Rangers To Carry Alberts Smits On Opening Night Roster

The Rangers have informed reigning fifth overall pick Alberts Smits that he’ll break camp, reports Mollie Walker of the New York Post. The 18-year-old defender is one of five 2026 draft picks still left on NHL rosters before tomorrow’s submission deadline, joining the Maple Leafs’ Gavin McKenna (#1 overall), the Sharks’ Ivar Stenberg (#2), the Jets’ Viggo Bjorck (#8), and the Ducks’ Nikita Klepov (#15).

Smits was the second defender off the board last June, one pick after the Sabres selected Daxon Rudolph as the first blue-liner taken in what was viewed as a deep class. He’s the first Rangers pick to break camp in his post-draft season since 2020 first-overall pick Alexis Lafrenière, and he’ll presumably be the first 18-year-old defenseman to play for the Blueshirts since Dave Maloney 52 years ago. He’ll do so after a preseason that saw Smits post an assist and a +2 rating in three outings.

That’s not to say Smits lacks professional experience. The Latvian defender made his Finnish pro league debut with Jukurit in his age-16 season before splitting last season between them and EHC Munich in Germany. It’s certainly not unheard of for a defender to jump from Europe to the North American pros in his post-draft season, but it’s usually preceded by some AHL seasoning before an NHL debut. That won’t be the case for Smits, who’s been taking line rushes on the third pairing alongside Braden Schneider throughout camp.

Prospect evaluators were split on Smits’ profile. Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff ranked him the #14 prospect in the league over the offseason, while some left him out of their pre-draft top 10 entirely because of concerns about his decision-making at NHL speed. Nonetheless, he almost universally projects as a future top-four threat in Manhattan, giving them a mobile second-pairing anchor behind (or potentially with) the top-flight Adam Fox.

Smits was exceptional for Latvia at the 2026 World Juniors, posting a goal and four assists in five games. He also added six assists in 12 games for the senior team across the Olympics and World Championship. In 43 club games with Jukurit and Munich, he had a 6-8–14 scoring line with a -3 rating.

It’s clear the Rangers won’t over-extend Smits early on. He may dress on opening night against the Bruins, but with the Rangers slated to carry eight defensemen out of the gate, he should be part of a rotating cast on the bottom pairing with Matthew Robertson and Scott Morrow until one of them takes the reins.