Lias Andersson is not the prototypical player taken with the seventh-overall pick in the draft. At least, he’s not that prototype anymore.
That conclusion became clear — at least to those outside the organization — soon after the Rangers took the young Swede with that lofty selection in 2017, the pick coming back as part of the deal that sent Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta to the Coyotes. Andersson, now 20 years old, wasn’t a physical specimen, coming in around 6-foot and 190 pounds. He didn’t dazzle with his offensive skills and never dropped jaws with his speed.
But where he impressed the most was with his competitiveness, on display when he tossed his silver medal over the glass during the World Championships. That competitiveness then manifested itself into a two-way game that separates him from the rest of the Rangers’ parade of youth, predicated on skill.
“I want to play in the best league in the world,” Andersson told The Post after Wednesday’s practice in Tarrytown, as the Rangers prepared for their penultimate exhibition game, with Alain Vigneault’s Flyers coming to the Garden on Thursday night. “I see myself as a two-way player, too. I’m working every day in practice to be a better two-way player.”
Coach David Quinn stated at the beginning of training camp that he wanted all three of his young centers — Andersson, Filip Chytil and Brett Howden — to at least start by playing their natural positions. Chytil, taken 14 spots behind Andersson in that 2017 draft at No. 21, is the most offensively talented, and he was given the first crack at being the second-line pivot alongside Chris Kreider and Kaapo Kakko.
Yet the 20-year-old Chytil hasn’t exactly locked it up, with Quinn even moving him to wing for Wednesday’s practice.
“I’d love for someone to raise their hand and separate themselves and say, ‘This is my job,’ ” Quinn said. “Got a bunch of guys in that situation.”
Howden, 21, was a big part of the trade that sent J.T. Miller and Ryan McDonagh to the Lightning, and he showed a lot of two-way talent during his 66-game rookie season this past year. He wouldn’t be entirely out of place in a fourth-line role.But the Rangers invested a lot in Andersson by taking him where they did in the draft, and the hope is that he is going to grow into his own. He never put up huge numbers playing as a junior in his native Sweden, but he knows there is more to give offensively, too.
“I scored a lot of goals growing up,” Andersson said. “So I’m used to playing offense and the power play and everything. But this is a different level. It’s the NHL. So I’m happy where I’m at right now.
“I don’t want to say I like to defend. I don’t think you want to defend, but you have to. You want to play with the puck, but you have to defend, too, and I’m comfortable with that.”
Andersson said he lost about 10 pounds this summer in Sweden, learning how to eat and exercise better. He then moved in with fellow countryman Mika Zibanejad as he hopes to wrap up a roster spot.
After Andersson split this past season between AHL Hartford (36 games) and the Rangers (42 games), it seemed as if Quinn had him slotted as a third-line pivot between Vlad Namestnikov and Ryan Strome. But the veteran Strome seemed pretty comfortable back in the middle during Tuesday’s 3-1 exhibition win over the Islanders at the Garden, and that could complicate things — as in, make them harder for Andersson to start with the Rangers right away.“He’s had some good moments, he’s had some bad moments,” Quinn said of Andersson, “not unlike all these other guys.”
Now it’s on Andersson to prove his worth before the final cuts, and that could come by separating himself with steady play on both sides of the puck.
“I feel like you need to be good in all three zones in this league to be a good player,” Andersson said. “So I’m working hard every day to be the best player I can be.”