A series of transactions Friday signaled that one of the Rangers’ top prospects is NHL-bound.
Will Cuylle, a 21-year-old forward, has seemingly made the opening-night roster, which would register as the only true surprise of this training camp.
By the time the Blueshirts take the ice for practice Saturday, the 2020 second-round pick will skate as one of only 22 players remaining. That will likely be the number they carry into the regular-season opener in Buffalo on Thursday, as New York does not have enough salary cap space to keep a full 23-man roster.
The writing is on the wall after the Rangers assigned prospect Brennan Othmann to AHL Hartford and placed forward Jonny Brodzinski and defenseman Ben Harpur on waivers with the hope of doing the same if they clear. Those moves leave them with just $675,000 in remaining cap space.
Their willingness to cut down the roster six days before the opener indicates that Filip Chytil (upper-body injury) and Tyler Pitlick (upper-body injury) are not in jeopardy of missing much time, if any.
Takeaways: Final thoughts from the Rangers’ 2023 preseason
The belief all summer was that Cuylle would start in the AHL and be among the first call-ups when needed, particularly after team president Chris Drury signed a handful of veterans to fill out the lineup. There are 12 forwards in place with ample NHL experience who projected as the group that would open the season, but now one of those vets will likely become a healthy scratch.
Despite a strong camp, Pitlick may be the odd-man out as he eases back from what sounds like a minor injury suffered in Wednesday’s 5-2 preseason loss to the New Jersey Devils. Nick Bonino and Jimmy Vesey could also be at risk.
It’s hard to imagine the Rangers would have kept Cuylle just to make him the 13th and extra forward. He’s at a point in his development where ice time is needed, and it seems head coach Peter Laviolette has every intention of giving it to him.
The 6-foot-3, 212-pounder earned that with a standout camp.
While much of the team has struggled during a 1-5 preseason, Cuylle tied for the team lead with two goals, 12 shots and strong underlying numbers, including a 72.91% xGF and 66.67% shot share, according to Natural Stat Trick. He also stood out for his physicality and reliable defensive play, which were necessary components to convince Rangers’ brass he was ready for a full-time role.
“He can skate, he can hit, last year he proved that he can fight once in a while, and he has good hockey sense and good hands to be able to score goals, as well,” Laviolette said earlier in camp.
Cuylle, who was ranked as the Rangers’ No. 3 prospect in lohud.com/USA TODAY’s annual organizational rankings, will add size and scoring punch after leading Hartford with 25 goals last season. Having that full year of AHL experience under his belt, as well as a four-game taste in the NHL, certainly helped his cause.
It appears he’ll play left wing on the third line with Vincent Trocheck and Blake Wheeler. That trio out-shot the Boston Bruins, 7-0, while registering a 71.43% xGF in Thursday’s 3-1 loss.
The Rangers are left with a roster that looks like this:
Forwards (13): Cuylle, Bonino, Chytil, Trocheck, Vesey, Wheeler, Barclay Goodrow, Kaapo Kakko, Chris Kreider, Alexis Lafrenière, Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad.
Defensemen (7): Adam Fox, Erik Gustafsson, Zac Jones, Ryan Lindgren, K’Andre Miller, Braden Schneider and Jacob Trouba
Goalies (2): Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Will Cuylle set to make NY Rangers’ opening-night roster
