All 6 feet, 2 inches and 210 pounds of 20-year-old Braden Schneider is tough. 

He’s tough on the blue line, tough in the corners and tough in the middle of scrums. When the Rangers traded up to draft Schneider with the No. 19-overall pick in 2020, the organization’s goal of becoming harder to play against had just been established — and Schneider was one of the first additions they had to show for it. 

Schneider, who made his NHL debut in mid-January and has been in the Rangers’ lineup for all but two games since then as he solidified his spot on the third defensive pair, has been a key part of this team’s run to the Eastern Conference Final. His embodiment of the Rangers’ identity, however, is what makes him such a valuable asset. 

It was on full display at the end of the Game 1 victory over the Lightning on Wednesday night. In the final two minutes of that 6-2 win, some extracurricular activities broke out in the corner after Barclay Goodrow threw a couple of cross-checks into the back of the Lightning’s Brandon Hagel. 

When Hagel got in Goodrow’s face, Schneider was there, inserting himself into the middle of it. And when Goodrow and Ryan Reaves continued to go at it with Tampa Bay’s Ryan McDonagh and Pat Maroon, Schneider again came over to get involved. 

It was far from the first time that had happened in Schneider’s 15-game playoff résumé. 

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“I don’t want our guys to be outnumbered,” Schneider said. “I want to make sure that everyone has a man and everyone is battling and that each battle it fair. Every little battle out there is one that matters. I think trying to win as many of them as you can, whether it’s a scrum in the corner or standing up for one of your teammates. I think every one is important. 

“I just went in there with the mindset to win and make sure that my guys were OK.” 

The poise beyond his years Schneider displays on the back end can instantly flip into a tough-as-nails presence in an opponent’s face. That has been apparent since Schneider was called up from AHL Hartford on Jan. 11. The Rangers now have a physical presence on each defensive pairing, with Ryan Lindgren and Jacob Trouba bringing it to the other two duos. 

“I’m not trying to make a brand for myself as a guy who is tough or whatever, but I don’t want to be a person who backs away from a scrum or a battle or is backing away from an opportunity to help my teammates,” Schneider said. “I play with a lot of emotion and everyone else on our team has each other’s back, so if I can make sure the guy next to me knows I’m there for him, I think that’s the most important thing.” 

With just an average of 11:42 on ice per game in the playoffs, Schneider had three assists and nine shots on goal in 15 games, heading into Game 2 against the Lightning at Madison Square Garden on Friday night. Regardless of how this run ends for the Rangers, Schneider and the rest of the young players have gotten invaluable postseason experience. 

Schneider is getting a taste of playoff intensity and physicality. He fits right in. 

“From the first game, he’s looked great in the playoffs,” Justin Braun said of his D partner. “You have your ups and downs. You have tough shifts, but with him, he doesn’t seem to let that bother him. If something doesn’t go right, he’s right out there playing great the next shift, working hard and winning battles.”