The New York Rangers are looking for some younger players to help bolster an aging left-wing core, and one of their top prospects may be a solid candidate for a full-time roster spot this season. 21-year-old Brennan Othmann, who played three games with the Rangers in 2023/24 while spending the rest with the Hartford Wolf Pack, the Rangers' AHL affiliate, could be a way to start filling in the holes at left wing.
Othmann is a Scarborough, Ontario native, his junior teams being the OHL's Flint Firebirds and the Peterborough Petes, where he won the J. Ross Roberston Cup in 2023 as an Ontario Hockey League champion. Othmann had captained the Firebirds in 2022/23 in 16 games with 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points before being dealt to Peterborough, where he'd notch an additional 18 goals, and 25 assists for 43 points in the remaining 40 games of the regular season.
The point is not many players can statistically improve after a mid-season trade like that, and the fact Othmann did so proves how valuable of a player he is. Othmann would actually be picked by the Rangers in the 2021 draft as 1st round, 16th overall choice before being sent to the Rangers' AHL affiliate in Hartford, as mentioned above.
Othmann had a solid first professional season with the Wolf Pack, logging 21 goals and 28 assists for 49 points in 67 games as Hartford went as far as the Division Finals, being swept 3-0 by the eventual and back-to-back champion Hershey Bears. Othmann did struggle a bit in the postseason, only finding the net once and adding 4 helpers, but still played in all 10 of the Pack's postseason contests.
He also represented Team Canada at the 2022 World Juniors, playing in 7 games with a pair of goals and another few assists, winning his 2nd consecutive WJC gold, his first in the 2022 tournament. Othmann also already had a U18 gold medal from the 2021 U18 tournament, further boosting an insane resume.
Othmann is a speedy skater, a guy who chases after the puck in all kinds of scenarios while also throwing in some spin moves to get around defenders and prevents opponents from breaking out, something he's good at himself. A solid forechecking left wing as well, Othmann should fit in with a team that's a bit strapped at that particular position, especially with the likes of Barclay Goodrow and other aging players either on their way out or about to be on the way out.
Othmann has already shown some progress this season, bonding in this year's training camps with another Rangers rookie, superstar RW Gabe Perreault. Despite playing obvious opposite sides of the ice, these two players could help the Rangers in the long run if they want to go as far in the postseason as they did in 2023/24 when the 2024/25 regular season rolls around.