Rangers sign 5th overall pick Alberts Smits to 3 year entry level contract

The New York Rangers have signed 2026 1st round pick Alberts Smits to his 3 year entry level contract. Smits was taken 5th overall in the 2026 NHL Draft, with some minor controversy as Chase Reid was still on the board. That said, the Rangers got themselves perhaps the best defenseman in the draft. Smits is an elite skater with great hands and size who is just an animal on the ice. He plays with that mean streak that many love, and he’s projected to be a top pair defenseman.

It’s still unclear what the Rangers will be doing with Smits this season. It appears they want him to jump into the lineup right away, but there’s a benefit to starting him in the AHL first. Ryan McDonagh played half a season in the AHL before becoming an absolute rock on the Rangers blue line for the better part of a decade. So there’s at least some precedence in starting Alberts Smits in the AHL. That said, McDonagh was nowhere near the skater Smits is, and McDonagh is no slouch on his feet.