Rangers add winger Malcolm Spence in second round during busy day at NHL draft

The Rangers’ first pick of the 2025 draft came in the second round, but the player they got was once valued as a first-round selection. 

Left wing Malcolm Spence was selected with pick No. 43 by the Blueshirts, marking the first of eight picks the organization made Saturday in Los Angeles that included five defensemen, two wings and one center. 

Considered a possible late first-rounder, Spence gave some insight into his thinking when he ultimately didn’t hear his name among the first 32 players called in Round 1 on Friday night. 

“When you have expectations for yourself, and obviously there’s expectations from the media and whatnot of where I was going to get picked, but, for me, obviously, I believe in myself,” he said on a Zoom call with reporters from the Peacock Theater on Saturday. “Just because I didn’t get picked [in the first round on Friday], I kind of changed my mindset right after and said, ‘Well, tomorrow’s a new day and you’re in a situation that not a lot of people are in.’ 

“So, for me, it was New York’s first pick. I have some family out there, and it worked out really well. I’m really excited that they took a chance on me and believed in me when a lot of other people didn’t. I’m really excited to get to New York City and get to work.” 

Committed to play at Michigan next season, Spence spent the past three years playing for the Erie Otters in the Ontario Hockey League with the Rangers’ recently acquired prospect Carey Terrance.