Throughout the week, The Athletic outlined the main prospects the New York Rangers could target in the 2026 NHL Draft, with a focus on defensemen who will be in the best-player-available conversation with the No. 5 pick: Carson Carels, Alberts Šmits, Chase Reid and Keaton Verhoeff. To end the series, we’ll dig into some wild cards: players with a lower, but non-zero, chance of getting selected by New York.What’s available to the Rangers on June 26 in Buffalo, N.Y., will be dictated by what happens with the four picks in front of them. Penn State winger Gavin McKenna is the presumed No. 1 pick, which would land him in Toronto, while an Eastern Conference scout, speaking on the condition of anonymity to freely opine on the draft, said that “all (signs) point to Vancouver going with (center Caleb) Malhotra” at No. 3. Those opinions are largely shared throughout the industry.There’s more uncertainty surrounding the San Jose Sharks at No. 2 and the Chicago Blackhawks at No. 4. League sources have indicated that both teams are willing to listen to offers for their picks, but recent history tells us a trade is unlikely. A top-two pick has been traded only five times since the NHL introduced the draft lottery in 1995, with no such deals occurring since 2003, according to NHL Stats.The Sharks are seeking plug-and-play defensemen to bolster a blue line that only has three players with NHL experience under contract for next season. They acquired one on Wednesday in a deal that brought Michael Kesselring from the Buffalo Sabres, which may decrease the urgency to trade back.Who can the Rangers draft at No. 5?Peter BaughIs that enough to tempt San Jose general manager Mike Grier to add to his riches of forwards by selecting Malhotra or Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg? The Sharks are considered one of the hardest teams to read in the pre-draft process, but most believe they’ll still lean defense at No. 2.“They need a right-shot D to play with (lefty Sam) Dickinson, so that could point to Reid,” the Eastern Conference scout said.That could be an ideal scenario for the Blackhawks, who are believed to be eyeing Stenberg at No. 4. But if the Sharks or Vancouver Canucks snatch him up, Reid is likely the defenseman they’d take at No. 4, according to The Athletic’s Chicago hockey writer Scott Powers.While the order of the top four picks is a major point of curiosity, deductive reasoning tells us that, one way or another, McKenna, Reid, Malhotra and Stenberg figure to all be gone by the time the Rangers go on the clock at No. 5. In that scenario, our reporting suggests that Šmits may be a slight front-runner for New York, with Carels also firmly in the mix. Verhoeff has slipped a bit in the eyes of some scouts due to skating and defensive concerns, but he was once billed as the top defenseman in the class and can’t be ruled out, either.What other longer shot permutations could be in play for New York? Let’s run through what we’re hearing:Caleb Malhotra coveted but unlikely to fallIf Malhotra were to somehow make it to No. 5, he’d be the clear favorite for the Rangers, who we’ve heard are high on the Boston University commit.It would make plenty of sense. New York hasn’t selected a first-round center since 2017, which explains why the position stands as the most glaring need in the team’s prospect pool. And in the eyes of many clubs, Malhotra has emerged as the top player at that critical position in this draft.“That kid’s going to be a hockey player one way or the other,” said a Western Conference scout, also speaking on the condition of anonymity. “Is he going to be a first-line center? Is he going to be a second-line center? I’m not positive, but I just feel like there’s a ton of ceiling there because he’s got so much room to grow into.”