We’re well into NHL mock draft season, and I have to admit, I’m a sucker for it.That’s especially true this spring. It’s been six years since the New York Rangers held a lottery pick, so I’ve been nerding out on all the possibilities.I’ve spent time talking to scouts and various people around the league about prospects to watch with the Rangers’ two first-round picks — first at No. 5, then at No. 26. But I also find it fascinating to consider how the entire 2026 NHL Draft could play out. New York holds 11 total selections, its highest number since 2004, presenting a golden opportunity to restock a prospect pool in dire need of reinforcements.It’s impossible to predict how the first round will unfold, let alone Rounds 2-7. But through the power of the internet, we can have some fun trying.Mock draft simulators have grown in popularity over the years, with several options for fans who want to play GM. It’s an imperfect science that usually relies on consensus rankings, which don’t necessarily reflect how all teams view these prospects. But I tested a handful in the last couple of weeks and found a few that were user-friendly enough and helped explore different scenarios. Among them were PuckPedia, Upside Hockey and HockeyMockDraft.com, with the last including additional features that I enjoyed, most notably the ability to send and receive trade offers.So, as an exercise in analyzing which prospects might be available to the Rangers on June 26-27 in Buffalo, I used HockeyMockDraft.com to simulate a complete seven-round draft and put myself in the decision-making chair for every New York selection. Here’s how it went.First roundNo. 5 — Chase Reid, RHD, Soo (OHL)Before the draft even began, I had two trade proposals waiting. The Florida Panthers offered picks Nos. 9, 40 and 98 to move up to No. 5, while the St. Louis Blues put Nos. 11, 31 and 76 on the table.Florida’s package added up to 45.29 on PuckPedia’s Perri Pick Value Calculator, which assigns numerical value to each pick, while St. Louis checked in at 45.07. I declined both offers since neither added up to the 50.13 value of the No. 5 pick — but even if they had, I still likely would have said no. The Rangers need top-end talent, and the higher the pick, the better their chance of landing it.In that spirit, I offered San Jose picks Nos. 5, 63 and 92 to jump up to No. 2, which the Sharks predictably declined. It’s notable that the site doesn’t allow you to offer players, only picks, so I couldn’t get more creative and include someone like defenseman Braden Schneider. But it does have a meter that shows whether a team will accept or reject a proposal before sending, and even packaging Nos. 5 and 26 wasn’t enough to get a “yes” from San Jose. I’m not sure if I would have done that anyway, let alone sweeten the pot even further, so I decided to stand pat.It worked out pretty well. The forwards I had hoped for all went in the top-three picks — Gavin McKenna at No. 1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ivar Stenberg at No. 2 to the Sharks and Caleb Malhotra at No. 3 to the Vancouver Canucks — but the Chicago Blackhawks threw a bit of a curveball by selecting defenseman Carson Carels at No. 4. That left Reid as a fairly obvious choice with the fifth pick.