Alberts Šmits Growing ‘More Confident’ As He Continues To Emerge For Rangers

The emergence of Alberts Šmits benefits the New York Rangers’ present and future.

The one silver lining of the Rangers’ abysmal 2025-26 season, in which they finished last in the Eastern Conference, is that they landed the fifth-overall pick in the 2026 NHL draft.

With that selection, they had a number of different directions they could have gone in, but they decided to draft Šmits, who was touted as the most pro-ready defenseman in the draft class.

The expectation going into the season was that the 18-year-old defenseman would start the year playing for the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League, but that wasn’t his plan. 

Šmits stood out throughout the team’s two-week shortened training camp and the preseason, as he earned a spot on the Rangers’ opening-night roster, something he wasn't surprised about in the slightest.

“Yeah, obviously,” Šmits said of whether he expected to make the team. “That’s why I came here.” 

After five games, the Rangers currently hold a 4-1 record, and Šmits has played a large part in the team’s recent success.

For a rookie, Šmits is playing beyond his years, as his high hockey IQ and understanding of the game have been evident in his play.

A lot of that comfort comes from Šmits’ experience playing in the Finnish Hockey League and representing Latvia at the Olympics and World Championship, where he faced off against NHL players.

“I have been in this situation before when you come into the new team and you got to prove yourself,” Šmits said. “I think also the organization has helped me a lot. They’re doing a great job helping me adapt as fast as I can. I'm trying to do my best here to adapt to the game and bring my best performance every night.”

Mike Sullivan has preached adding more balance to the lineup and to their defensive core that was heavily anchored by Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov, lacking the necessary balance.

To go along with the Rangers’ newly-established second pairing of Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson, Šmits and Braden Schneider have formed a strong third defensive pairing for the Rangers, helping further strengthen the team’s balanced attack. 

“I think it’s been pretty good,” Sullivan said of the Šmits-Schneider pairing. “I think those guys have worked well together. Scneids is such a great person, he’s a good partner for Smitty to have. Coming back to the bench, having conversations on the bench. We think that pair is only getting better.”

Even through his first few NHL games, Sullivan has not been sheltering Šmits, made evident by his average of 14:50 minutes of ice time per game.

The 2026 fifth overall pick looks comfortable in all situations. He’s defending well in his own zone, with his physical brand of hockey at the forefront while he uses his long reach and quick mobility to make plays.

It’s not always flashy with Šmits, but he’s reliable defensively and isn’t prone to making many mistakes. Those attributes should only continue to grow stronger as the season moves along, given his quick adjustment to the NHL thus far.

“Every game I spend out there, I’m getting more confident,” Šmits said. “I think I just gotta keep going in the right direction and we will see where time takes me.”