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Rangers Coach Discusses Laba's Progress and Othmann's Future
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- Rangers Coach Discusses Laba's Progress and Othmann's Future
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Noah Laba and Brennan Othmann couldn't be much further apart in their current standing with the New York Rangers . Where one young forward is a pleasant surprise and NHL regular, the other is seeking to earn trust and rebuild his game in the minor leagues.
The difference between the 22-year-olds right now is striking. Laba, a 2022 fourth-round draft pick, scored his first two NHL goals this past week and earned a promotion into the top six on the just-completed road trip to western Canada and Seattle . Othmann spent the past week in the NHL and played one game after Matt Rempe landed on IR with an upper-body injury. He was sent back to Hartford of the American Hockey League on Sunday.
After practice Monday, Rangers coach Mike Sullivan wasn't asked by reporters to compare the two youngsters, whose careers right now are traveling in separate lanes. But how he answered unrelated questions about each spoke volumes about how the coach currently views Laba and Othmann.
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When asked about whether Laba's surprisingly mature play at center allowed the Rangers to load up their top line with Mika Zibanejad , J.T. Miller, and Artemi Panarin in the final two games of the trip, a pair of overtime wins against the Seattle Kraken and Edmonton Oilers , Sullivan didn't hesitate to heap praise on the rookie.
"100 percent. One of the things that allowed us to do it is the traction we're seen with 'Labs' in his overall game on both sides of the puck. He's improving and growing and developing right in front of our eyes with every game that he plays," Sullivan gushed . "His learning curve has been steep. He's got real good aptitude for the game, and so I think that's been a big part of it. And if we didn't have a comfort level there, we probably wouldn't do it."
Laba had an outstanding training camp and forced his way on to the Rangers' opening-night roster. He did so despite just 11 games of pro experience in the AHL late last season after finishing up at Colorado College.
Though Laba's had some expected ups and downs to start his NHL career, he clearly has the trust of the coaching staff and his teammates. He plays a committed 200-foot game, is smart, fast, and hard to play against. In another words, he's Sullivan's kind of player.
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Laba's played all 13 games, averaging just under 12 minutes TOI, has four points (two goals, two assists), and won 54.7 percent of his face-offs. The past two games he moved up from the third line to center one in the top six, where he's flanked by Alexis Lafreniere and Will Cuylle . And it's Laba bringing out the best in his more experienced and well-known linemates.
"He's just playing with so much confidence, and he's hungry, you know?" Sullivan said over the weekend. "The most impressive thing for me is his composure."
Brennan Othmann 's defensive shortcomings among 'subtleties' that concern Rangers
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Confidence — or lack thereof — is a big issue for Othmann, As is his lack of attention to detail defensively, per Sullivan.
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In other words, the coach trusts Laba and doesn't have the some level of faith in Othmann. Play away from the puck is something coach and player discussed repeatedly since training camp, and was the main reason given when Othmann was cut and sent to Hartford in late September.
It didn't help Othmann that he made a glaring missed assignment defensively that led to a goal for the Calgary Flames in a 5-1 road loss last week. Not surprisingly, Othmann was replaced by veteran Jonny Brodzinski in the Rangers lineup the final three games of the trip. The Rangers won each of those games and Othmann was sent back to Hartford.
"'Otter' has NHL skill, without a doubt. I think it's a lot of the subtleties, and that was the discussion I had with him," Sullivan said Monday.
That's not even taking into account that Othmann's yet to score in 26 NHL games, spread over three seasons.
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Predictability and reliability are words Sullivan uses often when discussing Othmann's shortcomings, and did so again Monday.
But don't think that the coach is burying the 2021 first-round pick, who scored 21 goals as a rookie pro with Hartford two season ago. Even if there've been recent trade rumors involving Othmann , Sullivan presented a big picture reason for sending the forward back to the minors.
"The other part of it is we don't want a player, especially a young player, sitting on the sidelines," Sullivan explained. "He was on the West Coast trip with us, he played one of the games. We would rather see him get into game action, so he has an opportunity to learn through those experiences. And that's part of it also. He's a young player, he's got a lot of his career in front of him."
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