NYR Prospect Watch: Brennan Othmann and Bryce McConnell-Barker exchange goals
Two NY Rangers prospects squared off last night in the OHL. Brennan Othmann and Bryce McConnell-Barker with their respective teams went toe-to-toe at GFL Memorial Gardens.
In the end, it was Othmann’s Flint Firebirds coming out on top over the Soo Greyhounds by a 5-3 score.
Brennan Othmann vs Bryce McConnell-Barker
Early in the second period with Flint holding a one-goal lead, Othmann completed a tic-tac-toe passing play for a shorthanded tally.
That was followed later in the period by McConnell-Barker’s laser beam shot on the power play to get Soo on the board.
The two teams were tied in the third when Coulson Pitre got the game-winner for Flint. Othmann would add an assist on an empty net power play goal with 47 second left in the game.
NYR Prospects Watch
Othmann, 19, has 3 goals and 4 points in just two games to start the 2022-23 OHL season.
Thanks to an outdated CHL agreement with the NHL, he was ineligible to be sent down to the AHL which takes a lot of flexibility away from the Rangers. According to the rule a player must be at least 20 years-old or competed in four season of junior hockey before they can be assigned to any NHL minor league affiliate.
The first round pick in 2021 also spoke briefly about his time at Rangers training camp.
“It was great. I learned a lot valuable pro tips that I can bring back here to junior hockey,” he said. “I kept up with the speed, it’s just the little details. I wanted to go in there and make the team but I knew I wasn’t going to because of their roster right now.”
Last season, he scored 50 goals and 97 points for Flint and he looks primed to surpass that this season.
McConnell-Barker, 18, has a goal and an assist in three games in the early going. He was recently named the captain of the Soo Greyhounds before the start of the season.
“It’s a true honour and a privilege to be selected to lead this group of talented young men. Last year I learned a lot from our lettered players. They taught me the importance of leading by example on the ice but even more importantly off the ice. I’d like to thank my coaching staff and teammates for having the trust in me to lead our team. I’m looking forward to this upcoming season” stated McConnell-Barker via a press release.
Since the Rangers drafted him in the third round of the 2022 Draft, there’s been some healthy buzz regarding the self-described two-way center. McConnell-Barker has decent size and should fill out over the next year.
He scored 49 points in 68 last year for the Greyhounds.
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