Rangers coach sees ‘quiet confidence’ in Will Cuylle that’s helped him be key contributor
Will Cuylle is playing more and producing more in his second season with the New York Rangers. But coach Peter Laviolette doesn’t necessarily see a change in who Cuylle is from his rookie season in 2023-24. And that’s a good thing.
“The way he’s been off the ice, the way he practices, how he’s gone about his business, he’s got almost a quiet confidence about what he’s doing. He had that last year and we would notice that last year,” Laviolette explained after practice Monday. “It was a pretty solid first year, and now he’s building off of it.”
Cuylle scored 13 goals and totaled 21 points in 81 games last season, playing mostly on the third line and sometimes on the fourth. This season, the 22-year-old forward is tied for fifth on the Rangers with nine points in 13 games. His four goals are tied for fourth most.
He again started on the third line, where Cuylle found great chemistry with a healthy Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko. They began the season as a line by outscoring the opposition 9-0 at 5v5. Recently, Cuylle moved up to play with Vincent Trocheck and Reilly Smith after Laviolette juggled line combinations.
Cuylle is back with Chytil and Kakko after being reunited in a 4-0 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. They’ll remain together when the Rangers host the Winnipeg Jets, who storm into Madison Square Garden on Tuesday with an NHL-best 14-1-0 record.
No matter who he’s skated with, Cuylle has played a solid two-way game. His xGF is an excellent 58.79 percent this season, per Natural Stat Trick.
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Cuylle is averaging nearly three minutes more TOI than last season — up to 13:53 from 11:08. He’s topped 15 minutes three times this season as Laviolette shows more and more trust in him. Part of that increase in ice time is that he’s playing on the penalty kill, a unit that leads the NHL this season at 91.1 percent.
None of this seems to surprise Laviolette after what he saw from Cuylle as a 21-year-old last season.
“It probably goes back to last year from a rookie, he has a real good handle on the game,” Laviolette said. “He’s a guy we found to be pretty detailed in his game. I think there’s a maturity to that.”
A big part of Cuylle’s overall package is how he handles himself physically. Cuylle gets to the net, finds the dirty areas to score goals and is a force on the forecheck. He’s not shy about using his size (6-foot-3, 212 pounds) to throw his weight around.
Last season, Cuylle led the Rangers and all NHL rookies with 274 hits. His 56 hits lead the Rangers this season and are tied for fourth among all skaters in the NHL. He’s averaging 18.62 hits per 60 minutes.
So, he hasn’t left that part of his game behind to chase more goals and more points. It’s just another sign of his maturity as he grows into a core piece for the Rangers moving forward.
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