Rangers Rookie Series Recap: Othmann, Morrow, Tung put on a show in Allentown

After losing in OT the night before, the NY Rangers prospects responded with a dominant 5-2 win over the Flyers prospects. Brennan Othmann had a fantastic outing with 3 assists, Gabe Perreault had a key primary power play assist and the empty netter to put the game away, Scott Morrow had 2 assists, and Callum Tung stopped 21 of 23 shots for the win. The big guns showed up and solidified their spots as the top guys in the rookie series.

Morrow in particular had a great redemption game and looked very calm with the puck on his stick. There very well could be a give and take with a player like Morrow. As he develops in the Rangers system, he could be a guy who is capable of scoring a lot of points, but then also find himself on the ice when goals are scored against.

Morrow was on the top pairing for both games, lining up for 20+ minutes of ice time. That obviously won’t be the case if he makes the Rangers, so the organization will be able to shelter him a bit as he rounds out his game. The big decision for the Rangers will be figuring out if it’s more beneficial for him to play third pair minutes with the Rangers or top-two minutes with the Hartford Wolf Pack.

Brennan Othmann shined again, as his three assists gave him a final line of 1-4-5 in both games. For those who remember, this was very reminiscent of Adam Edstrom’s 3 goals in 2 games last rookie tournament. I hope this is the spring board Othmann needs to come to camp confident and ready to be a full time NHL player. The team could use his skillset in the lineup, but more importantly, the team needs him to be a productive player.

As a former first round pick and Chris Drury’s first ever pick, this is the year he needs to take the next step, and the Rangers need to put him in a position to do so. The vision he had on some of the goals in this game were very encouraging to watch, especially on one where he made a beautiful royal road pass to Noah Laba on a 2-on-1. We know Othmann’s pedigree is his shot, but he is a lowkey really good playmaker as well.

The Rangers needed another solid goalie prospect behind Dylan Garand, and it looks like Callum Tung is that guy. The club is obviously very much set in net for the foreseeable future with Igor Shesterkin, and now it looks like Tung and Garand may be competing to fill Jonathan Quick’s backup spot for next season. Ideally one or both follow the Cam Talbot/Alex Georgiev path, showcasing enough as a backup to earn a nice return in a trade. Though for now, Hartford should be a much better team with him and Garand in net.

Both games were great teasers of what’s to come soon. Camp and preseason hockey are almost here, with the opener against Pittsburgh not far behind. Both rookie games were encouraging, and it shows the kids can, at the very least, force the veterans to show up to camp. The Rangers may not have a top prospect system right now, but their top guys are going to push for middle of the lineup roles in the very near future.