LW Brennan Othmann - Hartford Wolfpack, HL (2021, 16th, NYR)

[GAGLine]

That's Othmann 100%. The question is less harmful for Othmann's career...NHL or OHL. Him playing mostly special teams in the NHL might be best for his development and gives him time and opportunity to work out and get good coaching. I don't think he's ready for playing a lot of 5vs5 hockey at NHL level but he can definitely be help with special teams, especially with the PP thanks to his shot.

Othmann is a well rounded player already. Just needs to work on his body and on his decision making. I'm not sure he can do a lot to improve that playing OHL. NHL isn't ideal either but at least he'd have better coaching and better opportunities to work on his body.

Othmann isn't getting PP or PK time on the Rangers any time soon, even once he actually makes the team. There's too many players ahead of him.

I wouldn't call him a well-rounded player. His play without the puck has a long ways to go. He was scratched in the WJC for taking bad penalties (he took some bad penalties in the OHL playoffs too, so this isn't an isolated case). And he was benched/demoted for not putting in the effort on the defensive side.

I'm sure that when the Rangers send him back to the OHL, it will be with a clear understanding of the things he needs to work on.

 

[Hinterland]

Othmann isn't getting PP or PK time on the Rangers any time soon, even once he actually makes the team. There's too many players ahead of him.

I wouldn't call him a well-rounded player. His play without the puck has a long ways to go. He was scratched in the WJC for taking bad penalties (he took some bad penalties in the OHL playoffs too, so this isn't an isolated case). And he was benched/demoted for not putting in the effort on the defensive side.

I'm sure that when the Rangers send him back to the OHL, it will be with a clear understanding of the things he needs to work on.

Othmann is always gonna take bad penalties and you're dreaming if you think otherwise. The Tkachuk brothers are his idols and he's even crazier than them. Maybe not as unfair but he loves to piss off opponents, he loves trash talk, hard hitting and fighting. That's not gonna stop in 10 years, even all career long. Wherever he goes, he's not gonna stop. It's the way he plays. What people don't understand is that while frustration did get the better of him at times most of those penalties are actually investments. He's building an image. He was public enemy nr.1 in every league or tournament he played in and he's always drawing way more penalties than he actually takes. He's a penalty drawing machine because everybody hates Brennan Othmann. He also drew one in that preseason game recently. The WJC scratch was just Cameron being dumb (as we all know).

Also, Othmann is excellent against the puck. Especially on the forecheck he's great. Positioning is good as well. Where he's most mistake prone is his decision making with the puck. He tends to shoot when there's good passing options and vice versa. At time takes unecessary risks as well which lead to him running into defenders if there's less space. That was his biggest issue over in Switzerland when playing vs men for the first time. The OHL is too easy in that regard. Nobody is ever gonna stop him there, he has all the time in the world and even if somebody gets close to him Othmann is just gonna shrug or brush him off. What he does at OHL level doesn't work in mens leagues, let alone in the NHL. That's why it wouldn't be a good idea for him to play another OHL season. In the NHL there's other risks of course so both options may be harmful. If he can get special team time I'd keep him in the NHL though where he has better options to improve off the ice. At this point that's at least as important for him than actually playing games. The Rangers can still send him to the WJC where he'll get more minutes.

 

[bleedblue94]

it isn't an either or with he and kravtsov. even if otter makes the team he is gone after 9 games. they could easily slot him on the 3rd line for 9 games and player one of laffy, kakko, kravtsov on each of the top 3 lines to fill in the open spots. nyr lost vatrano and copp from the top 6/9 and really only have kravtsov that has been added that is primed for that role. blais is back from injury and can work his way back on the 4th line for 9 games before he slides up into the 3rd line spot that otter would leave open when he goes back to junior. he has a chance to break camp with the team and get his 9 games if he keeps making an impact

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Does it have to be Othmann vs Kravtsov? Isn't Blais an eye sore in the current top 9?

Kreider - Zibanejad - Lafreniere
Panarin - Trochek - Kravtsov
Othmann - Chytil - Kakko

Possible if Lafreniere is RW. Or swap him and Othmann if the latter is good at RW. Or Kravtsov to LW.

That’s asking a lot of the dinosaur coach. He’s going to want more toughness players in the lineup. I don’t think we’re getting both in the lineup.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

they're not keeping him

 

[The Crypto Guy]

No room for him and he could still use some time in juniors to round out his game. He oozes offensive and physical skill, but needs some work defensively that he can improve on his year. He'll be on the team in 23-24.

 

[Hinterland]

No room for him and he could still use some time in juniors to round out his game. He oozes offensive and physical skill, but needs some work defensively that he can improve on his year. He'll be on the team in 23-24.

Again, I disagree. His defense is very good. His decisionmaking with the puck is the biggest issue and it's not gonna get tested in the OHL because the kids there just aren't big or good enough. He has all the time in the world and even if he doesn't hell just overpower the kids. Also, him shooting instead of passing or vice versa won't have the same consequences compared to a men's league, let alone the NHL. That's why he dominated the OHL more than probably more NHL ready players like McTavish despite having nobody to play with. It fits him very well because it doesn't really test his weaknesses but he couldn't possibly play vs men the way he plays OHL. Another year of OHL hockey is gonna cause more bad habits than it would help him. He also needs to hit the gym in order to play the game he wants to play but NY and less minutes are probably a better environment to do that than Flint.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

No room for him and he could still use some time in juniors to round out his game. He oozes offensive and physical skill, but needs some work defensively that he can improve on his year. He'll be on the team in 23-24.

He also is a pretty ugly skater from what I saw. Not necessarily slow, but definitely not smooth

 

[Kingpin794]

Again, I disagree. His defense is very good. His decisionmaking with the puck is the biggest issue and it's not gonna get tested in the OHL because the kids there just aren't big or good enough. He has all the time in the world and even if he doesn't hell just overpower the kids. Also, him shooting instead of passing or vice versa won't have the same consequences compared to a men's league, let alone the NHL. That's why he dominated the OHL more than probably more NHL ready players like McTavish despite having nobody to play with. It fits him very well because it doesn't really test his weaknesses but he couldn't possibly play vs men the way he plays OHL. Another year of OHL hockey is gonna cause more bad habits than it would help him. He also needs to hit the gym in order to play the game he wants to play but NY and less minutes are probably a better environment to do that than Flint.

He did not dominate more than McTavish. Also Flint got to the WCF. He didn’t have “nobody” to play with. He had a contending team around him. No one’s ever been hurt with extra time in junior. On the other hand, there are countless examples of player being hindered by being rushed into NHL duty.

 

[Hinterland]

He did not dominate more than McTavish. Also Flint got to the WCF. He didn’t have “nobody” to play with. He had a contending team around him. No one’s ever been hurt with extra time in junior. On the other hand, there are countless examples of player being hindered by being rushed into NHL duty.

I watched all of the OHL playoffs and Flint was trash. Many young kids who are gonna be better this year but last year they were trash. Dmitri Kuzmin is an elite offensive defenseman and PP quarterback at OHL level with great hands. He's not a defense specialist though. Even at OHL level he'a average at best and still mistake prone. Amadeus Lombardi has turned a lot of heads during the playoff run and is a decent Center at OHL level. Othmann barely got to play with him though. Besides that there's no other real impact player. Not even for OHL level.

McTavish was good in the OHL but not spectacular, especially given the fact that he had a shitton of support in Hamilton. He always had very good wingers, one of them always named Ryan Winterton, and there was another line of Hayes/Morrison and Mysak as 3rd line Center drawing though matchups as well. All of that of course playing in front of the OHL defender of the year. Makes your life a lot easier. Othmann had nobody except on the PP and still dominated the league.

 

[Kingpin794]

I watched all of the OHL playoffs and Flint was trash. Many young kids who are gonna be better this year but last year they were trash. Dmitri Kuzmin is an elite offensive defenseman and PP quarterback at OHL level with great hands. He's not a defense specialist though. Even at OHL level he'a average at best and still mistake prone. Amadeus Lombardi has turned a lot of heads during the playoff run and is a decent Center at OHL level. Othmann barely got to play with him though. Besides that there's no other real impact player. Not even for OHL level.

McTavish was good in the OHL but not spectacular, especially given the fact that he had a shitton of support in Hamilton. He always had very good wingers, one of them always named Ryan Winterton, and there was another line of Hayes/Morrison and Mysak as 3rd line Center drawing though matchups as well. All of that of course playing in front of the OHL defender of the year. Makes your life a lot easier. Othmann had nobody except on the PP and still dominated the league.

Whatever your definition of trash is, the point still stands that going back to junior does not hurt players

 

[Hinterland]

Whatever your definition of trash is, the point still stands that going back to junior does not hurt players

I disagree. Especially in this case because the way Othmann plays in the OHL doesn't work vs men, let alone in the NHL. You don't want him to continue with this. He had all sorts of problems to make the switch when playing in Switzerland. He was fine at first but in the long run he kept on falling back to trying those OHL plays and got frustrated which led to a major slump.

He outplayed the OHL last year already. Without support more wouldn't be possible.

Also, Othmann's main problem is still decision making. It's what can really get him off his game, destroy his confidence etc. His decision making isn't gonna get tested in the OHL. Certainly didn't last year. Reality is gonna hit him very hard if he plays another year vs random kids.

 

[My3Sons]

That's Othmann 100%. The question is what's less harmful for Othmann's development...NHL or OHL. Him playing mostly special teams in the NHL might be best for his development and gives him time and opportunity to work out and get good coaching. I don't think he's ready for playing a lot of 5vs5 hockey at NHL level but he can definitely be help with special teams, especially with the PP thanks to his shot.

Othmann is a well rounded player already. Just needs to work on his body and on his decision making. I'm not sure he can do a lot to improve that playing OHL. To improve he needs to play vs men and in a league where there's less time for decision making. The OHL doesn't really challenge him to work on his weaknesses. That's why he dominated the league. It fits him but I don't think it's a good preparation for where he wants to be. NHL isn't ideal either but at least he'd have better coaching and better opportunities to work on his body.

Having a promising young player only play special teams sounds counter productive to me. Especially on a team like the Rangers where he'd presumably only be on a PP2. Just my thoughts. He can be very good if he rounds out his game to play in every situation. That's the value for a guy like this. If they think he can play a sheltered shift at even strength then it's a different story.

 

[Kingpin794]

I disagree. Especially in this case because the way Othmann plays in the OHL doesn't work vs men, let alone in the NHL. You don't want him to continue with this. He had all sorts of problems to make the switch when playing in Switzerland. He was fine at first but in the long run he kept on falling back to trying those OHL plays and got frustrated which led to a major slump.

He outplayed the OHL last year already. Without support more wouldn't be possible.

Also, Othmann's main problem is still decision making. It's what can really get him off his game, destroy his confidence etc. His decision making isn't gonna get tested in the OHL. Certainly didn't last year. Reality is gonna hit him very hard if he plays another year vs random kids.

Just tell me one player that has been hurt by playing their 19 year old season in juniors instead of being up in the NHL.

 

[Hinterland]

Just tell me one player that has been hurt by playing their 19 year old season in juniors instead of being up in the NHL.

All players who would have been ready for pro hockey but not for the NHL. If you're good enough to play AHL or in Europe's top leagues then it's a lost year at the very best if you play CHL instead. Yeah, I get it. You can gain confidence, leadership skills, maybe even become a winner if you can compete for the memorial cup but in terms of actual hockey skills it's a lost year if you play vs random kids when you're good enough to play vs the almost best men in the world.

Again, I'm particularly worried about Othmann because I think he developed lots of bad habits in the OHL already. He wouldn't necessarily identify them as bad habits though because it works well enough for him in the OHL. Now of course while he's still new to NHL hockey he's gonna keep it simple but over in Switzerland what did become an issue is that he started doing OHL plays vs men just to then become frustrated when they didn't work. He was also shocked about the quality of goaltending and that got him off his game as well. In the OHL, with his shot, he can basically shoot from everywhere and a pretty good percentage will go in just because your average OHL goaltender can't stop a beachball and is gonna offer lots of freebies on top. Now if you can't decide when to pass or shoot playing vs men, let alone the NHL then you're not gonna score a lot of goals which is a major problem for goalscorers like Othmann. The Swiss League Othmann played in isn't known for good goaltending either. It's development league with lots of younger, skilled and fast skating players but goalies are mostly poor for pro standarts. Still Othmann suddenly went ice cold once his hot streak ended. The sooner his decision making with the puck improves, the better. He's not gonna learn it in the OHL but is gonna further "reinforce" bad habits. He also can't play 1vs1s in the NHL the way he does them in the OHL or he's gonna get rocked.

 

[Kingpin794]

All players who would have been ready for pro hockey but not for the NHL. If you're good enough to play AHL or in Europe's top leagues then it's a lost year at the very best if you play CHL instead. Yeah, I get it. You can gain confidence, leadership skills, maybe even become a winner if you can compete for the memorial cup but in terms of actual hockey skills it's a lost year if you play vs random kids when you're good enough to play vs the almost best men in the world.

Again, I'm particularly worried about Othmann because I think he developed lots of bad habits in the OHL already. He wouldn't necessarily identify them as bad habits though because it works well enough for him in the OHL. Now of course while he's still new to NHL hockey he's gonna keep it simple but over in Switzerland what did become an issue is that he started doing OHL plays vs men just to then become frustrated when they didn't work. He was also shocked about the quality of goaltending and that got him off his game as well. In the OHL, with his shot, he can basically shoot from everywhere and a pretty good percentage will go in just because your average OHL goaltender can't stop a beachball and is gonna offer lots of freebies on top. Now if you can't decide when to pass or shoot playing vs men, let alone the NHL then you're not gonna score a lot of goals which is a major problem for goalscorers like Othmann. The Swiss League Othmann played in isn't known for good goaltending either. It's development league with lots of younger, skilled and fast skating players but goalies are mostly poor for pro standarts. Still Othmann suddenly went ice cold once his hot streak ended. The sooner his decision making with the puck improves, the better. He's not gonna learn it in the OHL but is gonna further "reinforce" bad habits. He also can't play 1vs1s in the NHL the way he does them in the OHL or he's gonna get rocked.

I’m gonna step away after this.

There is no such thing as “too good for junior”. McDavid was toying with the OHL forever before he got drafted. Probably could have played in the NHL at 16. The extra time didn’t hurt him. It won’t hurt Othmann.

 

[Hinterland]

I’m gonna step away after this.

There is no such thing as “too good for junior”. McDavid was toying with the OHL forever before he got drafted. Probably could have played in the NHL at 16. The extra time didn’t hurt him. It won’t hurt Othmann.

McDavid has/had other weaknesses but decision making with the puck was never one of them. That's where he's as good as anybody worldwide. Othmann is far away from that.

 

[FireBird71]

He’s coming back to Flint

 

[NJ DevLolz]

Didn’t even realize this guy played last night until Dougie dropped him

 

[Boonk]

How does Flint stack up to last year's team? I know their goalie and Ohtmann were a huge part of their success.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

His second game wasn’t as good. Almost was an impossible task for him to make the team. Had to be perfect and he wasn’t. He’ll probably make it next year.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I don’t think any of this stuff is that bad, and he could be a wonderful person, but listening to some of his interviews throughout recent months, he has absolutely no filter. He says some things in interviews that he probably shouldn’t be saying and the uptight NHL community won’t want him to say.

It’s possible this isn’t the off ice questions that have been mentioned before, but he’s likely going to be taken aside and told he can’t be as candid in interviews as he is.

 

[TGWL]

Didn’t even realize this guy played last night until Dougie dropped him

I hope you be you when I get older...

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Also has 8 points through 4 games. He'll be in the NHL next season. I think like 10 days after being sent back a lot of Ranger fans would like him back in the mix with the big club. We have a top 9 wing spot available.

 

[Hinterland]

I think he can only lose playing another year in Flint but NY likely would have been the same so I'm not too mad about it. The system has to change though. Best case scenario is most likely a lost year for Othmann and that's just not acceptable. I get that CHL clubs want to get the most out of their prospects but at the end of the day players development has to be above all. There has to be a solution that works for everybody.