Rangers’ Alberts Smits Out With Upper-Body Injury

The New York Rangers made a change to the lineup just before Saturday’s matchup against the Seattle Kraken. Rookie defenseman and reigning fifth-overall pick Alberts Smits was pulled out due to an upper-body injury per Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic. Matthew Robertson made his season debut in Smits’ absence.

Smits will record the first absence of his young NHL career with this news. The 18 year old has struggled through the onset of the season, with no scoring, 12 penalty minutes, and a minus-two in 17 games so far. He has generally stood as New York’s sixth defenseman, recording between 10 and 16 minutes of ice time each game. Smits was lauded for his productive pro appearances last season – marked by 13 points in 38 games in Finland’s Liiga and seven points in 16 games in Germany’ DEL. He also notched two points in four games at the 2026 Winter Olympics and four points in eight games at the World Championship.

Despite a productive draft year that earned Smits the title of most NHL-ready from many draft pundits, the Latvian blue-liner has failed to find his spark in the Rangers lineup just yet. New York is clearly committed to keeping Smits in their rotation – but a brief absence could give the rookie a chance to find the jump that led him to strong scoring last year. He is a mobile, puck-moving defender at his best. A path to production in New York will come after Smits finds a way back into that role at the NHL level.

In the meantime, Robertson will return to the NHL lineup after beginning the year in the minor-leagues. Robertson played through his rookie NHL season last year, recording 18 points and 38 penalty minutes in 72 appearances with the Rangers. A quiet training camp, and Smits’ addition, bumped the 25-year-old Robertson back to the minors – but he stayed near the top of the call-up sheet with two points and a plus-four through the first eight games of the AHL season. Robertson seems stuck in a depth defender role but could be in the mix to fill Smits’ role until he’s back to full health.