New York Rangers bright future with Brennan Othmann and Will Cuylle
The New York Rangers have two winners on their hands in Brennan Othmann and Will Cuylle. I mean that literally, as both are coming to camp with gold medals from Team Canada’s run at the World Junior Championship.
“It was a great experience and to win gold was a huge honor,” Cuylle said on the second day of rookie camp. “It’s something I’ll remember for awhile. Being able to play a tournament in August really helps jumpstart the season for me.”
Othmann, who is widely regarded as the organization’s top prospect, shared similar sentiments.
“It was a lot of fun. I wasn’t even on the team in December,” Othmann noted. “We had a great team and we won. It was something special for sure.”
New York Rangers bright future
The Rangers roster is pretty stacked coming into camp on the wings, so Othmann and Cuylle will find it difficult to make it out of camp. Of the two, Cuylle has the best chance to secure a bottom six role. It’s not necessarily because he’s better, it has a something to do with AHL eligibility.
Othmann, 19, is too young to be sent to the Hartford Wolf Pack. Which doesn’t give the Rangers the same flexibility they have with Cuylle who is being 20 years-old, and waivers exempt. That’s still not dissuading the youngster from going into camp with high expectations.
“I’m confident with my game and I’m confident with the strides I’ve taken,” Othmann stated. “Im excited to play two games this weekend and to get to the main camp. I was able to skate with the pro guys this past weekend and I’ll carry that confidence going into camp.”
The Rangers will be taking on the Philadelphia Flyers rookies in Lehigh Valley tonight and tomorrow. It will be a good test for both prospects to showcase not only their offensive skills but also their physical prowess.
“I’m just going to play my game and make an impact with two games coming up,” Cuylle, who scored 80 points last season said. “I have to show good physicality and compete. I think my game is being a power forward and being really good on the forecheck and making things happen offensively. Just bring a consistent 200′ game.”
For Othmann, he made it at point at the WJC to show he wasn’t one dimensional. After scoring 97 points with 50 goals last year for the Flint Firebirds, he decided to show his willingness to hit and agitate en route to a gold medal.
“I was happy to be given that role,” he explained. “I was able to show I can hit guys bigger than me. It’s part of my game. If you want me to score I can score goals for you. If you need me to hit guys and get under the skin of other players, I can. Just tell me what you want me to do and I’ll be happy to do that.”
Brennan Othmann and Will Cuylle building a bond
The Rangers drafted Cuylle in the second round in 2020 and Othmann in the first of 2021. Both players are combatants in the OHL where the former’s Windsor Spitfires knocked out the latter’s Flint Firebirds in the playoffs.
Yet the two are coming up together and forming a bond which includes another prospect, goalie Dylan Garand, who was undefeated for Canada at the WJC.
“I got to know them a little bit more,” a smiling Othmann said. “Culls and I built a good friendship and a good bond out there. They’re two great guys, and two guys I’ll be growing with for the rest of my life hopefully.”
While being teammates this upcoming season on the Rangers may be a bit premature, the two are showing off-ice chemistry which can mean something in the future. A team is like a family, and when you care about one another it translates on the ice.
Don’t believe me? Check out Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider as one example.
The Rangers have a bright future ahead of them after a surprising Eastern Conference Final run, but the good news is that Othmann and Cuylle make that future even brighter.
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