Editor’s note: This is the fourth story in a week-long series looking at prospects under consideration for the New York Rangers with the No. 5 pick in the upcoming NHL Draft. Read about University of North Dakota defenseman Keaton Verhoeff, Soo Greyhounds defenseman Chase Reid and Latvian defenseman Alberts Šmits.Carson Carels ranked third among Canadian junior league defensemen in total points this season and second in points per game. Yet that production is usually among the last things mentioned when talking to coaches and scouts about one of the hottest commodities in the 2026 NHL Draft.They value Carels for the details in his game that don’t always show up on the stat sheet.“He’s a defenseman who knows how to play his position,” said Mark Lamb, head coach and general manager for Carels’ WHL team, the Prince George Cougars. “He knows how to play without the puck and he takes pride in playing without the puck. There’s so many kids who should take more pride in that area instead of always looking at the offense, looking at the stats, goals and assists. He doesn’t judge his game by that, and neither do we. He judges his game by how good he is in his own end, his first pass (and) getting pucks to the forwards.”The Cypress River, Manitoba native grew up on a 6,000-acre farm, where he still spends much of his free time tending cattle and working the land. It instilled a grinding mindset that defines a player one Eastern Conference scout referred to as “a throwback.”Added the scout, who was granted anonymity to speak freely about this year’s prospect pool, “We’ve got a lot of rich kids playing hockey now. Give me a farmer all day.”Who can the Rangers draft at No. 5?Peter BaughBut Carels’ game isn’t just about rugged defense or blue-collar toughness. He’s an adept puck-mover as the scoring suggests — he posted 73 points (20 goals and 53 assists) in 58 games for Prince George this season, then another 10 (one goal and nine assists) in 10 playoff contests — and his effortless skating stands out.“I’m a guy (for whom) the offense comes to me after I take care of my own zone,” Carels told The Athletic at the NHL Draft Combine in Buffalo. “It kind of makes me a little more special: just the way I play with aggression and that more hard-nosed game, as well. … When I’m at my best, I’m kind of doing that all.”It’s an exciting combination that makes the University of North Dakota commit a strong consideration for the New York Rangers with pick No. 5 — if he isn’t already gone.The case for CarelsSpokane Chiefs coach Brad Lauer had to do a double-take when he glanced at the time-on-ice sheet following their game against Prince George on Oct. 3, 2025.“All of a sudden, I looked and (Carels) had 38 minutes under his belt,” said Lauer, who would later coach Carels as an assistant for Canada at the 2026 World Juniors. “I was like, ‘Man, oh, man.'”That wasn’t quite the norm, but it also wasn’t unusual for Carels to log a heavy workload for a Cougars squad that relied on him for pretty much everything — from matching up with the best forwards as a shutdown defenseman at five-on-five to being first over the boards for both the power play and penalty kill.