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Brennan Othmann is the first Rangers forward prospect to get the call from Hartford this season. The Blueshirts made the recall on the heels of Matt Rempe exiting in the first period of Thursday night’s 6-5 overtime loss to the Sharks, after the 6-foot-9 wing challenged veteran enforcer Ryan Reaves to a fight for running Juuso Parssinen. It’s unclear if bringing up Othmann is just precautionary, as the Rangers head on the road for four games in Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Seattle. Rempe absorbed a couple of big blows, landed a few of his own and then immediately headed to the locker room. Head coach Mike Sullivan said Rempe was still being evaluated for an upper-body injury after the game. If Rempe is going to miss time, this could be a major opportunity for the 22-year-old Othmann. The Rangers cut Othmann from training camp well before the likes of fellow top prospects Noah Laba, Brett Berard and Gabe Perreault. It was an underwhelming preseason for the No. 16 pick in the 2021 draft, who hasn’t quite found his footing on the NHL stage yet. CHECK OUT THE LATEST NHL STANDINGS AND RANGERS STATS While the Rangers were in Toronto — in Othmann’s home province of Ontario — Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported the young wing was drawing interest around the NHL. The Rangers are seeking promising prospects in return, Friedman added on Friday. There is belief that a change of scenery would be beneficial for Othmann. The recall could give Othmann an opportunity to inject some much-needed energy into the lineup, but may also serve as a showcase if the Rangers are looking to move on. Whether or not Rempe traveled with the Rangers to Calgary will presumably be revealed when the team practices at Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday. It would be unfortunate if Rempe were unable to travel to his hometown of Calgary, especially amid his strong start to the season in an increased role. “I did what I had to do to carve my path, per se, in Hartford my first year,” Rempe said Thursday morning. “I didn’t play much and stuff, and kind of carved that out by doing the fights, doing all that stuff, trying to stick type of thing, and do that. And I think that became a big part of my game. I think when I got to the NHL level, maybe my game wasn’t, in some aspects, ready to play full minutes. “So I think that I do what I can to stick around, per se, and now I think I take a lot of pride in doing all that, having that, but now showing that my game has come a long way, and I can be a great player.” Before splitting up the line of Rempe, Sam Carrick and Adam Edstrom on Thursday, Sullivan gave the unit more regular shifts than ex-head coach Peter Laviolette ever did. Some nights, usually when they were buzzing and creating offense, the trio received third-line minutes. Logging as high as 13:47 this season (9:48 average per game), Rempe said he’s more in the flow of the game with the extra ice time, as well as more confident. He noted that he’s learned a lot every contest, in addition to feeling more in control of his hits. After filling a notable role on the power play with the Western Hockey League’s Seattle Thunderbirds earlier in his career, Rempe is getting his first chance in the NHL at the net front of the Rangers second unit. “It’s pretty cool,” Rempe said of earning the coaching staff’s trust. “That was my goal coming in. New coaching staff you want to, like, that’s exciting. That’s a little nervous, as well, because, you know, [I’m a] young guy still. I think it’s gone really well so far, still lots to do better and grow on. But I like where my games at now. I just want to keep building it.”
