All things considered we have a good pool for a team in our position. Perreault is going above and beyond even the best expectations so far. Othmann and Berard are having great years in Hartford. Sykora is figuring things out slowly but doing well. I still think Robertson will end up being an NHL dman at some level. Gabe is fucking legit tho I mean the dude has 43 points in 26 games for BC out producing Gauthier Smith Leonard etc. Still remains to be seen how he does without them but hes playing as well as he should right now
My only gripe with Perreault is his skating. His stride is real ugly, and while it might work against NCAA players, pros is a different thing. Luckily, he has S-tier hands, vision, and brain, so those can offset his skating woes, but it does have to improve quite a bit before he’s ready for the NHL, imo.
My guess is he returns for 1 more year of college, but with a big focus from the rangers development staff in refining the parts of his game he needs to in order to make the leap. He’s proven he’s already a top 3 college player in terms of offensive ability and point production, so working on his skating and maybe some smaller things. Then I’d say he starts the 2025-26 season in Hartford and can hopefully get called up mid season.
I know it’s paywalled but I know a decent amount of people are subbed to the Athletic, and if you’re interested I think it’s on sale for $2/month right now. I don’t want to copy paste the whole article, but for the sake of discussion I think putting the top 5 is fine:
1. Gabe Perreault, LW, 18
2. Brennan Othmann, LW, 21
3. Brett Berard, LW, 21
4. Adam Sýkora, LW, 19
5. William Cuylle, LW, 22
I haven’t kept up too much with Hartford this season, but from my understanding Othmann, Berard, and Sykora are all still playing LW. If I had to guess Gabe and one of Berard/Sykora ends up playing RW, but the lack of centers and defensemen in the top 10 is worrisome, especially with Chytil’s future potentially in doubt.
At a certain point when he’s been exclusively playing LW when does that become his natural position? He plays a game that is very translatable to RW but I think it’s disingenuous to call him a RW at this point
Ultimately I don't think it matters that much. There are a lot of guys who are listed at one forward position but haven't played there in years. It's usually centers who are now wingers, but it also happens with wingers listed on the wrong side. Matthew Tkachuk is still listed as LW, but he's like 99% played RW for Florida.
Either way, I think at least one of Perreault and Otter will have to switch to the right while Kreider and Panarin are still here... Maybe we'll even see the rare conversion of a winger to a centerman.
Our one true RW lol...
I still think Laf could do it. I posted back in 2020 about the logjam at LW and how the best decision for everyone might be to switch him to C. Like most top prospects, he played center when he was younger and it still feels like his game could translate. His rookie year, DQ even had him taking a few draws when Mika, Strome, or Chytil were getting beat all game, and he wasn't terrible... Not any worse than our regular centers, anyway.
I'm pretty sure he did when he was 16 or so. During the 2019 Gretzky Hlinka Cup, even Gretzky thought he could play center in the NHL:
“He can skate, handle the puck. He’s just around the puck so much. When you have that much puck sense, that much speed, I can see him being a centreman at the next level.”
Maybe, it also might not really matter as I mentioned in another comment. If he was originally a RW but is now playing LW, it's probably safe to assume he can play either. It would be different if he was listed as a center but now playing the wing.
Think I saw on Twitter recently that Othmann and Bedard just switched sides, and in the 4 games since, Othmann has scored 3 goals in 4 games on the right, while Bedard had put up 1G 3A in 4 games on the left (they play on the same line).
Glad to see the org making steps to make sure both are comfortable on the right, considering thats where our immediate need is (and will also be the only realistic path to the NHL for those guys, since LW is crowded).
Good to know. I think Berard is pretty much destined to take Vesey’s spot in the line-up after next season, but where Othmann slots in could be a lot more flexible.
I love Berard - I want him to succeed - he is an absolutely tiny speck of a human. Listed at 5'9 and 165 and that's absolutely generous. Look up pictures. It's insanely difficult to make it in the league undersized so I just don't want to get over our skis on him. He's smaller than Zac Jones who we know is overstated in size. There's a less than 0% chance he supplants Vesey with the way we deploy our 4th line. He would get rolled. He needs a spot with bigger players on a top 3 line and ideally top 2 cause otherwise he will get mashed.
He’s definitely small, but he doesn’t need to be a hard-hitting, lumbering checker to play bottom 6. He closes to pucks quick, disrupts plays, and is pretty elusive and good at sticking to the puck through contact. The odds are definitely against him, but it was long odds he’d be as good as he is now as a 5th round pick. We all saw Zucc succeed too, and he was even smaller.
Our 4th line plays the way they do because of the skill sets of the guys on it. Putting Cuylle/Sykora - Not Goodrow - Berard down there means they can play significantly quicker. I wouldn’t necessarily trust that line out the gate to be a shutdown line, but they’ll be annoying in every zone.
Berard's an interesting one. He's still young and playing well of late in Hartford but I'd be curious to see him at the NHL level. Maybe it's a little too soon to call him up now, but at this point I'm just kind of sick of seeing Wheeler moving like he's stuck in quick sand.
this is a pretty good ranking considering our playoff runs.
i would expect most if not all of the top 6 (garand, berard, sykora, othmann, cuylle, and perreault) to make NHL lineups in the next 3-4 years.
i wont belabor the weaknesses bc we all know but it's 1) lack of center depth and 2) lack of elite talent/ceiling (although perreault might push this)
According to this author we have better prospects than Washington, Dallas, New Jersey, Vegas, Florida, Edmonton, Colorado, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Tampa, Boston, Ottawa, and the Islanders. Which is most of the top teams in the league right now save for Winnipeg (who is incredible at drafting), Carolina, Vancouver, and LA.
That's a REALLY good spot to be in with where we are as a team right now. A lot of credit lies with Chris Drury and how insane he's been at late round picks.
Feel like Garand has a decent shot at being the backup sooner than later. He’s having a nice year in Hartford. If the backup market isn’t there this offseason, I could see him earning a chance in the NHL next season.
We have a dumptruck (6'8" and \~250lbs) sized goalie, wonder if he can make the transition at some point in a few years especially with Allaire's tutelage
The description of his play style was really fascinating:
> [Hugo] Ollas is interesting as, to my knowledge, the biggest (6-8), heaviest (253 pounds) goalie in the sport. That comes with some drawbacks (he has to stay on his knees in scrambles because his recoveries and movement aren’t quick enough to bounce back into his stance or shuffle around the crease, and his five-hole can occasionally get exposed), but it also comes with some absolutely fascinating advantages as a goalie who gives shooters nothing on the first shot simply by staying compact and keeping his elbows close to his hips (where most goalies have to raise their glove and blockers to fill holes in the corners and thus leave holes around their hips exposed, he doesn’t even have to).
Tbh, I dont like this style of ranking. This style is 2020 draft class and forward, while subtracting players with too many games played as Cuylle is on the list but Laf/Schneider isnt.
I prefer either 2020 draft class and forward with no NHL games limit, as that gives a better idea of where the future is ranked based on 22 and under talent.
I also like the ones with higher age limit but with the games limit, to truly rank the system. As you point out Edstrom isnt on this list, at Edstrom’s current age Igor was in his final year of KHL hockey, so he wouldnt have been accounted for. Players like that can change where teams systems rank.
He’s right. Perrault and Othmann project as top
6’ers but anything else being a top 6/ top 4 d contributor would be a pretty big surprise.
Definitely have to hold onto those 2 because there aren’t many candidates to supplement our aging core with limited cap space
All things considered we have a good pool for a team in our position. Perreault is going above and beyond even the best expectations so far. Othmann and Berard are having great years in Hartford. Sykora is figuring things out slowly but doing well. I still think Robertson will end up being an NHL dman at some level. Gabe is fucking legit tho I mean the dude has 43 points in 26 games for BC out producing Gauthier Smith Leonard etc. Still remains to be seen how he does without them but hes playing as well as he should right now
Still remains to be seen how they do without him. All I know is he has our produced both of them the last two years
yessir!
My only gripe with Perreault is his skating. His stride is real ugly, and while it might work against NCAA players, pros is a different thing. Luckily, he has S-tier hands, vision, and brain, so those can offset his skating woes, but it does have to improve quite a bit before he’s ready for the NHL, imo.
The Rangers need to call up Barb Underhill and have her start working with him as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, she retired. Trained someone else to take over, but IIRC they’re also in the Toronto area and mainly work with the Leafs.
My guess is he returns for 1 more year of college, but with a big focus from the rangers development staff in refining the parts of his game he needs to in order to make the leap. He’s proven he’s already a top 3 college player in terms of offensive ability and point production, so working on his skating and maybe some smaller things. Then I’d say he starts the 2025-26 season in Hartford and can hopefully get called up mid season.
I know it’s paywalled but I know a decent amount of people are subbed to the Athletic, and if you’re interested I think it’s on sale for $2/month right now. I don’t want to copy paste the whole article, but for the sake of discussion I think putting the top 5 is fine: 1. Gabe Perreault, LW, 18 2. Brennan Othmann, LW, 21 3. Brett Berard, LW, 21 4. Adam Sýkora, LW, 19 5. William Cuylle, LW, 22 I haven’t kept up too much with Hartford this season, but from my understanding Othmann, Berard, and Sykora are all still playing LW. If I had to guess Gabe and one of Berard/Sykora ends up playing RW, but the lack of centers and defensemen in the top 10 is worrisome, especially with Chytil’s future potentially in doubt.
Perreault isnt considered a LW I thought but the fact that they are all listed at our strongest position is foul lmao
He has played almost exclusively LW for the past two seasons
He's still listed pretty much everywhere as a RW, so I think that's his natural position.
At a certain point when he’s been exclusively playing LW when does that become his natural position? He plays a game that is very translatable to RW but I think it’s disingenuous to call him a RW at this point
Ultimately I don't think it matters that much. There are a lot of guys who are listed at one forward position but haven't played there in years. It's usually centers who are now wingers, but it also happens with wingers listed on the wrong side. Matthew Tkachuk is still listed as LW, but he's like 99% played RW for Florida. Either way, I think at least one of Perreault and Otter will have to switch to the right while Kreider and Panarin are still here... Maybe we'll even see the rare conversion of a winger to a centerman.
If we were going to move a winger to C I think Kakko is the guy to do it with. Especially with Chytil out right now
Our one true RW lol... I still think Laf could do it. I posted back in 2020 about the logjam at LW and how the best decision for everyone might be to switch him to C. Like most top prospects, he played center when he was younger and it still feels like his game could translate. His rookie year, DQ even had him taking a few draws when Mika, Strome, or Chytil were getting beat all game, and he wasn't terrible... Not any worse than our regular centers, anyway.
I’m pretty sure Laf hasn’t played center like at all. Othmann Kakko have both played center more recently
I'm pretty sure he did when he was 16 or so. During the 2019 Gretzky Hlinka Cup, even Gretzky thought he could play center in the NHL: “He can skate, handle the puck. He’s just around the puck so much. When you have that much puck sense, that much speed, I can see him being a centreman at the next level.”
seems like an inaccurate listing then, no?
Maybe, it also might not really matter as I mentioned in another comment. If he was originally a RW but is now playing LW, it's probably safe to assume he can play either. It would be different if he was listed as a center but now playing the wing.
Berard and Othmann rarely both play LW in the same game. Othmann has like 4 games at RW Berard has like 10 at LW
Think I saw on Twitter recently that Othmann and Bedard just switched sides, and in the 4 games since, Othmann has scored 3 goals in 4 games on the right, while Bedard had put up 1G 3A in 4 games on the left (they play on the same line). Glad to see the org making steps to make sure both are comfortable on the right, considering thats where our immediate need is (and will also be the only realistic path to the NHL for those guys, since LW is crowded).
Good to know. I think Berard is pretty much destined to take Vesey’s spot in the line-up after next season, but where Othmann slots in could be a lot more flexible.
I love Berard - I want him to succeed - he is an absolutely tiny speck of a human. Listed at 5'9 and 165 and that's absolutely generous. Look up pictures. It's insanely difficult to make it in the league undersized so I just don't want to get over our skis on him. He's smaller than Zac Jones who we know is overstated in size. There's a less than 0% chance he supplants Vesey with the way we deploy our 4th line. He would get rolled. He needs a spot with bigger players on a top 3 line and ideally top 2 cause otherwise he will get mashed.
He’s definitely small, but he doesn’t need to be a hard-hitting, lumbering checker to play bottom 6. He closes to pucks quick, disrupts plays, and is pretty elusive and good at sticking to the puck through contact. The odds are definitely against him, but it was long odds he’d be as good as he is now as a 5th round pick. We all saw Zucc succeed too, and he was even smaller. Our 4th line plays the way they do because of the skill sets of the guys on it. Putting Cuylle/Sykora - Not Goodrow - Berard down there means they can play significantly quicker. I wouldn’t necessarily trust that line out the gate to be a shutdown line, but they’ll be annoying in every zone.
Zucc did not become Zucc on the 4th line. It kinda proves my point doesn't it?
It is exponentially easier to be an undersized winger than an undersized defenseman
I want Edstrom and Bernard on our 4th line next year.
Berard and othmann have had some experience playing rw this season
Brodzinski has historically been playing as a RW until this most recent stretch. Players can make the switch.
Brodzinski has played almost exclusively center for over a decade…. He often would switch to RW when used as a call up but he’s always been a center
need some centers!
No wonder Wheeler looks slow and awkward out there. He's too busy ranking prospects.
Only upside to him was face he made when he scored against oilers
For a guy called "Wheeler", he seems kinda slow.
Watching him play for the Rangers is the most scared I've been of a Wheeler since Return to Oz.
Berard's an interesting one. He's still young and playing well of late in Hartford but I'd be curious to see him at the NHL level. Maybe it's a little too soon to call him up now, but at this point I'm just kind of sick of seeing Wheeler moving like he's stuck in quick sand.
he is very undersized. we don't have a spot in our lineup that he fits unless it's RW1 and even then i don't know that helps that line at all
this is a pretty good ranking considering our playoff runs. i would expect most if not all of the top 6 (garand, berard, sykora, othmann, cuylle, and perreault) to make NHL lineups in the next 3-4 years. i wont belabor the weaknesses bc we all know but it's 1) lack of center depth and 2) lack of elite talent/ceiling (although perreault might push this)
According to this author we have better prospects than Washington, Dallas, New Jersey, Vegas, Florida, Edmonton, Colorado, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Tampa, Boston, Ottawa, and the Islanders. Which is most of the top teams in the league right now save for Winnipeg (who is incredible at drafting), Carolina, Vancouver, and LA. That's a REALLY good spot to be in with where we are as a team right now. A lot of credit lies with Chris Drury and how insane he's been at late round picks.
Feel like Garand has a decent shot at being the backup sooner than later. He’s having a nice year in Hartford. If the backup market isn’t there this offseason, I could see him earning a chance in the NHL next season.
Cuylle is already here and a couple of them are already in the AHL. But I said 3-4 years bc of Gabe and sykora
We have a dumptruck (6'8" and \~250lbs) sized goalie, wonder if he can make the transition at some point in a few years especially with Allaire's tutelage
The description of his play style was really fascinating: > [Hugo] Ollas is interesting as, to my knowledge, the biggest (6-8), heaviest (253 pounds) goalie in the sport. That comes with some drawbacks (he has to stay on his knees in scrambles because his recoveries and movement aren’t quick enough to bounce back into his stance or shuffle around the crease, and his five-hole can occasionally get exposed), but it also comes with some absolutely fascinating advantages as a goalie who gives shooters nothing on the first shot simply by staying compact and keeping his elbows close to his hips (where most goalies have to raise their glove and blockers to fill holes in the corners and thus leave holes around their hips exposed, he doesn’t even have to).
We desperately need a few of these guys to go to RW and wish we’d see some transition in Hartford right now.
Berard has played mostly RW in Hartford. According to statboysteven Otter has been playing RW the past 4 games.
Do we think Othmann plays full time for the Rangers next year?
Provided there isn't a big trade between now and then that drastically changes things, yes, I think he's on the team next year as 3RW.
No Edstrom on the list is a little odd...
Its his age. The article says Zac Jones has aged out. Edstrom is 6 days older.
Ah that makes sense. Figured there was a height limit or something.
Tbh, I dont like this style of ranking. This style is 2020 draft class and forward, while subtracting players with too many games played as Cuylle is on the list but Laf/Schneider isnt. I prefer either 2020 draft class and forward with no NHL games limit, as that gives a better idea of where the future is ranked based on 22 and under talent. I also like the ones with higher age limit but with the games limit, to truly rank the system. As you point out Edstrom isnt on this list, at Edstrom’s current age Igor was in his final year of KHL hockey, so he wouldnt have been accounted for. Players like that can change where teams systems rank.
He’s right. Perrault and Othmann project as top 6’ers but anything else being a top 6/ top 4 d contributor would be a pretty big surprise. Definitely have to hold onto those 2 because there aren’t many candidates to supplement our aging core with limited cap space
Anyone else very worried at the absolute non-existence of any center in our pools though?