Brennan Othmann is set to debut at Madison Square Garden tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Tarrytown, NY- New York Rangers prospect Brennan Othmann is set to make his NHL debut at Madison Square Garden tonight Thursday night against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Othmann was selected 16th overall in the 2021 NHL draft, playing for the OHL Flint Firebirds, where he posted 97 points; the Peterborough Petes, where he won an OHL championship, has won the U-18 and U-20 World Junior's gold medals and skated in 28 games (nine goals, 14 assists) this season for the Hartford Wolf Pack.
The highly touted Rangers prospect had a strong case to make the roster out of training camp. Ultimately, the organization decided it was best to let his professional game develop as a member of the Wolf Pack.
It was a move not previously executed by the Rangers brass.
The last time a prospect of his caliber spent time developing in the American League was Filip Chytil in 2019. The Rangers' two top draft picks of all time, Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere, had no test run and went straight to the NHL level.
"I found out yesterday morning before practice," Othmann said about getting called up. "I had no idea....everyone was pretty pumped. A lot of selfless people down there."
On the way home from the rink, he informed his parents that he would be a New York Ranger. "They were ecstatic and a bit emotional. So they got on a plane this morning, and they'll be up tonight."
Rangers head Coach Peter Laviolette said, "Talking to Hartford, he was playing well. When I spoke with Brennan, he made a point to say he was getting coached up every day. [He is] willing to accept and learn from what you do on the ice, you can take that information and improve your game. We were in need of a player, and he fit."
The 20-year-old has a grip on his position, a maturity that allows him to grow at a rapid pace.
"To be honest with you, I was down there to learn how to be a pro and play the professional game properly, and I was surprised I got called up," Othmann said.
Othmann has put the work in to progress his game over the last four month.
"I think my pro game has gotten a lot better details-wise. I do a lot of videos and watch a lot of clips of myself to see what I'm doing wrong and doing right."
He also touched upon the junior habits he aimed to shake out of his game following his stellar training camp.
"The d-zone stuff, o-zone stuff as well. Little things that fans may not see or notice that hockey minds notice," Othmann said. "Stick positioning, shooting lanes. The little things define hockey players along with their points."
Part of that maturity is adjusting to the level of play.
"When you're playing juniors, you're the go-to guy and the guy everyone relies on. You don't focus too much on the stick detail or flying in the zone. You're more worried about scoring." Othmann said. "You are young at that point in your life, and all you think about is points, points, points; it'll get me drafted. At the end of the day, once you get here, everyone is on the same team, so the little details that you don't think about that identify yourself as a pro."
As for the vision of where he fits into the lineup: "I think it's a good fit. Nick Bonino is a really smart center that is easy to talk to. Jonny is the same way, having some comfort there. It seemed like the right place and right time to put him into that spot."
Thursday, a skater who has fine-tuned his game for four months in the second-best hockey league in the world is ready to take on Broadway.