NY Rangers Fast-Rising Prospect Has Made Drastic Improvements

Apr 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; A Zamboni ice resurfacer cleans the ice before the first period of a game between the Washington Capitals and the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

NY Rangers Fast-Rising Prospect Has Made Drastic Improvements

Originally posted on New York Rangers On SI
By Julia Ruocchio | Last updated Sep 5, 2026 8:00 PM ET

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Nathan Aspinall, a 6-foot-7, left-shot winger prospect in the New York Rangers organization, is ranked the No. 6 prospect in the Rangers’ system after being unranked last year. He was drafted in the fifth round (159th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft.

The 20-year-old is coming off a fantastic year with the Flint Firebirds, a season in which he scored 94 points, the second-most points in the OHL, which came from 33 goals and 61 assists in 65 total games. He doubled his point total from the previous season before going off in the playoffs by scoring 17 more points on 10 goals and seven assists in eight games.

Aspinall led the Firebirds to a franchise-best 44-17-4-3 record and was their captain and top-scoring player.

Flint’s coach, Paul Flache, spoke highly of their leader, Aspinall, highlighting the work that he puts in.

Nathan Aspinall has taken impressive step in development

“There is no secret to his success,” Flache said, via Vincent Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic (subscription required). “He’s obviously 6-foot-7, and he’s got a special talent and special IQ. But he worked and worked and worked.”

Aspinall did not see much action during his first year with the Firebirds, but not long after, Flache realized the potential he did not see in him originally.

“His skill set was always there,” Flache said. “He’s a big man, rangy, very good puck skills, very, very good vision — and so you knew over time, he was going to grow into his body. … Those summers, you see them go from a boy to a man sometimes. That’s what we noticed, was just when he came to camp, he had grown up and matured, and the confidence grew from year to year.”

The general manager of an opposing OHL club, the Barrie Colts, Marty Williamson, also had positive things to say about Aspinall and touched upon the improvements he saw from him during his OHL career.

Nathan Aspinall still has room to grow and develop

“He was kind of gangly early and not as coordinated, (but) he just kept getting better and better,” said Williamson. “I didn’t think he was going to have the kind of year that he had in his final year. I liked him but I always kind of went, ‘Yeah, he’s a player in the league and is going to be a long (term) project.’ And he took a big, big step last year.”

While Flache saw the amount of improvement Aspinall made during his OHL career, he believes there is still work left to do. Despite having this breakthrough season and showing the amount of improvement that he did, Flache touched upon one aspect that he believes will take Aspinall to the next level.

“The next evolution is getting even stronger to be able to go against men, rather than being one of the stronger guys [in the OHL],” Flache said.

New York took a flyer on Aspinall, drafting him relatively late in the draft in 2024. With the drastic improvements he’s shown already, the Rangers should be very excited about Aspinall’s future and what’s to come for the 20-year-old.

This article first appeared on New York Rangers On SI and was syndicated with permission.

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