While the New York Rangers are coming into the 2024-25 season with a nearly identical roster to the one they had last year, there are a couple of rokies who could be fighting for a roster spot.
Brennan Othmann and Brett Berard are two intriguing young players to watch out for at training camp.
“Brennan Othmann is the rookie forward who will have all eyes on him in training camp,” NHL.com’s Dan Rosen wrote. “But Berard might steal a roster spot. The 21-year-old was third for Hartford in the AHL with 48 points (25 goals, 23 assists) in 71 games last season.”
The Rangers selected Othmann with the sixteenth overall overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft as he’s arguably New York’s top prospect aside from Gabriel Perreault.
The 21-year-old recorded 21 goals, 28 assists and 49 points in 67 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack this past season.
Othmann is a player who has high offensive potential and very well could be a scoring threat this upcoming season for the Rangers if he were to make the team.
“There’s legitimate high-end skill to his game, including impressive touch with the puck, a goal scorer’s touch in the way he masks his release with his footwork (it’s an accurate, deceptive shot more than a hard one), and heady spatial awareness inside the offensive zone,” Scott Wheeler of The Athletic wrote.
Berard was drafted in the fifth round back in 2020 and he’s slowly worked his way up the Rangers prospect depth chart. Now he has an opportunity to overcome all the odds and make the NHL.
With the Wolf Pack last season, the 21-year-old forward tallied 25 goals, 23 assists and 48 points.
“If Berard makes it, he’s going to become a fan favorite for his fearless, determined style as a feisty competitor who attacks the net, gets up and under bigger players to win lanes and retrievals, and plays with skill and pace in attacking bursts between battles,” Wheeler wrote.
These two prospects will make Rangers training camp a lot more exciting than many people may have originally anticipated.
