The Rangers’ recent track record with high-end prospects should serve as a cautionary tale for how they proceed with Brennan Othmann this season.
Unless, that is, the 16th-overall pick in 2021 is impossible to ignore during his preseason audition.
“That’s why we have general training camp and tryout,” Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury said Thursday at MSG Training Center in Tarrytown. “Things evolve over the next three weeks. I know he’s excited to be here. We’re thrilled with his progress since the draft and he’ll be given opportunities in practices and preseason games to show what he can do.
“I’m not really set on anything. I’m hoping there’s some good surprises like that and maybe he’s one of them.”
The 20-year-old Othmann is currently the Rangers’ top prospect and is primed to play his first season of professional hockey — whether it be in the American Hockey League or the National Hockey League.
There is nothing left for him to learn or accomplish in juniors.
The next step is making the jump.
How big that jump is will be decided by both Othmann and Rangers management.
Depending on how training camp unfolds, the question is: What is best for Othmann’s development?
The safest course of action, regardless of how Othmann stacks up against the rest of the projected roster, would be for the Canadian wing to start the season with the Rangers’ AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Othmann would presumably receive top-line minutes, skate on the first power play and serve in a much bigger role than he would with the Rangers.
That would be valuable experience for Othmann, no matter what.
In the AHL, Othmann would be able to adjust to a faster pace of play, garner experience competing against bigger and older players, as well as work out the kinks that naturally come when transitioning from junior hockey to pro hockey.
The mistakes wouldn’t be as magnified as they would in the NHL.
The adjustment period wouldn’t come with as much pressure as it would in the NHL.
“Well, he’s an excellent player,” John Lilley, the Rangers’ director of player personnel and amateur scouting, said of Othmann. “He has offense. He’s feisty. He plays a good two-way game. It is the next step.
“He has the next few weeks to prove where he’s at, whether he’s in the American Hockey League or if he’s pushing for anything with the NHL. That’s up to him.”
There is a possibility Othmann simply will outplay the collection of players who are projected to slot into the Rangers’ bottom six.
His offensive upside and general scoring prowess could prove to be too difficult to pass up, if it translates to the NHL ice right away.
As a projected top-six skater, however, Othmann probably wouldn’t get anything out of skating on the fourth line.
If he could line up with, say, Filip Chytil and Blake Wheeler on the third unit, it certainly would be beneficial for Othmann.
The decision likely will come down to how Othmann performs in training camp and in the exhibition games, but the Rangers also need to take into account the bigger picture.
Othmann’s progress has been fixed on an upward trajectory.
It’s important to keep it that way.
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