BUFFALO, N.Y. — A day before most NHL Scouting Combine testing began, Chase Reid walked into the seventh-floor lobby of the LECOM Harborcenter Marriott wearing a newly purchased hat. He’d recently been in his home state of Michigan when he spotted it in the window of Lids: a “The Simpsons”-themed cap with the show’s title-card clouds on the inside, Bart and Lisa on the sides and a yellow New York Yankees logo on the front.“I was like, ‘I’ve gotta buy one!'” Reid said Friday.A few hours later, Alberts Šmits strode into the same lobby with a Yankees cap of his own — this one with the trademark NY in black.Both 18-year-olds are top draft prospects, and both could get plenty of use out of their hats depending on what happens at the draft later this month. The New York Rangers have the No. 5 pick, and team president and general manager Chris Drury could use it on either highly touted defenseman.The Rangers haven’t owned a lottery pick since the 2021 draft, when they selected Brennan Othmann at No. 16. (Othmann was technically the 15th player selected; Arizona had been stripped of the No. 11 pick.) New York hasn’t picked in the top five since taking Alexis Lafrenière with the No. 1 selection in 2020.All of that adds to the stakes of this month’s draft, which will also be held here in Buffalo. It’s been half a decade since the Rangers were given a chance to infuse their prospect pool with this high-end of a prospect. For a team in a self-declared retool, nailing the pick is imperative.At this point, the Rangers selecting one of the four top defensive prospects — Reid, Šmits, Carson Carels or Keaton Verhoeff — feels like the most likely outcome. The Athletic met with each of them one-on-one at the combine, so let’s dig into what each could bring to the Rangers, as well as some wild-card options for the fifth pick.Carson Carels, LHD, Prince George (Western Hockey League)Scott Wheeler’s latest Top 100: No. 7Corey Pronman’s latest mock draft: No. 5 (Rangers)If a Rangers fan goes to the draft hoping to see the No. 5 pick in person, they better hope the team doesn’t select Carels. He’s planning on watching with his loved ones from the family farm in Cypress River, Manitoba, about an hour outside of Brandon.“My mom and dad’s parents might not have a passport even,” Carels said. “It would be nice to share that moment on the farm.”Plus, he won’t have to miss much farming time. He described himself as “very involved” with the work his family does on the 6,000-acre farm, home to over 1,000 cows, 150 goats and around 100 other animals.“I’d like to say I can run the whole thing, even though Dad sometimes says otherwise,” Carels said.The farm was a topic of conversation when Carels interviewed with the Rangers at the combine. New York staffers asked him about the best and worst jobs on the farm — his favorite is anything involving the cows; his least favorite is waiting for sprayers to fill with water — and how he’d feel about transitioning from a sparsely populated area to a major city.“I’m just a country kid, not too used to big cities,” the 17-year-old said, sporting a belt buckle engraved with a cattle head. “But when you’re in the country, you kind of learn how to fight adversity. I think there would be a lot of things I don’t agree with in a city, but I know I could live there and be a part of there and play hockey every day. That’s kind of the thing that took my mind off that.”As a player, there’s plenty to like with Carels, who turns 18 later this month. He made Canada’s World Juniors team as an underage player this season, and put up 20 goals and 73 points in 58 games for Prince George. He’s listed at 6-foot-2 and committed to North Dakota.“Carels’ heavy, competitive style to go with some offense will certainly fit what the Rangers like from their defenders,” Pronman wrote in his mock draft. Wheeler described Carels as a strong skater who plays with a meanness to his game, writing that he probably won’t run a top power-play unit at the NHL level. But that’s OK for the Rangers, who already have Adam Fox.