Get ready for a double dose of Rangers’ rising stars as Brennan Othmann and Will Cuylle light up the NHLPA Rookie Showcase. Find out why these young talents have Broadway buzzing with excitement.
Get ready for some puck-tastic news! The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) and Upper Deck are throwing a party – it’s the 13th annual NHLPA Rookie Showcase happening on Tuesday, September 5. They’ve got 35 up-and-coming NHL stars in the lineup, all set to strut their stuff.
Upper Deck, the official trading card partner of the NHLPA and the NHL, is getting the royal treatment. They’ll be snapping pics and shooting videos of these young guns in their snazzy NHL team jerseys.
Why, you ask? They’re on a mission to create the first NHL and NHLPA-licensed rookie trading cards for these future stars. Plus, they’re cooking some extra goodies to keep us entertained all season. Trading cards, anyone?
Among the rookies strutting their stuff are Willam Cuylle and Brennan Othmann, repping the New York Rangers!
Othmann and Cuylle to represent Rangers at the NHLPA Rookie Showcase:
The Rangers snagged Brennan Othmann in the 2021 NHL Draft with the 16th overall pick. The guy’s been a scoring machine, with a jaw-dropping 97 points in 66 games during his draft year with the Flint Firebirds in the OHL.
#NYR prospect Brennan Othmann (R1, 2021) having a busy summer.
— Stat Boy Steven 🇳🇱 🇿🇦 🇮🇪 (@StatBoy_Steven) August 28, 2023
After spending weeks in New York working out, he's back in Peterborough for their training camp.
Othmann will join the Rangers in 2 weeks for their training camp. This kid sure gets his miles in this summer. https://t.co/tCfh71BYwJ
Oh, and Othmann didn’t stop there. He lit up the playoffs with 24 points in 19 games and even grabbed a gold medal with Team Canada at the World Junior Championships. In 2022-23, he “only” had 67 points in 56 games. Why? To become a more complete player, of course! He requested a trade for family reasons and was surrounded by an improved supporting cast. Plus, he won an OHL Championship with the Peterborough Petes.
As for Cuylle, the Rangers nabbed him in the second round, 60th overall of the 2020 NHL Draft, and this guy’s been on a rollercoaster ride. He’s been making waves from the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack to a productive season with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires. Cuylle even made it to the big leagues, appearing in four games for the Rangers and showing his skills.
Now, looking ahead to the 2023-24 season, the Rangers have their roster set after acquiring Blake Wheeler, Nick Bonino, and Tyler Pitlick in free agency. That means Othmann and Cuylle are starting their season with the Wolf Pack. No Broadway lights just yet, but they’re on their way!
However, these two aren’t the only young guns in town. They’re joining a lineup of future stars, with Connor Bedard leading the charge. Bedard, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, is Chicago Blackhawks-bound after a record-breaking junior career with the Regina Pats. The guy’s been scoring goals like it’s nobody’s business and even brought home the gold for Canada at the 2023 World Junior Championship.
Bedard scored 71 goals and 143 points in 57 games for Regina last season. He also had a historic 2023 World Junior Championship, with nine goals and 23 points in seven games for Canada, and contributed seven goals and 20 points in seven games during the WHL playoffs. He took home the CHL and IHF Player Of The Year awards for his efforts. Bedard is coming in hot from the BioSteel NHL Camp, held just last week in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he trained with NHL superstars such as Connor McDavid and Nathan Mckinnon.
Furthermore, Bedard will also hit the ice again in the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase. The tournament will kick off on September 13 at a rink in the Twin Cities area. It will be a showdown of young talent, with players from the Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, and Minnesota Wild all vying for the spotlight.
However, the Upper Deck Showcase isn’t only about Bedard. His future teammate Kevin Korchinski and other rising stars will be there too. The Montreal Canadiens and the Columbus Blue Jackets also have their trios of prospects.
According to the website, here’s a list of all the players strutting their stuff.
– Leo Carlsson and Pavel Mintyukov (Anaheim Ducks)
– Logan Cooley and Conor Geekie (Arizona Coyotes)
– Matthew Savoie (Buffalo Sabres)
– Matthew Coronato and Dustin Wolf (Calgary Flames)
– Connor Bedard and Kevin Korchinski (Chicago Blackhawks)
– Adam Fantilli, Denton Mateychuk, and Stanislav Svozil (Columbus Blue Jackets)
– Logan Stankoven (Dallas Stars)
– Sebastian Cossa and Marco Kasper (Detroit Red Wings)
– Xavier Bourgault (Edmonton Oilers)
– Brock Faber and Jesper Wallstedt (Minnesota Wild)
– Owen Beck, Sean Farrell, and Filip Mesar (Montreal Canadiens)
– Luke Evangelista (Nashville Predators)
– William Dufour (New York Islanders)
– Will Cuylle and Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers)
– Tyler Boucher and Ridly Greig (Ottawa Senators)
– Tyson Foerster (Philadelphia Flyers)
– Ozzy Wiesblatt (San Jose Sharks)
– Ryker Evans and Tye Kartye (Seattle Kraken)
– Zachary Bolduc and Zach Dean (St. Louis Blues)
– Matthew Knies (Toronto Maple Leafs)
– Vincent Iorio (Washington Capitals)
So, there you have it! The 2023 NHLPA Rookie Showcase is a hard-core hockey fan’s dream come true, with a lineup of young talent that’ll have you shouting, “Drop the Puck,” thus whetting your appetite for the upcoming season.