\u201cWe\u2019re looking for guys to step in and help us win games, whether it be helping us offensively or being diligent defensively,\u201d Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said. \u201cOtter and I have had a number of conversations since before training camp started to where we are right now on what the expectations are and how we think he could potentially carve a role on this team.\u201d<\/p>\n
After being assigned to Hartford, the 6-foot, 192-pounder described a meeting with Sullivan, Martin and team president Chris Drury in which they detailed how he could earn his way back to New York.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was getting in people\u2019s faces,\u201d recalled Othmann, who\u2019s posted one assist through four games with the Wolf Pack this season. \u201cIt was forechecking. It was hitting; all the things that I\u2019m good at. Getting to the middle of the ice and causing a little bit of havoc.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThose (are) the things I did for the first three weeks down there in Hartford, and I think that\u2019s maybe why I got a call up now,\u201d he added. \u201cYeah, Remps is injured and whatnot. But I think I\u2019ve developed the things that they asked me to do when I got sent down. I\u2019m still gonna keep working on those things when I\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Othmann referred to this as \u201cthe first year where I spoke to a couple people and they\u2019re like, \u2018This is the role that we want you to play in New York when your time comes.’\u201d That speaks to a lack of direction in his first two professional seasons, but he believes he\u2019s returning with a clearer focus. His previous NHL stints didn\u2019t yield the desired results, with only two assists and zero goals in 25 career games with the Rangers.<\/p>\n
He mentioned other organizational changes aimed at improving a shaky developmental track record, including a new app in which Hartford prospects can sign up for extra work with AHL skills coach Colin Downey and others. It hasn\u2019t translated to many wins yet, with the Wolf Pack off to a 1-4 start entering Saturday\u2019s game in Springfield against the Thunderbirds. But Othmann described it as a largely positive environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur staff\u2019s been doing a great job with some things that everyone thinks that we need to get to the next level,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd since we got down there, all the young guys are involved and everyone\u2019s kind of building that, I\u2019d say, family connection down there to get everyone back (to the NHL) as soon as possible. Everyone was happy when I was there (Friday), packing up my stuff. Everyone said, \u2018Congratulations and good luck,\u2019 and I got a hug from everybody. It kind of goes to show the relationships and the people are down there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Othmann\u2019s latest opportunity may come with additional motives.<\/p>\n
His name has been discussed in trade talks<\/a>, according to a league source who believes that Drury is willing to move Othmann for another young player with upside. Such a deal has yet to materialize, with opposing GMs attempting to buy low on a former first-round pick who had a disappointing preseason and has seemingly fallen out of favor with the team that drafted him. But by making him their first forward recall, the Rangers are sending a not-so-subtle signal that they still value the prospect and won\u2019t be giving him away. They\u2019re also providing a chance to showcase his skills, be it for a role in New York or elsewhere.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t really focus on that stuff,\u201d Othmann said of the trade rumors. \u201cThat stuff\u2019s really all online, and I don\u2019t know what\u2019s true. I don\u2019t know what\u2019s false. I\u2019ve just been super focused with Hartford and trying to get back up here. I mean, it\u2019s no secret. A couple of the guys in Hartford were asking me and telling me about it, but I honestly was just playing hockey and taking each day, day by day. Keep moving forward and focusing on getting back here and playing at the NHL level at some point this year. I think I did a good job with it.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Will Cuylle is stuck on one goal and zero assists in nine games this season. (Dan Hamilton \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n Will Cuylle trying to avoid frustration<\/p>\n Othmann spent Saturday\u2019s practice skating on a 2025 version of the Kid Line with 23-year-old Will Cuylle and 22-year-old Noah Laba. \u201cTwo guys I\u2019m really close and familiar with,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a new spot for Cuylle, who spent the first nine games almost exclusively playing in the top six. Sullivan has looked to the power winger to fill the void left by the offseason trade that sent Chris Kreider to Anaheim, but he hasn\u2019t carried momentum over from last season\u2019s 20-goal, 300-hit breakout.<\/p>\n The 6-foot-3, 212-pounder is stuck on one goal and zero assists, with no points in his last six games.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, the points are not where I want them to be, but I feel like I\u2019ve had some good looks over the first however many games we\u2019ve played,\u201d Cuylle said. \u201cThey\u2019re not going in right now, but it\u2019s a long season. Just stay with it. I feel like my shooting percentage is super low right now, so usually that balances out.\u201d<\/p>\n Cuylle\u2019s converted on just one of 21 shots on goal, with a 4.8 percent success rate that falls well short of last season\u2019s 13.2 percent. It\u2019s come while adjusting to a career-high 17:38 average time on ice per game and the increasingly difficult matchups that stem from playing higher up in the lineup.<\/p>\n When asked earlier this week about both Cuylle and Alexis Lafreni\u00e8re, who\u2019s produced three points (one goal and two assists) while also logging top-six minutes<\/a>, Sullivan said, \u201cThere\u2019s another level to their game.\u201d In Cuylle\u2019s case, the hope might be that a return to the third-line spot, where he thrived last season, will help him get there.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve just got to try to keep the same level through it at all, whether it\u2019s a 10-game point streak or 10 games without a point,\u201d Cuylle said. \u201cIt can be easy to get frustrated, but I think if you try to keep the same level the whole time, that usually doesn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Lineup changes aimed at creating balance<\/p>\n Balance has been a buzzword surrounding the Rangers (3-4-2), who will enter Sunday\u2019s 8 p.m. game against the Flames having lost five of their last six games. They\u2019ve struggled to produce goals in many of those contests \u2014 an indictment of a roster that\u2019s light on proven scoring talent<\/a> \u2014 and while the offense finally opened up against the Sharks, it resulted in regression back to bad defensive habits<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sullivan is aiming to solve those issues by reconfiguring his limited options at forward. Four new lines were revealed Saturday, starting with captain J.T. Miller being flanked by Artemi Panarin and the team\u2019s surprising leading goal-scorer Taylor Raddysh, who\u2019s up to four tallies following Thursday\u2019s hat trick.<\/p>\n \u201cPerformance matters,\u201d Sullivan said of the decision to promote Raddysh. \u201cThe guys that play well, we\u2019re trying to reward with more significant ice time or opportunity, whatever it may be. I feel like he\u2019s had a couple of pretty strong games. And I think when you combine that with some of the other conversations that we\u2019ve had around balance, I think he\u2019s a logical guy to put where we put.\u201d<\/p>\n Miller and Panarin have only logged 13:31 together at five-on-five this season, according to Natural Stat Trick, but the Rangers have poured in four goals during that small sample size without allowing any. That\u2019s good for an unsustainable average of 17.73 goals per 60 minutes, but Sullivan is going to find out what they can do with additional minutes.<\/p>\n New York has only generated three goals over 100:31 with Panarin and Mika Zibanejad skating together, although a 19-7 advantage in high-danger scoring chances suggests they probably deserved better. Now Zibanejad will play with Lafreni\u00e8re and veteran Conor Sheary, who\u2019s turned a professional tryout contract into consistent top-six usage despite still searching for his first goal. (He does have three assists and a 56.2 percent expected goals-for rating.)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27341835-scaled-e1761439627814.jpg\")
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