With the drama of the NHL trade deadline behind us and the playoffs looming just around the corner, the New York Rangers should be in an enviable position to compete for a deep run for Lord Stanley’s Cup this season. Yes, adding the likes of Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko and company certainly won’t hurt the Blueshirts in the short term but the Rangers also have a wealth of young talent that’s just waiting for a shot to make it to the NHL.
Catching up with the Rangers’ top prospects.
- Adam Sykora: If you’re looking for an intense, passionate young player, then look no further for Sykora. If you recall, it was the young Slovakian who took out goalie Igor Shesterkin early in practice. Apparently, Sykora didn’t get the memo about attacking a Vezina Trophy winner in training camp and blasted into Shesterkin. Putting that aside, Sykora was the alternate captain for Slovakia in the recent World Junior Championships and represented his country well. The 2022 second round draft pick should be back in training camp this coming September and it will be fun to see if he keeps up that intensity again.
- Dyland Garand: Garand has been promoted up to the AHL with Hartford after stopping just about everything shot at him in the WHL. Of course, the AHL is just a bit more competitve than the WHL and Garand still has a respectable 2.91 goals-against average and an 11-10-3 winning record with the Wolf Pack. Essentially, Garand’s time will come if Jaroslav Halak goes down with an injury but fans should expect to hear more about Garand in the next season or two.
- Will Cuyle: Cuyle actually got a taste of wearing the Blueshirt sweater earlier this season and while he’s back in the AHL with Hartford, Cuyle’s time will come-soon. In 53 games with the Wolf Pack, Cuyle scored 19 goals and 13 more assists and he will no doubt be invited back to training camp this fall. Fans should get to know his name – he could be a top six forward in the very near future.
- Brennan Othmann: While many people were of course singing the praises of Connor Bedard during the World Junior Championship, Othmann was right there alongside Bedard as one of Canada’s top stars. Othmann earned the Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award as the top rookie in the Rangers’ training camp last fall and he’s setting the pace with Peterborough in the OHL with 15 goals and 20 assists in 32 games played. As the Blueshirt faithful have come to know names like Zibanejad, Panarin, Kreider and now Kane and Tarasenko, get ready to start remembering the names Cuyle and Othmann-they are the future of this franchise.
