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Why Brennan Othmann won’t be starting this season with Rangers
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- Why Brennan Othmann won’t be starting this season with Rangers
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Brennan Othmann didn’t even make the final training camp cut with the New York Rangers this year.
The Rangers first-round pick (No. 16 overall) in the 2021 draft was among 11 players assigned to Hartford, their American Hockey League affiliate, on Tuesday. Two others, defenseman Connor Mackey and forward Brendan Brisson , will join them if they clear waivers Wednesday.
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Coach Mike Sullivan and his staff kept three other young forwards — center Noah Laba and wings Gabe Perreault and Brett Berard – for a longer look with preseason games against the New Jersey Devils (Thursday at Madison Square Garden) and Boston Bruins (Saturday afternoon at TD Garden) coming up.
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Though it’s entirely possible all three will join Othmann in Hartford when the Wolf Pack open their season Oct. 11, each outplayed him at camp and in the first four preseason games. That’s kept alive their hopes of playing for the varsity when the Rangers host the Pittsburgh Penguins , Sullivan’s former team, at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 7.
“We think they’ve played extremely well and we think they’re deserving of being here. We’re trying to give them the longest possible looks,” Sullivan said Tuesday . “Through performance alone, the guys on the ice were deserving.”
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Othmann, Laba and Perreault each played all four preseason games; Berard dressed for three. Laba (one goal, four assists) and Perreault (two goals two assists) are 1-2 on the team in scoring, and Berard has a goal and an assist.
And Othmann? One point, a power-play goal against the New York Islanders on Sept. 25. He’s minus-1 (the others are all plus players) and hasn’t done enough to distinguish himself in matches against NHL players after excelling in two rookie games against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sept. 12-13.
Rangers coach emphasizes that roster not ‘etched in stone’
The 22-year-old struggled in the Rangers preseason opener, a 5-3 win at New Jersey on Sept. 21 that saw him take a senseless elbowing major and game misconduct. He’s been better since then, but not enough to pass the other three — Laba in particular opened eyes with four assists in the first three games and the overtime winner in a 3-2 victory against the Islanders on Monday.
Though Laba is a center and Othmann a wing, there was slight competition between the two. If Laba is the third-line center on Broadway, Juuso Parssinen could shift from the middle to the wing, likely negating a chance for Othmann — or even Perreault — to earn a roster spot.
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Othmann made it to the last cut in each of the past two camps and earned callups during the regular season – including 22 games in 2024-25 , when he managed just two assists. This time, he didn’t even make the final weekend.
Sullivan said he’s talked to Othmann about the areas he needs to improve. The most notable is his play without the puck.
“’Otter’ and I have had a number of conversations even before training camp started, starting around the Lehigh Valley [rookies] tournament,” Sullivan explained. “A lot of discussion we have has been on conscientious play, attention to detail, defensively away from the puck, playing within structure, having some predictability, reliability and dependability around his game.
“That’s essentially what it boils down to — the attention to detail in all zones on both sides of the puck, but in particular on the defensive side.”
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The Rangers have more bodies than vacancies up front. Artemi Panarin , Vincent Trocheck , Alexis Lafrenière , Will Cuylle , J.T. Miller , Mika Zibanejad , Parssinen, Taylor Raddysh , Adam Edstrom , Sam Carrick and Matt Rempe look like certainties to be in the opening-night lineup. Conor Sheary , who’s on a PTO and hoping to be signed, and veteran spare part Jonny Brodzinski could get the other two spots, which would leave all four youngsters in Hartford to start the season.
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Laba wasn’t expected to contend for a role with the Rangers this quickly. Perreault, their top prospect, appears to close to NHL-ready at age 20. And Berard’s mix of speed, buzzsaw-like compete level, and skill is ideal for a third-line role.
That’s not to say things couldn’t change.
“Rosters in the NHL are fluid. They can change in a day. They could change next week,” Sullivan said. “If a decision is reached today, it’s not like it’s etched in stone.”
But of the four young forwards battling for an NHL job, Othmann dropped to fourth. And though the Rangers team that takes the ice at the Garden next Tuesday doesn’t figure to be a finished product, he’ll have to prove that he’s better than his young rivals and worthy of another chance at an NHL job.
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