Rangers prospect Jacob Battaglia breaks out, named OHL Player of Week
An explosive start to the Ontario Hockey League playoffs earned OHL Player of the Week honors for New York Rangers prospect Jacob Battaglia.
The Flint Firebirds forward totaled nine points in the first two games of their first-round series against the Owen Sound Attack last week. The 20‑year‑old set a Flint single‑game playoff record with six points (two goals, four assists) Thursday in an 8–1 Game 1 win on home ice.
Battaglia added a goal and two assists Saturday in a decisive 11–1 Game 2 victory for Flint.
Battaglia and the Firebirds kept the good times rolling Monday, winning 10-0 in Owen Sound to grab a 3-0 series lead. This time, Battaglia let others take the spotlight, as he contributed one assist.
The 6‑foot‑1, 202‑pound winger from Toronto posted 48 points (26 goals, 22 assists) in 64 regular‑season games with Flint and Kingston this season. He took off with Flint, totaling 12 goals and 21 points in 28 games.
The fourth‑year OHL veteran has 230 points (104 goals, 126 assists) over 265 career games since chosen by Kingston in the second round of the 2022 OHL Priority Selection. He scored 40 goals last season and 31 the year before.
Rangers prospect Jacob Battaglia turning heads in juniors
The Rangers acquired Battaglia from the Calgary Flames ahead of the March 6 NHL Trade Deadline in exchange for forward Brennan Othmann. Ironically, as Battaglia broke out with Flint last week, Othmann made his debut with the Flames, recording an assist in his first game Saturday and picking up a goal Monday.
Othmann, a 2021 first-round pick, told reporters that he “never got an opportunity” in New York, and scored just one goal in 42 games spread over three seasons.
Battaglia was a second-round pick (No. 62 overall) by the Flames in the 2024 NHL Draft. He signed his entry-level contract last March, and appears ready to turn pro next season.
He is the third Rangers prospect this season to earn OHL Player of the Week honors, joining Flint teammate Nathan Aspinall (Nov. 10–16) and Windsor’s Liam Greentree (Feb. 23–March 1).
Aspinall currently sits second behind Battaglia in OHL playoff scoring with nine points (four goals, five assists). Greentree has four points (three goals, one assist) in two postseason games.
