Danny Wild-Imagn ImagesBrennan Othmann will appear in his first NHL game since being traded by the New York Rangers on Mar. 6 in exchange for Jacob Battaglia.
The Flames called up Othmann from the Calgary Wranglers of the American Hockey League on Saturday, and he will play for the Flames on Saturday night against the Vancouver Canucks.
Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury once thought highly of Othmann, given that he was his first draft pick as president and general manager of the Rangers.
Despite the high expectations placed on Othmann upon being drafted, his game never quite translated to the NHL level in New York, and his play was inconsistent in the American Hockey League as well.
The 23-year-old forward spent the past two seasons getting sent up and down from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL to the NHL, struggling to carve out a permanent role with the Rangers.
Over the past two seasons with the Rangers, Othmann has played a total of 39 NHL games, recording one goal, two assists, and three points.
Ahead of his Flames debut, Othmann reflected on his time with the Blueshirts and confirmed that he sought out a trade early on in the season, while expressing his excitement to get a fresh start in Calgary.
“With the Rangers and that organization, I just never really got going, I just never really got an opportunity I felt like,” Othmann said. “They have a lot of high-end talent players at both right and left wing, so it was kind of hard to crack your way into that lineup over the last few years.
“I thought it was time for a change and kind of made the decision at the start of the year and the process went on the whole season. Getting that call on the deadline day was obviously super exciting. It’s not like I didn’t want to play for the Rangers, I just wanted a fresh opportunity, fresh eyes, and a fresh organization to look at me.”
In 10 games with the Wranglers, Othmann has recorded five assists.