The Rangers hit a home run by taking Skjei with the 28th pick in the 2012 draft. They join a surprisingly crowded field of teams taking victory laps after drafting stud defensemen. Stars such as Hampus Lindholm, Jacob Trouba, and Colton Parayko all hail from the same class.
An analytics writer posting under the pen name “DTM About Heart” slotted Skjei eighth in the group.
That sounds a little low, even if Skjei only has one season of experience. Let’s investigate.
Established stars
Three defenders from the 2012 draft stand out with multiple seasons of star-level play.