By Warren Kozireski —
New York had nine selections over the second day of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and used them to stock up on forwards, taking six overall.
The Rangers began by trading former first round pick Lias Andersson to Los Angles in exchange for the 60th overall pick in the second round and selected Windsor- (OHL) left wing William Cuylle.
6’3” and 204 lb. Cuylle racked up 22 goals and 20 assists in 62 games this past season. Ranked 34th among North American Skaters, he ranked fifth among OHL rookies with 26 goals in 2018-19, the most by a Windsor rookie since Alexander Khokhlachev in 2010-11 and helped Team Canada earn silver at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup (2-1—3 in 5 games).
“I was really excited…me and my family shared a great moment there,” Cuylle said to NHL Network about being selected. “I hope to bring m size and strength. Playing physical and taking it to every opponent I can will help me be successful.”
Late in the third round, with the pick acquired as part of the Mat Zuccarello deal, New York drafted center Oliver Tarnstrom. He is the son of Dick, an 11th-round pick by the New York Islanders in 1994 who recorded 140 points in 306 regular-season games as a defenseman with the Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Tarnstrom skated in 41 games with AIK’s J20 team in SuperElit this past season, registering 11 goals and 23 assists for 34 points.
103rd overall in the fourth round, the Rangers went with goaltender Dylan Garand, a Kamloops (WHL) product, who set a team record for lowest goals against average in the regular season (2.21). Just 6’0”, 173 lb. he is a bit undersized compared to many goaltender prospects of late.
Center Evan Vierling was their first of two fifth round selections (127th overall). The slim center had a solid first OHL campaign with Flint and Barrie (OHL) with a combined 44 points in 53 games.
Their second fifth rounder (134th overall) was left wing Brett Berard. Standing just 5’9”, 155 lb. on draft day, the Rhode Island native netted 34 points over 41 games with the NTDP program and is headed to Providence College. His father, David, is in his seventh season as head hockey coach at Holy Cross and was a goaltender at Providence.
In the sixth round 165th overall, the Rangers selected huge center Matt Rempe via Seattle in the WHL. The 6’8”, 205 lb. right shot is coming off a breakout campaign with 12 goals and 31 points with 53 penalty minutes over 47 games in his first Jr. A season.
Wit their final section in the seventh round 197th overall, New York took 6’7”, 220lb. Swedish goaltender Hugo Ollas. A career-long product of the Linköping program, he has begun this year with a 2.40 goals against average over the first seven games with HC J20 after performing much the same last season.
(NHL.com photo of Rangers)
