Now that the New York Rangers have called up their 2021 first-round pick, Brennan Othmann, head coach Peter Laviolette needs to place him on a line where he can find early success.
General manager Chris Drury needed to fill a hole left when Tyler Pitlick went down with a lower-body injury. The club recalled forward Brennan Othmann, who will make his debut tonight when the Blueshrts host the Chicago Blackhawks (MSG, 7 p.m.).
Now, head coach Peter Laviolette has to do his job and put Othmann on a line where he can be successful and help the Rangers win hockey games.
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. The 21-year-old scored two goals in his first game for Hartford, and his nine goals are seventh-most among AHL rookies. His 23 points are tied for sixth among rookies. Othmann had not scored a goal in his last nine games.
Laviolette first needs to figure out how he wants to use Othmann. You can rule out putting him on the fourth line and moving up Jimmy Vesey to the third line. Placing Othmann there would be a waste of time, as Laviolette relies heavily on that line’s defensive skill.
If he elects to start Othmann on the third line, Nick Bonino or Johnny Brodinski is likely the choice to move down to the fourth line to fill in for Pitlick.
The second line of Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trockek, and Alexis Lafreniere is off-limits, so that leaves one big move to make.
Othmann is a natural left wing, but he was willing to switch sides and play the right side. He did this in training camp, where Will Cuylle narrowly beat him for the last roster spot in October.
The Rangers could move Blake Wheeler to the third line and insert Othmann onto the line with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. In past seasons, when an opportunity like this arose, the club would place a rookie in a safe spot, wasting the player’s team would play it safe and play potential early on.
This is an opportunity for the team to take advantage of Othmann’s skill and play him with two of the best players on the team.
Wherever he plays, the Othmann era begins tonight at MSG. Othman has won at every level he has played. The poised forward will finally get to show why the Rangers chose him with the 16th overall selection in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Follow Frank on X at @RangerProud
