Rangers sign first-round pick Alberts Smits to entry-level contract

The Rangers have signed their first-round draft pick, Latvian defenseman Alberts Smits, to a three-year, entry level contract, the team announced Wednesday afternoon.

Smits, the No. 5 overall pick, was considered the most NHL ready of the group of elite defensemen who were available in the draft. He played for Jukurit in the Finnish pro league, and then, when his team knew it wouldn’t make the playoffs, he was loaned to Munich, of the German league. He also played for Latvia in the World Junior Championships, the Olympics, and the men’s World Championships.

“There's not many kids his age, drafted, who have played in two different men's pro leagues, Olympics, World Championships,’’ Rangers GM Chris Drury said on his Zoom call with reporters July 1. “It certainly doesn't get (to be) bigger stages than those events he participated in.’’

Rangers director of player development Tanner Glass said at Prospect Development Camp earlier this month that he agreed that Smits, 18, was close to NHL ready.

“He's got some habits, just that you see in people that are much more mature, the way the way he surrounds the puck, the way he moves the puck, the way he kind of commands the ice,’’ Glass said. “He's confident in his abilities, and he's got a commanding presence on the ice, which is really nice to see in that age.’’

Smits is expected to be at training camp in September, and if he plays well enough, he could have a shot to make the opening night roster, though Drury said the team wouldn’t rush him.

“He's obviously a terrific prospect, but with that said, we're gonna do right by him,’’ Drury said. “This is not a sprint for him. We hope he's a rock-solid defenseman for the Rangers for the next 15 years. We won't put him in any positions or situations that he can't handle.’’

The top five appear to be set in the Rangers’ defense after Drury acquired defenseman Sean Durzi from Utah in the Vincent Trocheck deal on July 1, traded Will Borgen to Boston and traded for Marcus Pettersson from Vancouver that same day, then signed restricted free agent Braden Schneider to a one-year deal on Monday.

Vladislav Gavrikov and Adam Fox will be the top defense pair, and Pettersson-Durzi will be the second pair. Smits, who is 6-3 and 205 pounds had six goals and 13 points in 38 games for Jukurit and six points in 11 playoff games for Munich. He could challenge for the sixth spot as Schneider’s partner on the third pair. His main competition for that spot would be Matthew Robertson and Urho Vaakanainen.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.