Othmann snubbed as WJC Team Canada names two future Rangers

Hockey Canada named 35 players to the preliminary roster for the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championships including two future New York Rangers.  One disappointment is that 2021 first round pick Brennan Othmann did not make the cut.

Goalie Dylan Garand is one of three goalies selected and he is a one of three players who were on the team that won the silver medal earlier this year.  Garand was a fourth round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, the 103rd overall selection.  He’s off to a great start for the Kamloops Blazers, leading the WHL in wins with  a 14-2 record, is third with a goals against average of 1.76 and a WHL leading .935 save percentage. He was just named the WHL goalie of the month for November.

Also named to the roster was forward Will Cuylle who impressed observers at the Rangers prospect camp and in the preseason.   Cuylle was selected in the second round of the 2020 draft, a pick that was acquired in the trade of Lias Andersson to the Los Angeles Kings.  A left winger, he played 18 games in Hartford last season after the OHL season was cancelled, but had to return to the Windsor Spitfires since he didn’t play 20 AHL games.

Cuylle is the captain of the Spitfires and has 15 goals and 20 points in 19 games.  He is fifth in the OHL in goals and is 36th in overall scoring. The WJC will be unusual this year with numerous players having professional experience due to COVID, like Cuylle.  The future Ranger turns 20 in February.

Othmann not picked

The Rangers first round 2021 pick, Brennan Othmann, was not selected for the preliminary roster and that is a disappointment and somewhat perplexing.  He is having an excellent season with the Flint Firebirds with 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points in only 17 games.  He is 13th in scoring in the OHL despite playing fewer games than the players ahead of him.  He was just named OHL player of the week.

Of the 17 Canadian-born players picked in the first round, eight were named to the preliminary WJC team roster and Othmann is the most glaring omission.

The selection camp will take place in Calgary next week.  The team will be finalized and head to a training camp from December 14-19.

The 2022 World Junior Championships will be start on December 26 with the gold medal game scheduled for January 5. The games will be played in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta.