Rangers recall prospect Brennan Othmann: Reaction and analysis
The New York Rangers are giving one of their top prospects a look, with the team announcing Wednesday evening it will recall forward Brennan Othmann from AHL Hartford.
The move was necessitated by an injury on the NHL roster. Veteran forward Tyler Pitlick is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury he suffered in Tuesday's 6-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told lohud.com, part of the USA TODAY Network.
That left the Rangers with only 11 healthy forwards, with Othmann getting the chance to fill the 12th spot over a handful of older and more experienced options.
None of them possess the upside of the 2021 first-round pick. He's risen as one of the top-two prospects in the organization, along with 2023 first-round pick Gabe Perreault. It'll be at least another year until the Boston College freshman turns pro, though, leaving Othmann as the clear next man up.
He impressed at NHL training camp and hung around until the final round of cuts, but the Rangers didn't want to rush a player who will turn 21 on Friday. They sent him to Hartford to continue his development and round out his game.
The plan, as Othmann described it, was to "get rid of my junior habits and play with more of a pace."
Apparently, they've seen enough to give him a shot. The production has mostly been there, with the 6-foot, 186-pounder registering 23 points (nine goals and 14 assists) through 28 AHL games played. He leads the team with 95 shots on goal, with his 9.47% shooting percentage suggesting there are more goals in the tank. But his offensive skills were never in question.
The key for Othmann was proving he's ready to handle the defensive responsibilities and high-speed processing required to play in the NHL. There have been some growing pains, with his minus-six rating tied for second worst on the Wolf Pack, but the effort and commitment have been there.
“I see someone who’s determined,” Hartford interim coach Steven Smith said in November. “I see someone that wants to learn. I see someone that has all the attributes to be a good player."
It's unclear how long of a leash the Rangers will give him − this be a short taste to reward him for a solid first half, as they did last season with Will Cuylle − and where he'll slot into the lineup.
They may ease him in as a replacement for Pitlick on the fourth line, or they could drop veteran Nick Bonino into that spot and play Othmann on the third line with a couple familiar faces in Cuylle and Jonny Brodzinski. He played with the former for Team Canada in the 2022 World Junior Championships and spent time playing with the latter as teammates with Hartford earlier this season. The main catch would be that Cuylle and Othmann are natural left-wingers − which is the position Othmann has exclusively played in the AHL − but both have expressed a willingness to try the right side, if needed.
Regardless of where Othmann plays, this will be an opportunity to make an impression prior to the March 8 trade deadline. If he represents himself well, it could lessen the need to target a winger and allow team president Chris Drury to shift his focus to acquiring a center to help fill the void left by the injured Filip Chytil.
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Rangers recall prospect Brennan Othmann: Reaction and analysis
