Rangers' Brennan Othmann surprised by big-time promotion
Brennan Othmann at the Rangers' practice facility in 2022. Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
GREENBURGH — Brennan Othmann was completely surprised when he got the news that he was getting his first call-up to the NHL, joining the Rangers in time for Thursday night’s game at Madison Square Garden against Chicago.
“I found out yesterday morning, before practice,’’ Othmann said after Thursday’s morning skate at the Rangers’ practice facility. “[Hartford coach Steve Smith] made an announcement before we went through practice. I had no idea. It was pretty cool to find out before practice, for sure.’’
Othmann practiced with the Wolf Pack, called his parents on his way home to give them the news, then packed and came to New York, ready to make his NHL debut in Thursday night’s 4-1 win over Chicago. His parents had enough time to book a flight from Toronto on Thursday morning so they could be in attendance for the occasion.
Rangers coach Peter Laviolette believes that Othmann, the team’s first-round pick in the 2021 draft, is ready for the moment. When forward Tyler Pitlick suffered a lower-body injury that Laviolette said will sideline him for an extended period, the Rangers needed to call up a forward from Hartford, and the coaches there presented Othmann as the best choice.
“By all accounts, he’s playing really well,’’ Laviolette said of Othmann, who had nine goals and 14 assists in 28 games for the Wolf Pack. “He’s put up good numbers, I think, for a young player down there . . . and so, with Tyler being out with a lower-body injury — week-to-week right now — that provides an opportunity that we needed somebody to come up. And [Othmann] was a guy that they recommended.’’
Othmann, who will turn 21 Friday, is in his first professional season, and though he scored two goals in his first game for Hartford, it was the small details of being a professional player that he was intent on working on in the American Hockey League. He watched plenty of video of himself to see what he was doing wrong so he could correct it — and what he was doing right so he could keep doing those things. And he praised the coaching staff in Hartford for helping him develop.
“It’s just the ‘D’ zone stuff,’’ he said when asked what kinds of details he’s been working on. “It’s ‘O’ zone stuff as well, and it’s just little things that people, fans, may not see, or may not notice, that hockey minds notice, [like] stick positioning on the ice, if it’s in a good position or not. [Or when] the puck’s up at the point, if you’re in front of the net, or you’re off to the side of the net . . . if you’re in a shooting lane or not. And it’s just small details like that.’’
Because Pitlick is a right wing and Othmann primarily is a left wing, Laviolette had to move some pieces around within the lineup. He put Othmann on left wing on what nominally has been the third line, with center Nick Bonino and right wing Jonny Brodzinski, who had been Othmann’s linemate in Hartford before he was called up in late November to replace the injured Kaapo Kakko.
Rookie Will Cuylle, who had been the left wing on that line, was moved to Pitlick’s line, with Barclay Goodrow and Jimmy Vesey, who flipped from left wing to right wing. That line had started out as the fourth line, but Laviolette has been using it as a checking unit, matching it up against opposing teams’ top lines, and the coach said that kind of responsibility is something Cuylle is ready for.
Cuylle had seven goals and a team-high 36 penalty minutes entering Thursday. “He plays a pretty solid game,’’ Laviolette said. “We’re constantly showing [video of] shifts . . . you’re bringing players in and you’re working with them as individuals, as lines, and [showing them] things they did well, things they can do better, trying to teach a little bit. And, you know, [Cuylle’s] never caught on camera too much doing the wrong thing.’’
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
