Towering Rangers prospect Nathan Aspinall having breakout OHL season
Nathan Aspinall is used to standing above most everyone else. That comes with being 6-foot-7, even before the New York Rangers prospect puts his skates on.
But right now, the 19-year-old forward also stands above everyone else in the Ontario Hockey League, leading the OHL in scoring with 48 points (22 goals, 26 assists) in 30 games for the Flint Firebirds.
It is most definitely a breakout campaign for Aspinall, whom the Rangers selected in the fifth round (No. 159 overall) of the 2024 NHL. Draft. He’s recorded at least one point in all but five games this season, and his recent 13-game point streak ended Saturday in a 3-2 loss to Sarnia.
Aspinall already surpassed his previous OHL best of 47 points set in 62 games last season. His 22 goals are second most in the OHL and four more than his previous career high of 18 set in 2023-24 with Flint.
Flint (22-7-2-2) sits atop the Western Conference in the OHL with 48 points, due in large part to Aspinall’s major uptick in production and leadership as team captain. Last Wednesday, he had a career-high five points and recorded his first OHL hat trick in a 9-1 rout over Guelph.
In his fourth season of major junior hockey, the towering forward acted on the advice to shoot more, and averages 4.25 shots on goal per game this season. Improvements to the power and accuracy of his shot, especially shooting the puck in stride, helped Aspinall immensely in his breakout season. His fast start was recognized when he won OHL Player of the Month honors for November.
After playing five games with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League on an amateur tryout at the end of last season, Aspinall took part in training camp with the Rangers this fall. Aspinall opened some eyes when he fought rugged forward Nathan Legare in the preseason opener against the New Jersey Devils.
The Rangers signed Aspinall to a three-year, entry-level contract in October. He’s expected to rejoin Hartford once his season with Flint is over.
Rangers prospect Artem Gonchar also playing well in OHL
Artem Gonchar is another Rangers prospect playing well in the OHL this season. The 19-year-old defenseman from Russia scored his eighth goal Saturday, helping Sudbury to a wild 7-6 shootout victory over Owen Sound.
He has 15 points in his past 12 games, and is third on Sudbury with 19 points in 29 games.
The Rangers selected the left-shot d-man in the third round (No. 89 overall) of the 2025 draft. He is the nephew of Sergei Gonchar, who played 1,301 games in the NHL.
“Artem is a player that we have been high on from this past season.”, Sudbury general manager Rob Papineau said prior to the season. “He is a very intelligent smooth skating defenseman who was just selected in the third round in the NHL. He has great vision and offensive instincts and is a skilled playmaker.”
Gonchar played most of his 2024-25 season in the MHL with Magnitogorsk Stalnye Lisy, recording 25 points (seven goals, 18 assists) in 50 games
