Following the Devils doing a nice touch by having Hockey Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur introduce first overall pick in American center Jack Hughes, the Rangers wasted no time.

General Manager Jeff Gorton didn’t even thank Vancouver or congratulate the Blues. Not sure why. But he cut to the chase and selected Finland forward Kaapo Kakko with the second overall pick.

It’s official. The Rivalry is back. How long it takes both the Devils and Rangers to reach the playoffs remains to be seen. What I do know is this is a great night for the Hudson Rivalry.

Listening to the excitement from Hughes after he went first to the Devils was great. He was “fired up!” I wish they would’ve had Kathryn Tappen interview Kakko. He speaks English well as evidenced by the dry humor he showed the day before. Instead, new Team President John Davidson glowed over Kakko and for good reason.

It’s definitely an exciting time to be a Ranger fan. With a young crop that now features Kakko along with Filip Chytil, Lias Andersson, Brett Howden, Adam Fox, Vitali Kravtsov and Russian goalies Alexandar Georgiev and Igor Shesterkin, there is a lot to like going forward.

No news on the trade front yet. Chris Kreider and Jimmy Vesey have been mentioned as possibly getting moved. We’ll have to wait and see. Meanwhile, P.K. Subban is supposedly on the block.

I’ll have more on the Draft later.