1) Chytil - Chytil is our youngest prospect, has the most impressive production regardless of age, and is our closest prospect to the NHL. He has elite size, skating ability, and playmaking ability and he defends responsibly. He's not only the best shot we have at an elite player, he's also the player who is most likely to be an NHL'er. If he were in the draft this year, I think he'd in the conversation with Svechnikov and Zadina for the 2, 3, or 4 picks. Their NHL equivalent production is 0.46 ppg (Svechnikov), 0.36 ppg (Zadina), and 0.35 ppg (Chytil). Chytil is 2 months older than Zadina and 6 months older than Svechnikov, but he plays a more valuable position and is performing at a level that's closer to the NHL.
2) Andersson - Andersson has also had impressive production in pro men's leagues and was great at the WJC, but he's 11 months older than Chytil, struggled at the beginning of his SHL season, and is a slower, smaller skater. Chytil has seemed to outperform him in prospect camp, NHL preseason, and the AHL.
3) Howden - his production at the WJC and in the OHL / AHL has been pretty comparable to Andersson's while there are similar questions about whether his skating ability and skill level will be above average. He also profiles similarly in terms of character and defensive responsibility. He's bigger, but he's 6 months older and another season out of the draft. Age / runway to develop trump size for me.
4) Rykov - He's already playing on an NHL-caliber team, he was in consideration for the Russian Olympic team that won the Gold medal at 20 years old, he wore a letter and scored a ppg at the WJC. He might not be elite offensively, but he's produced points at both the WJC and in the KHL and he has size and skates well. Strikes me as very similar to Hajek, just a year and a level closer to the NHL. In general, D prospects are tougher to project than forwards.
5) Hajek - Was the Czech teams best defenseman at the WJC and held his own against the best players his age while scoring more than a ppg. Point production in the WHL is unexceptional, but size and skating ability are strong and has the potential to be a shut-down type defender.
6) Shestyorkin - Nothing against him specifically, but goalies are just tougher to predict and only a few exceptions are as valuable as top players at other positions in the NHL.
The big issue with our farm system for me is that outside of Chytil, I think most of our best prospects seem to have ceilings as #2 centers / defensemen, and typically you need elite #1 type players to win the cup. If the Rangers are going to get the elite #1 type players they need to be a strong cup contender, I think they'll need some luck in the draft, prospect development, and/or trades in the future.