With the Rangers officially hitting the All Star break, the team reassigned forward Will Cuylle to the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday afternoon.
Cuylle was impressive during his two game stint on the Rangers’ fourth line. He drew a penalty and had four hits in five minutes of action in his NHL debut, an overtime loss to his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs.
Cuylle and the Rangers’ fourth line then drew the start in Friday night’s contest against the Vegas Golden Knights. The youngster again rose to the occasion with a strong six and a half minutes of ice time.
Just two seconds into the second period, Cuylle was challenged by Vegas winger Keegan Kolesar. While he didn’t expect it at first, the 21-year-old was ready to go and dropped the gloves.
Cuylle held his own, recording a win in his first career fight. He certainly caught the attention of head coach Gerard Gallant, who commended the youngster for stepping up to the challenge postgame.
“He fought a tough guy but he did pretty well. Willy came up and played in two games, that’s pretty exciting for a 21-year-old to come up and do that. Then to get challenged by the guy and fight a tough kid. He did a great job. Good for him, he showed up.”
Cuylle will return to Hartford and will participate in the AHL All-Star Classic on February 5 and 6. He earned the honors after recording 13 goals and a total of 20 points in 39 games in his rookie season.
The Rangers return to action on on February 6 when they take on the Calgary Flames. While Cuylle might not be back with the team right away, I’m sure we’ll see him again at some point this season after an impressive debut.
