HAMILTON, ON – JANUARY 16: Dylan Garand #31 of Team White during warm up for the 2020 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game against Team Red at FirstOntario Centre on January 16, 2020 in Hamilton, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – MARCH 19: UMASS Minutemen forward Bobby Trivigno (8) shoots during the Hockey East Championship game between the University of Massachusetts Minutemen and the University of Connecticut Huskies on March 19, 2022 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Can you just feel the coolness of the ice and long for the sound of a slap shot? Well, if you’re like me, it’s only a matter of time before the Rangers are back on the ice and the 2022-23 NHL season begins. Maybe it’s a coping mechanism from the summer heat, but I start watching for small hints of foliage changes as a reminder that hockey season is just around the corner.
The Rangers are building a solid prospect pool to stay competitive
Coming off of an Eastern Conference finals run towards the Stanley Cup, the Rangers need to build on their success this past season in order to continue dominating the Metropolitan Division. Stocking up with key prospects and essentially re-loading enables the Blueshirts to expand their player pool and keep a youth movement going-critically important for sustaining any NHL franchise. The Rangers held their development camp last month and as usual, certain prospects showed their value to the organization.
Brennan Othmann -Forward:
Brennan Othmann has to be the consensus prospect leader and a possible face of the Rangers down the road. The 6’0″, 179 lb. lefty forward has been a force to be reckoned with for the OHL Flint Firebirds where he scored 50 goals and 97 total points in 66 games last season. At the tender age of 19, Othmann also just helped Canada win the World Junior Championships with six more points in six games during the tournament. Despite his youth, Othmann is known to play the game hard and aggressive like and old soul and this style of play, combined with his ability to put points on the board, makes him the primary prospect target for the Rangers for the conceivable future.
Dylan Garand-Goalie:
Highly touted goalie Dylan Garand also recently finished up the WJC in Edmonton and won gold for Canada with a solid 6-0 record and a 1.98 GAA and a .925 SV average-all impressive statistics given the competition level in this tournament. Garand has spent the last five seasons with the CHL Kamloops Blazers and posts a 34-9 overall record including four shutouts. Garand stands at 6’1″ and 181 pounds which places him on the average size for a goalie; however, his record in the juniors and in the WJC speaks for itself. Garand looks to move up the Rangers organizational ranks-soon.
Matthew Robertson -Defenseman:
OK, Robertson certainly looks the part of a defenseman at at 6’4″ and a bit over 200 pounds he’ll fit in just nicely. Most pundits think that Robertson is ready for the NHL and posted 11 points last season with the Hartford Wolf Pack and may be looking at moving up to MSG this season with the Rangers. Robertson has the tools to be a solid defender and we could be hearing this name routinely soon.
Bobby Trivigno-Forward:
Undrafted forward Bobby Trivigno has been a stellar player at UMass Amherst and the Rangers went ahead and signed him this past spring. Trivigno was selected as the College Hockey News player of the year this past season and he registered 48 points with 20 goals in 36 games for the Minutemen. There leaves little doubt that Trivigno, who joined Hartford in the AHL at the towards the end of last season, will soon be wearing a Rangers sweater in the very near future if not this coming season at some point.
