Will Cuylle’s path to becoming a long-term Ranger has been a winding one, but the latest chapter is the one New York hoped for when it turned a lost draft pick into a real NHL piece.
The Rangers’ connection to Cuylle traces back to Lias Andersson, whose time in New York never got off the ground. After Andersson appeared in 66 games across three seasons, the Rangers decided it was time to move on. In the deal that sent him to the Los Angeles Kings, New York received the 60th overall pick in the 2020 NHL draft, and that selection became Cuylle.
Cuylle arrived with plenty to like. The Toronto-born power forward measured 6-3 and 216 pounds, and he was fresh off an 80-point regular season with the Windsor Spitfires in the OHL, plus 31 points in the postseason.
That production hinted early that he could handle bigger moments. He followed it by putting together close to a full season in Hartford, where he posted 25 goals and 20 assists for 45 points in 69 games before earning a regular role with the Rangers.
Once he got there, the offense kept building. Cuylle’s first full NHL season ended with 21 points, then he more than doubled that total in his second year. Over the last two full 82-game seasons, he has averaged 41.5 points, a steady climb for a player who was never supposed to be handed anything.
Now Cuylle is in the final year of the two-year bridge contract he signed in 2025, and the role has settled in around him. He entered this season with some expectation of pushing for a top-six spot, with Oliver Bjorkstrand mentioned as the likely competition. Bjorkstrand won that battle, but Tye Kartye took the job not long after, and Cuylle has found a home on the third line.
That trio has been the one stable unit for the Rangers so far this season, with Cuylle lining up alongside Noah Laba and Eeli Tolvanen. Through 13 games, he has 4 goals and 8 points. The goals have fit his identity exactly: a player who shoots without hesitation and gets good looks because his release is so quick when he catches the puck cleanly.
He also does a lot of his damage where it matters most. Cuylle doesn’t shy away from the traffic in front of the net, and he has shown a real willingness to work the dirty areas, whether that means punching in a rebound or getting his stick on a point shot. That part of his game has made him more than just a straight-line winger - it’s helped make him useful in the spots that usually decide whether a young player sticks.
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Panarin Just Reopened A Brutal Rangers Reality At MSG
Artemi Panarins return to Madison Square Garden once again put a spotlight on what the Rangers gave up when they moved on from him. In his second visit back since the trade, he was right in the middle of the action, scoring a goal and adding an assist as his new club handled the building with ease. For a Rangers team still trying to settle into life without him, it was another reminder of how quickly an old star can make a new place feel like home.
Panarin has been productive from the start this season, piling up seven goals and four assists in 10 games for the Los Angeles Kings, while the Rangers continue to look for answers from the player they brought in to replace him. Pavel Dorofeyev has managed only three goals in 14 games, and his recent move down to the third line only deepens the concern about whether New York has found the right answer yet. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Still Have One Big Pavel Dorofeyev Debate Hanging Over Them
The Rangers have enough problems without having to worry about one of their big offseason additions, but Pavel Dorofeyevs early stretch in New York has become part of the conversation anyway. In a season where the club has dropped five of its last six and has had to navigate the ripple effects of Igor Shesterkins injury along with its own defensive issues, Dorofeyevs adjustment has been closely watched because he was brought in to help add more bite to the attack.
His numbers through 14 games have lagged a bit behind what he showed with the Vegas Golden Knights, but there are signs he is settling in. Dorofeyev has started to flash more of the offense the Rangers expected, and his recent run of productivity suggests this is still a work in progress rather than a finished judgment on the move. The bigger question now is whether the Rangers can count on that trend to keep building as they try to steady themselves. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Prospects Are Starting To Build Real Momentum Overseas
A handful of Rangers prospects kept busy overseas last week, and there were signs that the organizations development pipeline is starting to pick up some real traction. Rico Gredig got on the board for EV Zug in Switzerland, while Mikkel Eriksen continued to hold a prominent role for Frjestad BK in Sweden, where he has been seeing top-six minutes and finding ways to stay involved offensively.
For a Rangers system that is always under the microscope, those kinds of updates matter because they show more than just ice time. Gredigs first goal of the season and Eriksens steady work in Sweden were part of a broader stretch that also included other prospects getting reps in their own leagues, a useful sign that several young players are building confidence at once rather than waiting for one breakout to carry the group. [Read more 🡒]