Rangers select winger Gabriel Perreault with No. 23 pick in NHL draft
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — For Gabriel Perreault, who the Rangers drafted 23rd overall Wednesday night at the 2023 NHL Draft, getting to experience his induction into the league on the heels of his spectacular season with the United States National Team Development Program was special.
Not only was Perreault a first-round selection, but so were his linemates on the U.S. National Under-18 Team and future Boston College teammates, Will Smith and Ryan Leonard.
After Smith was taken fourth-overall by the Sharks and Leonard was scooped up by the Capitals at No. 8, Perreault was the last member of one of the most lethal top lines the U.S. U18 team has ever seen to be drafted.
“It’s awesome,” Perreault said of going through this with his Team USA teammates, while donning a freshly stitched Blueshirts jersey. “Those teams got some special players and the same with Chicago with [Oliver Moore]. All three of those guys are my best friends and I’m really happy for them.
“We’re really pumped [to go to BC together]. I think it’ll be really fun.”
The 18-year-old Perreault broke Toronto star Auston Matthew’s USNTDP’s all-time single-season scoring record this past season, posting a staggering 132 points (53 goals, 79 assists) in 63 games.
“He had an amazing year,” said John Lilley, the Rangers’ director of player personnel and director of amateur scouting. “I mean, that team was offensively gifted. He had some good linemates and each game one of those three guys drove the line. It wasn’t like it was just one of them, Gabe was a very important part of that line.
“There were games we were at where he was the guy driving the line. Just a terrific offensive year. I think his game improved away from the puck as well.”
Perreault, who is the first right winger the Rangers have drafted in the first round since Kaapo Kakko in 2019, described himself as a “competitive and creative offensive winger” who likes to create chances for himself and his teammates.
He’s a left shot who usually plays on the right side, where the Blueshirts have been deficient for some time.
Though it wasn’t about drafting for organizational need at No. 23, Lilley said, Perreault was the best available player at that point in the night.
“It’s the hockey sense,” Lilley said of Perreault, whose father, Yanic Perreault, also played in the NHL. “I think he’s an elite hockey-sense guy. He thinks the game one step ahead. He’s got a great stick, great vision, good shot. He’s a dual threat. He can pass, he can shoot. He can score goals. He just stood out with the overall skill level.”
Perreault said he would ideally like to make it to the NHL in two years, after he wins a national championship, of course.
Of the Rangers he’s watched and daydreamed about getting to play alongside someday, Artemi Panarin was at the top of Perreault’s list. Followed by Patrick Kane and Adam Fox.
The timeline for breaking into the NHL, however, is up to Perreault, Lilley said.
The Gabe Perreault file
Drafted: First round (23rd overall)
Height: 5-foot-11 | Weight: 165 pounds
Position: Right wing | Shoots: Left
Born: May 7, 2005 (18 years old)
Country: Canada/United States
— Led the U.S. National Under-18 Team with 132 points (53 goals, 79 assists) on a line with fellow first-round picks Will Smith — taken fourth-overall by the Sharks — and Ryan Leonard — taken eighth overall by the Capitals — winning a gold medal at the IIHF World U18 Championship.
— Father Yanic Perreault played 859 NHL games across 13 seasons, while his brother Jacob was taken 27th overall in the 2020 draft by the Ducks.
— Will play for Boston College next season along with Smith and Leonard.