Brett Howden appears to earn promotion to 2nd line center

Updated:
Howden (Charles Wenzelberg)

It is no secret that David Quinn absolutely loves Brett Howden’s game. Most likely the biggest reason for it is the one word every coach must have in their head for a player: TRUST!

Today at practice, Howden was centering the 2nd line with Chris Kreider and Kaapo Kakko. Strome has been demoted to the 3rd line with Jesper Fast and also promoted, Brendan Smith. The 4th line will likely be Lemieux and McKegg centered by Lias Andersson who for some odd reason can’t earn more minutes of his own.

Howden is the “Quinn”tesstential player

Brett Howden stands in at 6′ 3″ and weighs 195 lbs. At first glance, he seems a little thin but plays with every single pound and inch the good Lord gave him. According to the coach his play is what makes him a key Ranger this season.

“Confidence is earned, it’s not given. It’s not like I come to the rink every day and say, ‘Oh, let me have confidence in Howden today.’ That’s something you earn, you earn confidence. And he’s earning it because of the way he’s playing.” – David Quinn

When the kid from Calgary was drafted in 2016, almost everyone said he was a hard-worker with good leadership skills. Many said he was a smart player but didn’t have the offensive skill set to be better than a 3rd liner. That could eventually prove to be true, what he has displayed so far while averaging just over 15 minutes per game says otherwise.

David Quinn loves a North/South in-your-face style of hockey. He said earlier last season that if you can’t go around a player, go through him. That’s exactly who Brett Howden is and the main reason why he not only has had the greatest success among the other Rangers kids, but has earned David Quinn’s loving admiration.

By Anthony Scultore

Anthony Scultore has been covering the New York Rangers and the NHL since 2014. His work also appears at... More about Anthony Scultore

Mentioned in this article:

More About: