From the end of the 2024-25 season up until now, Brennan Othmann has dealt with a wave of emotions.
Othmann played 22 games for the New York Rangers last season, but he did not score a goal during that stint.
After failing to make the Rangers’ opening-night roster out of training camp, Othmann struggled from an offensive standpoint with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League to kick off the 2025-26 campaign.
Othmann’s struggles to find the back of the net led to a lack of confidence and some frustration.
However, the 22-year-old eventually found his game, scoring three goals in his past four AHL games, which reignited his confidence.
"Slowly started to crawl my way out of it. You know, it happens with pro hockey. I guess, the last I don't know 2-3 weeks, it's kind of been trending upwards. It's alway a positive sign. That's kind of relaying to my game right now. I feel like I've been playing pretty good hockey in Hartford and getting good feedback from the top of the organization down to the bottom."
Othmann was recalled by the Rangers due to his hot stretch of games, and he was placed into the Blueshirts’ lineup on Thursday night for their 2-1 overtime win over the St. Louis Blues.
In his first game back with the Rangers, Othmann played 7:14 minutes while slotting in on a line with Sam Carrick and Matt Rempe.
Gabe Perreault Makes Immediate Impact For Rangers Upon Call-Up
In his first game back with the New York <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers">Rangers</a>, Gabe Perreault made a noticeable impact.
“I think he's playing more to his identity,” Mike Sullivan said of Othmann. “He's playing more of a north-south game. He's getting in on the forecheck. He plays with an edge, and that's what he's capable of doing. He's getting to the net.
“I think in my short time here in New York, and trying to get to know his game and become more familiar with him, that's what we think his game looks like when he's at his best. That's part of it. The other aspect of it is just reliable, conscientious play, attention to detail defensively, when he doesn't have the puck, knowing what your job is, and doing your job. That's an important element of it also, so I think he's making progress in all of those areas.”