Rangers Select Defenseman Nico Gross at 101

With the 101st pick the Rangers have selected defenseman Nico Gross from Oshawa from the Ontario Hockey League.

Date of Birth Jan 26, 2000
Age 18
Place of Birth Pontresina, SUI
Nation Switzerland
Youth Team EHC St. Moritz
Position D
Height 6'1" / 186 cm
Weight 185 lbs / 84 kg
Shoots L

Gross is an excellent skater with very good lateral movement and a superb backwards skater. His good acceleration allows him to evade the forecheck and skate out of danger. Along with his skating abilities, his hockey smarts allow him to jump into the play and join the offence. He is however, a little weak on his skates and that can change when he adds some strength.

Gross is very good with the puck on his stick. He handles it well and protects the puck very well. With his vision, he finds open lanes and can make crisp, clean passes to his teammates. He has shown an ability to quarterback the powerplay. He’s grown as a player who was prone to making bad pinches to one who picks his spots better.

Defensively, Gross is difficult to beat one-on-one. His skating allows him to keep forwards to the outside. He keeps his gaps tight and uses his stick effectively. He holds the blue line like a seasoned veteran. It’s hard to judge his penalty killing abilities on a Generals’ team where the PK wasn’t that great. But he seems to understand his responsibilities when a man down (Dominic Tiano, OHL Writers).

Gross was named to the OHL Second All-Rookie Team in 2017-18.

Gross skated in 33 games with EV Zug Academy of the National League B (NLB), Switzerland’s second-highest pro league, in 2016-17, registering nine assists. He was the only player younger than 18 years old who played in NLB during the 2016-17 season.

Gross represented Switzerland at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship, the 2018 IIHF World U18 Championship, and the 2017 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament this past year. He was captain at U18 Championship, and he recorded four points (one goal, three assists) in six games.

He was one of only two players younger than 17 years old who participated in the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship (along with Rasmus Dahlin).