2018 NHL Draft: New York Rangers Select Nils Lundkvist 28th Overall

Following a trade to move up from the 26th overall pick and selecting K’Andre Miller, the New York Rangers closed out their first round by selecting Nils Lundkvist. The Rangers rounded out their first round selections with a puck-moving defenseman in Lundkvist, who spent last season with Luleå HF of the Swedish Hockey League.

In our scouting report of Lundkvist, Adam, Alex, and Tobias all characterize Lundkvist as a puck-moving defenseman who thrives off of his strong skating ability.

Tobias:
Lundkvist is a puck moving right-handed defenseman who is a very good skater and has good offensive instincts. That said, his best quality in my eyes though is his hockey IQ; he’s a very smart player both on and off the puck. The way he sees the ice on the offensive side is right at the top of this draft class among his defensive peers, and doing so at his age in the SHL is incredibly impressive.

Alex:
Lundkvist is a proficient puck-moving defensemen who uses strong wheels and high-end smarts to push the pace in all situations. He lacks the similar flash of fellow Swedish blueliner Adam Boqvist but carries few of the same question marks given his consistently solid play in all three zones and draft-year acumen at the senior level.

With the Rangers officially done for the night after making three selections in the first round, they will return tomorrow to make their final six selections to close out the draft.