Rangers own the 10th pick in Friday night's NHL draft

LOS ANGELES - In this city driven by the movie industry, where fantasies reign, the Rangers have to be realistic in the NHL entry draft, which begins Friday.

Still smarting after missing the playoffs for the first time since the lockout and hindered by the salary cap, the front office is proclaiming publicly that they want to encourage their youngsters on the roster, develop their prospects and draft well.

But the Rangers do not have a top-two pick to land a game-changer, which is how scouts describe forwards Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin. Neither of them are projected as the second coming of Mario Lemieux, but the teams at 1 and 2, Edmonton and Boston, will be overjoyed to have them. As will the next teams on the ladder, who have a choice of touted defensemen.

At No. 10, the Rangers, who last season scored 222 goals - tied for 20th - will search for future offense. As Gordie Clark, the team's director of player personnel has said, each team rates players after the top five according to need.

The Rangers haven't tipped their hand except to express interest in Vladimir Tarasenko, a skilled Russian teenager playing in the KHL who might not be free to play in the U.S. without a transfer agreement.

Among the others who may be on the board are two forwards for the WHL's Portland Winterhawks: Swiss left wing Nino Neiderreiter and center Ryan Johansen, each of whom have size and can score, and Jeff Skinner, who scored 50 goals in 60 regular-season games and 20 in 20 playoff games in his second OHL season.

Alex Burmistrov, a skilled Russian who played for the Ontario League's Barrie Colts, removing the transfer issue, is another possibility; so is speedy Emerson Etem, a Long Beach, Calif., native who scored 37 times in Medicine Hat.

The Rangers haven't been shy about drafting Americans or Russians. Last season's first-rounder and 19th overall selection, Chris Kreider, is from Boxford, Mass. Center Derek Stepan, from Hastings, Minn., was a second-rounder in 2008. Last year's third-rounder, Ryan Bourque, is from Beverly, Mass.

Evgeny Grachev was a third-round pick in 2008, Artem Anisimov was tabbed in the second round in 2006, and Alexei Cherepanov, who died of a heart condition at 17 while playing in the KHL, was picked 17th overall in 2007.

There are no guarantees at No. 10; since 2000, the spot has been shaky ground.

The pluses: Michal Frolik (Florida, 2006) and Andrei Kostitsyn (Montreal, 2003).

The jury's-still-out guys: Magnus Paajarvi-Svenson (Edmonton, 2009), Brampton's Cody Hodgson (Vancouver, 2008) and Keaton Ellerby (Florida, 2007).

The sad: Dan Blackburn (Rangers, 2001, injured and retired) and Luc Bourdon (Vancouver, 2005, who died in 2008 in a motorcycle crash).

The unfulfilled expectations: Eric Nystrom (Calgary, 2002), 39 points in 204 NHL games.

The misses: D Boris Valabik (Atlanta, 2004) and Mikhail Yakubov (Chicago, 2000).

Beyond the 10th pick Friday night, the Rangers have four Saturday: No. 40, No. 100, No. 130 and No. 160.