Brennan Othmann has been waiting for this one.
Eight months after the New York Rangers shipped him to Calgary, the former first-round pick is set to see his old club for the first time when the Flames host the Rangers at Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday. And Othmann isn’t hiding the fact that the matchup carries a little extra juice.
“I’m looking forward to playing against those guys, for sure. I think it’s going to be an exciting game for everyone, for myself too, selfishly, … a couple guys already giving it to me this morning, so it’s always fun when everyone rallies around you for a game like that,” Othmann said after practice Tuesday.
The 23-year-old winger was pressed on whether the game meant more because it comes against the team that took him No. 16 overall in the 2021 NHL Draft. He didn’t exactly dodge that idea.
“The goal at the start of the year was … to win the trade, in a sense, I guess. To make the team and prove that I am an NHL player,” Othmann shared.
“I think I have been doing that and I just want to keep doing that. … There’s definitely a little fire going into [Wednesday], so I’m looking forward to it.”
Othmann’s path to this point hasn’t been smooth. He missed a chunk of time after suffering an upper-body injury against the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 28, and he had been out since late October. Before that, he had made the team out of training camp, appeared in six games, and then got derailed.
“Obviously, it doesn’t feel good anytime you sit out when you’re hurt or a healthy scratch, so just been trying to grind, get back in the lineup as fast as I can,” he explained. “I’m just happy to be back and a full-go [Wednesday}.”
His spot on the roster came after a preseason built on an assertive, physical style. The box score hasn’t shown much yet - no points, seven penalty minutes, and 9:20 of average ice time on Calgary’s fourth line - but Othmann said he felt his game was trending the right way.
“I thought I was playing well,” Othman said. “I know a lot of people look at … the stat sheet at the end of games, and I know it may not look like the prettiest, but I feel like I was playing pretty good hockey. I was getting good feedback from the coaching staff.”
This isn’t a new storyline for Othmann, either. A year ago, he made it clear behind the scenes that he wanted out of New York.
Across parts of three seasons with the Rangers, he played 42 games and scored one NHL goal, often stuck in a fourth-line role. Meanwhile, he put up bigger numbers in Hartford, scoring 21 goals in 2023-24 and 12 more in 27 AHL games the next season.
The Rangers eventually dealt him to Calgary ahead of the 2026 trade deadline for prospect Jacob Battaglia. Othmann made an immediate impression in his Flames debut on March 28 against Vancouver with an assist, then scored two nights later against Colorado.
He also spent 14 games with Calgary’s AHL affiliate last season, finishing with seven points, including one goal and six assists. Battaglia, meanwhile, has yet to record a point in nine games with Hartford this season.
Flames coach Ryan Huska said Tuesday the team wants Othmann to keep growing into a player who can change the tone of a game.
“We’re hopeful he can become a guy for us that drags people into games. He’s got a good skill set that goes along with it that allows him to move up and down the lineup at times, and we’re hopeful we can bring his game along,” Huska explained Tuesday.
“But it is something that when a player is on a new team, they always look forward to the games against their former team, for sure.”
For Othmann, Wednesday is exactly that kind of night.
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Gawdins arrival comes at a time when the Rangers are still searching for a workable answer in that role, and this trip should provide a clearer read than the brief looks they have had before. For a team trying to round out its bottom six, the next few games could go a long way toward showing whether this is simply another stopgap or something closer to a real solution. [Read more 🡒]