Editor’s note: For the second consecutive year, The Athletic’s Vincent Z. Mercogliano and Peter Baugh are doing a series ranking the New York Rangers’ top 10 prospects. The order is based on detailed analysis of the organizational pipeline, along with conversations with evaluators, coaches and many of the players themselves. The aim is to balance where each prospect is on his development path while weighing projected upside over time.Only prospects who maintain rookie eligibility and are yet to reach their second contract are included, bumping previously ranked players such as Noah Laba, Scott Morrow and last year’s No. 1 Gabe Perreault out of consideration.Each of the top 10 will be profiled in a series of stories that begins Monday and concludes Sept. 4. Here are links to previous features:No. 10: Adam Sýkora, LWNo. 9: Drew Fortescue, LDNo. 8: Tomáš Chrenko, COn Aug. 1, 2025, a landmark rule change went into effect for hockey prospects in North America.Previously, when Canadian Hockey League players were ineligible to play NCAA Division I men’s hockey, teenagers were forced to choose one path or the other. Among them was defenseman Ben MacBeath, who was selected by the Kelowna Rockets in the 2023 WHL Prospect Draft but opted to decline and hold out for his future commitment to the University of Denver.With his college freshman status still years away, the Calgary native spent multiple seasons in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League before joining the Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the British Columbia Hockey League in 2024-25. But when the CHL-NCAA ruling came down, the possibility opened for MacBeath to play at least one WHL season.In came the Calgary Hitmen, who had been keeping tabs on the hometown kid for years and aggressively pursued a trade with Kelowna to obtain MacBeath’s rights.“Our philosophy is: When you can bring in a guy like Ben, even if it’s only for a year, it’s still worth it for our program because of the impact he has,” WHL Calgary general manager Cass Bruni told The Athletic. “He leaves wherever he is in a better place.”Can Gabe Perreault get to Nikita Kucherov’s level?Scott Wheeler, Corey Pronman and moreMacBeath left his mark in several categories.He was a revelation on the ice, immediately stepping into an all-situations role and eventually averaging what Bruni estimated was between 25 and 26 minutes per game by the end of the season. But the Hitmen GM raved just as much about the impression MacBeath made off the ice and the positive influence of his large, supportive family. Bruni recalled going up to the suite level in Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome after a game and encountering MacBeath with a group of minor hockey players, volunteering his time to engage with local youth.“It was something he sought after without an initiative from us as an organization,” said Bruni, who also referred to the defenseman as “probably our best student from the education perspective that we’ve ever had.”“He’s a high-90s student who does everything well,” the GM added.Character and smarts have been themes among prospects the New York Rangers have targeted in recent years, but there are plenty of hockey qualities that led to them nabbing MacBeath with a second-round pick in this year’s NHL Draft.