Rangers continue to stockpile more size on second day of 2024 NHL Draft

LAS VEGAS — The Rangers are collecting players listed at 6-foot-5 and above like trading cards.

Such has been a theme of the past two NHL drafts for the Rangers, who took their third towering skater in two years in 6-foot-7 left wing Nathan Aspinall with the 159th-overall pick in the fifth round of the 2024 draft at The Sphere on Saturday.

Aspinall, who has played for the Flint Firebirds in the Ontario Hockey League the past two seasons, joins a Rangers depth chart that already features a multitude of vertically gifted players who have seemingly piled up over the past few years.

“[Size] is certainly helpful,” said John Lilley, the Rangers’ director of personnel and amateur scouting. “There’s plenty of excellent small players out there, but the size is definitely a benefit, especially when you look at the playoffs and the harder games. You have to play big, as well, but it’s nice to start out being big and then using that size to your advantage.”

The fact that the 6-8 ½ Matt Rempe and the 6-7 Adam Edstrom popped out of the pipeline this past season and used their enormous on-ice presences to make an impact, the Rangers evidently didn’t mind adding another player of similar stature to their collection.

Both Rempe and Edstrom were drafted by the Rangers in the sixth round, 165th overall in 2020 and 161st overall in 2019, respectively.