they just wait at No. 9, and Gorton made it clear that he was going to be fine if they stayed there.

“I think our scouts have said that since Day 1, that it’s [a] really deep [draft],” Gorton said. “Our pick at 9, we’re really comfortable if we stayed there, what’s there.”

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That could mean Quinn Hughes, the undersize left-handed defenseman from the University of Michigan; or Oliver Wahlstrom, the 18-year-old winger committed to play at Boston College next season; or Noah Dobson, the right-handed defenseman out of the QMJHL.

A nice bit of luck would be if Finnish center Jesperi Kotkaniemi fell to them, then Gorton could add more talent and depth down the middle after his two first-rounders from last year — centers Lias Andersson (No. 7) and Filip Chytil (No. 21), both of whom will be expected to compete for roster spots in training camp, if not secure big ice time on Broadway this season.

When considering the later picks in the first, it’s hard to figure just exactly who is going to be left — and if the Rangers are still going to hold those picks by then.

But there is still quite a bit of talent if Gorton does keep the picks, and it would be interesting if the mercurial righty defenseman Ryan Merkley from OHL Guelph is still around. Merkley is considered by many to be the second-most talented blueliner in the draft behind Dahlin, but he had some issues with his junior coach (once getting sent to the locker room in the middle of a game) as well as getting a three-game suspension for an egregious two-handed slash.

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If Merkley is not around or if Gorton decides to pass on him, there is more forward talent with the likes of Swedish winger Jonatan Berggren or center Akil Thomas, a center from OHL Niagara. If defenseman Rasmus Sandin from OHL Sault Ste. Marie is around, Gorton could go there as well.

There are many options for Gorton and the Rangers, but by the end of Friday night, the prospect pipeline could look a lot different.

“We have three [first-round] picks, so that’s drawing interest around the league and you can understand why,” Gorton said. “We’ve been in a situation where we didn’t have a first-round pick and you’re not as popular. This time we have three picks and there are a lot of different scenarios we’re looking at.”