I ranked him at 31, and he was a lot higher at points in the draft. To me this is a very safe pick, and excellent value at 49. If you get 2 NHLers in one draft, you did well, and if you get a 3rd, then that's even better. I think Robertson gives the Rangers 2 NHLers this draft without a big question mark.
Here's what I think you are getting:
- A stable 5v5 defenseman that is going to play on the bottom pair
- Solid positional defenseman with great fundamentals
- Very little risk to his game
- A top PK option that can eat 1:30 on every PK
- A smart decision maker who will play the puck in the right areas of the ice
- Going to push for a spot on the WJC-20 team this year, but might not play till next
- Will play two more years of Junior and get high profile minutes
- Going to play in the AHL for 1-2 seasons before getting a look
What's great about this pick is that his strengths align with the Rangers timing, by the time he's ready, the Rangers should have an established top-4 that is eating 45-50 a night.
All in all this was a very smart team building pick. When Robertson is ready the Rangers defense should be able to sell-off Skjei and insert Robertson by 2023, or Robertson becomes a valuable trade chip before then because of the Rangers depth on defense.