Rangers To Carry Alberts Smits On Opening Night Roster

By Josh Erickson | at September 27, 2026 5:55 pm 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…