Highly touted New York Rangers prospect Brennan Othmann is currently attending the Flint Firebirds training camp. Although not definite, he is expected to start the season there due to his ineligibility to be sent down to the Hartford Wolf Pack due to age.
Othmann, 19, scored 50 goals and 97 points in 66 games last season as Firebirds’ captain. He then helped Canada win Gold at the World Junior Championship in August with some heavy hitting and physical play. In the tournament, he finished with 6 points across 6 contests.
Team Canada teammates and fellow Rangers prospects Will Cuylle and Dylan Garand were absent from their respective minor league training camp rosters. This should be a good indication that the Rangers intend to have both of them playing pro hockey with Hartford at the very least this upcoming season.
Brennan Othmann getting ready for Rangers camp
Flint finished the 2021-22 campaign with a record of 42-21-1 for third place in the Western Conference. They eventually fell to Will Cuylle’s led Windsor Spitfires in the playoffs.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Othmann said on Wednesday. “I’m glad I back here to see the boys. I enjoy playing for the team and this city. We’ve got a great group of guys.”
After attending Flint’s camp, Othmann’s schedule will remain very busy as will head to New York in a few weeks to battle for a spot on the Rangers opening roster.
“I want to keep the pace of play up,” he noted. “Keeping that confidence from this camp to Rangers camp is going to be huge.”
The Firebirds will play their Blue vs White game today at Flint Iceland Arena (10 AM).
Othmann’s previous Rangers camp
The Rangers 2021 first round pick, 16th overall, attended Rangers camp last season and made quite an impression as an 18 year-old. He was one of the later cuts and understood what he needed to do in order to make the team in the future.
“You haver to get stronger,” Orthmann admitted. “You’re playing against guys like (Ryan) Reaves, who is 225 lbs, and if you line match against him and you’re a 180 lbs like me, 9 times out of 10 he’s coming away with the puck.
“If I can throw on another 5 or 10 lbs of muscle and come back with a little more confidence, and play well in the OHL next year, I may have a good shot next year,” Othmann concluded. “I think if I can build strength, I think I can turn into a better hockey player than I am now.”
That’s indeed what he did by scoring 50 goals last year and doing it at all strengths, including shorthanded.
A quick look at various sites shows him still listed at 180 lbs, but he looked bigger for Team Canada at the WJC. It will be interesting to see if the Rangers update that info for training camp.
Regardless of his listed weight, Othmann made it clear what his goal is this September.
“The goal is to try and make the team the best that I can,” Othmann stated. “I know they’re a strong team with good young players and good leadership too. If I can make the team it’d be great for me and the organization. We’ll see what happens and I’m excited.
“I had a good season. I played well for myself and [Flint]. If I can come in with that amount of confidence into Rangers camp and make the team it would be something special.”
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