The New York Rangers have made another round of roster cuts as they continue to trim their roster to 23. Notable names in this round are Dylan Garand, Bryce McConnell-Barker, Dylan Roobroeck, and the sixteenth overall pick in the 2021 draft, Brennan Othmann. There were high expectations for the former first rounder after 22 games with the Rangers last season; but during his four preseason games, Othmann only registered one power play goal and an expected goals for percentage of 35.85 (via NaturalStatTrick), second worst among all players who played a minimum of 30 minutes.
What's Next?
Sullivan also talked about the conversation surrounding the #NYR opening night roster:
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) September 30, 2025
"Rosters in the NHL are fluid. And so, they can change in a day. They can change in 24 or 48 hours. They can change next week. If a decision is made today, it's not etched in stone. There's no…
From what Mike Sullivan said after Othmann got sent down, the team wants him to focus on his play away from the puck. With Gabe Perreault playing noticeably better than Othmann during the preseason, it's safe to say any remaining Top-6 opportunity would go to Perreault and with the remaining openings on the roster being in a complementary role you can see why the Rangers felt it was necessary for Othmann to develop the defensive side of him game in Hartford. But is hope lost?
Sullivan followed this up with mention of the Rangers opening night roster:
""Rosters in the NHL are fluid. And so, they can change in a day. They can change in 24 or 48 hours. They can change next week. If a decision is made today, it's not etched in stone. There's no finality to it.""Vince Mercogliano
It feels like the Rangers really want most, if not all, of their young talent to spend some time in Hartford to refine and perfect their game for when it comes time for each of their callups to the big club. Remember, in the past the Rangers have stuck Alexis Lafrenière, Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko, Brett Howden, and other prospects down into the bottom-6 which hurt their development. So in Othmann's case, he's only 22 years old and has the opportunity to improve his defensive side while also continuing to progress offensively while getting top minutes in Hartford.
Final Thoughts
Remember, Filip Chytil was put in a similar situation to Othmann back in 2019. He got cut due to the team not believing his NHL ready, so why did he do? Well, Chytil took it as a challenge and scored 9 points in 9 games with the Wolf Pack. He earned his chance to return after Zibanejad's injury, and when he did, Chytil never got taken out. So why can't it be the same for Othmann? He obviously has the tools to be a good Top-9 forward for the team with his already gritty play style. I believe if Othmann can keep his confidence and play well in Hartford, the Rangers will be forced to make him a permanent player on the team.