Rangers prospects making progress at Development Camp
Many of the New York Rangers top prospects have made progress at Development Camp as it’s set to close today.
The Rangers’ staff conducted three days of drills starting this past Sunday which culminates today with a scrimmage between White vs Blue at 10 AM.
“We’re giving them the tools to enhance their careers,” Director of Player Development Jed Ortmeyer explained. “We forget how young these kids are… it’s a big jump sometimes.”
UPDATE: Scrimmage Teams per Colin Stephenson (Newsday)
Rangers prospects at Development Camp
The focus at Development Camp was once again on the Rangers best prospect, forward Brennan Othmann.
This past season was another incredible one for the 20 year-old 2021 first-round pick. He won his second World Junior Championship with Canada and then his first OHL Title after a trade from the Flint Firebirds to the Peterborough Petes.
Othmann discussed what playing for Petes’ head coach Rob Wilson meant for his progress as a hockey player.
“I worked on my 200′ game,” Othmann said at camp. “Rob’s a more defensive style coach… he’s really strict with that’s why I respect him a lot.”
It’s expected the talented forward will start the 2022-23 campaign on the Hartford Wolf Pack’s top line, although Othmann’s priority is still on making the big club.
“My goal is to try and make the team this year,” he said. “It’s a good organization with a lot of good players, nothing much has changed. It’s going to be hard.”
Another noteworthy prospect that will also get time with the Pack this year is 2022 second-round selection Adam Sykora. At camp, the 18 year-old’s speed and hustle stood out, which is exactly why the Rangers drafted him.
“I got an opportunity to play some game [in Hartford],” Sykora noted. “It was a nice experience and hopefully I will play there this year too. Biggest difference was the rink was smaller and there’s more physical playing… I like to play physical and fast.”
Aside from Othmann and Sykora, a lot of eyes were on 2023 first-round pick Gabriel Perreault, who is already committed to play at Boston College in the fall.
The 18 year-old winger scored 53 goals and 79 assists for 132 points in 63 games last season. Those numbers shattered the previous USNTDP mark of 117 set by Maple Leafs superstar Auston Mattews in 2014-15.
While camp has been a great experience, the youngster has a plan for his path to Broadway.
“Perfect scenario would be two years (in college) and hopefully winning a national championship before making the transition,” Perreault said.
Once camp wraps up, these prospects will be heading home to work on the things they learned. Then it will start up again for many of them when the Rangers rookies take on the Flyers rookies in September.
The Rookie Series will be held at the PPL Center in Lehigh Valley and takes place on Friday, September 15 (7:05 pm) and Saturday, September 16 (5:05 pm).
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