Alexis Lafreniere isn’t the only Ranger who could use a step

Larry Brooks

MLB

By means of Larry Brooks

It’s not yet known if the Rangers intend to move Alexis Lafreniere to right wing when training camp opens on Sept.

Moving Lafreniere, as we’ve discussed before, would allow him to compete for a top-6 role without moving Chris Kreider, the NHL’s seventh-leading goal scorer the past two seasons, to one bad third line paper.

Regardless, the organization also needs to move Brennan Othmann, the 16th overall pick in the 2021 draft, to his right. He was listed as a left winger and played most of that role through his junior career that ended last year with Peterborough’s OHL championship.

It could be Hartford or Manhattan for Othmann, a 20-year-old, 6-foot, 187-pound lefty. Paradoxically, if Lafreniere moves to the right wing, Othmann might have a better chance of getting a top-9 spot on the left, with Blake Wheeler a top-nine lock on the right.

To that, I would suggest that it is about the long game. Lafreniere may not be able to switch to his off-wing. If he plays on his natural side, Othmann will face the Kreider-Lafreniere-Artemi Panarin blockade on the left.

And really, unless Othmann makes it impossible for the Rangers to send him to the AHL, where he will begin his pro apprenticeship. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Additionally, the organization lacks depth on the right side. Until the Blueshirts acquired Vlad Tarasenko in early February and Patrick Kane three weeks later, nominal bottom-sixers Jimmy Vesey and Barclay Goodrow combined for 55 games as top-six right wings.

There are no legitimately projected top-6 right wings in the minor league system. The Rangers’ first-round pick this year, 23rd-overall Gabe Perreault, will be entering his freshman year at Boston College and will probably have three or four more years. The 37-year-old Wheeler is likely one-and-done.

The Rangers need to add to the right. I say they need to move Will Cuylle to his off-wing, as well, after confusingly not doing that during his rookie pro season with the Wolf Pack.

“I can play both, I can play the right side, too, I played a little bit last year in Peterborough,” said Othmann after the first session of the rookie camp last Wednesday. “It’s the same thing, getting the puck off the wall is a lot harder, but that’s really it. [set position] on faceoffs.”

Again, this is as much about the future as it is about the 2023-24 season. Othmann, who will turn 21 in the first week of January, should force his way to the Rangers, outside of camp or during the season. And there should be a vacant top-nine spot open. If he can’t get meaningful minutes, what’s the point?

“I think it’s going to be tough to beat for sure [Kreider and Panarin] and with Lafreniere on the left side, too,” Othmann said. “There are some strong forwards there. They are a class of their own among NHL players.

“So if I can play on the right side, I think that’s obviously very versatile.”

It will be a big surprise if anyone who makes the rookie camp makes the opening roster. Cuylle, who had a four-game cameo with the Rangers in January and February while playing out the season for the Wolf Pack, will report to the veterans next week. But with the way the roster is constructed, even he is a long shot to start the season in New York.

The best scenario for the organization and its valued prospects is for the youth to develop in the first weeks or months to the point where they can be candidates for promotion in time. Remember, Carl Hagelin didn’t make the opening roster in 2011, but after he was promoted over Thanksgiving, he immediately took on an important role. That kind of timeline would just be ducky when applied to Othmann and Cuylle.

(Who asked what happens when there are injuries above, Aaron Rodgers? Shhhhh.)

The opening roster is all but certain not to have a forward between the ages of 24 and 30, with only three 24 or younger. That was a result of the drafts from 2014 to 2016. Of the 11 forwards selected by the Blueshirts, only Tim Gettinger, who in 16 games posted one assist, made it to New York.

The drafts of the last few years should yield more than that. In addition to Othmann, Cuylle and Perreault, rookie-camp participants Adam Sykora, Bryce McConnell-Barker and Brett Berard are legitimate prospects who could challenge for spots in the near future. Matt Rempe, who is 6-foot-8, remains an intriguing future candidate.

This rookie camp is about the future and not so much about this season. Othmann’s move to the right has the potential to pay dividends sooner or later.