After nabbing offensive sniper Oliver Wahlstrom with the #9 overall pick, the New York Rangers continue to load up on offense taking Martin Kaut from the Czech Extraliga.
Kaut, a right-handed winger is a a smart, deceptive playmaker who has the ability to set up his teammates down low or surprise with a crafty wrist shot from the circles. The Czech-native is the second winger New York has taken in the first round, helping the replacement of departed Rick Nash, Michael Grabner and J.T Miller at the trade deadline.
His offensive prowess isn’t is only strong suit, though, as he’s been known to pull his best Pavel Datsyuk impression by swiping pucks from unsuspecting forwards breaking into the zone. Alex Nunn of Blueshirt Banter described his craftiness, reporting he “pickpockets possession from opposing defensemen, tracks back to snuff out developing neutral-zone chances, and battles hard for pucks in his own end”
Going at #26 overall, Kaut was ranked #14 by hockeyprospect.com, #22 by Future Considerations, #13 by ISS Hockey, #20 by McKeen’s Hockey and #4 by NHL Central Scouting (ranking just the European skaters) via Elite Prospects.
Kaut’s value seemed to dip a bit after word got out about potential heart conditions. He’s fine now and has been medically cleared by doctors, but he wasn’t able to participate in any of the physical testing at the NHL combine this year. He has since gone under an ablation procedure to fix his condition. The issues seemed as if it wouldn’t have an impact on his draft status, but with an average position of 17th from the aforementioned rankings, it appears some GM’s weren’t ready to take that chance.
General Manager Jeff Gorton & Co though are ready to see what weapons the 18-year-old has ready to bring to the World’s Most Famous Arena.
With two wingers in their first two picks (#9 and #26 overall) the Rangers will be back on the clock at #28. It will be interesting to see if they go to a defensive position to round out their three first-round picks or if they want to see who is still available and continue to recruit offensive firepower.
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