February New York Rangers prospect power rankings

Welcome back to my New York Rangers Prospect Power Ranking for February. These rankings are based on the play of Rangers prospects from February 3rd to March 2nd. Just like the previous month, no goalies are included in this ranking; it solely ranks skaters in the organization who are under the age of 23 and have played less than a full season in the NHL.

Just like in the previous month, the Rangers traded away one of their prospects, so unsigned draft pick Hank Kempf has been removed from consideration in the prospect rankings. February had a lighter schedule for most of the prospects compared to some other months, so I tried to keep that in mind when doing my rankings.

1. Gabe Perreault, Boston College (9 GP: 4G, 8A) [+1]

February was great to Gabe Perreault and his BC Eagles. The team played well and a lot of that had to do with the play of the Rangers’ top prospect. Anyone that watches Perreault play can wax poetic about the way he sees the ice, and yet I truly believe that he still doesn’t get enough credit for it. Boston College is better when he is on the ice and it’s hard to argue that when you see the impact he has for them night in and night out.

This month Perreault also managed to score his 100th point as an Eagle, which he likely would have gotten the game before if he hadn’t been ejected for cross-checking an opponent. Another trend I noticed this month was that he was playing stronger defensively, which was nice to see from him. Every month I feel like maybe I am overhyping Perreault, but there is no other Rangers prospect that leaves me in awe as much or as frequently as he does. 

2. Brett Berard, Hartford Wolf Pack/New York Rangers (9 GP: 2G, 5A) [+2]

Brett Berard finally returned from injury for the Wolf Pack. He played eight games for them last month, racking up one goal and five assists before being called back up to the Rangers after Jimmy Vesey was sent to Colorado in a trade. In true Berard fashion, he scored in his very first game back with New York because he loves to make a statement.

I was happy to see that the injury he suffered in January doesn’t seem to have any lingering effects, especially because it seemed like he had suffered a concussion. While the Wolf Pack are currently missing his speed and tenacity, it is safe to assume he will likely stay up with the Rangers for the rest of the season because at this point they are more likely to have a chance at the postseason. Berard will be a useful and effective tool in helping them try to make it there.

3. Brennan Othmann, Hartford Wolf Pack/New York Rangers (10 GP: 4G, 2A) [+2]

After a great seven-game stretch with Hartford that made up most of the month of February, Brennan Othmann got his long awaited call-up to the Rangers after they returned from their 4 Nations break. It was great to see him finally get the opportunity, especially in a season where he struggled with an injury that kept him out for a significant amount of time.

In his first three games in the NHL this season, Othmann has looked mostly comfortable, even if a little bit nervous. He has been playing well, and a lot of the nerves are manifesting in little ways such as making a pass to a veteran linemate when he should shoot, but he hasn’t looked out of place in any way, which is great to see from him. Othmann has shown strong defensive play so far at the NHL level, but I would like to see him show a little more of what makes him such a great player for the Wolf Pack — playing with an edge and shooting the puck from anywhere. 

4. Brody Lamb, University of Minnesota (6 GP: 3G, 1A) [NR]

Brody Lamb is one of the most confusing prospects to me in the sense that I think he is skilled, but I am not sure what his ceiling is because he is so hot and cold. Lamb has some games with the Gophers that he completely takes over and it leaves me thinking, “wow, this kid is something special,” but then he will basically disappear the next five games, leaving me to wonder if he can only put up those exciting games against really bad teams, or if its the product of whoever he is playing with those particular nights.

Minnesota is a good team with a lot of good players, so it’s hard to really say how much of it is the role he is being asked to play in different matchups. Lamb has also missed a few games this season with injury, so that definitely also impacts his effectiveness, but I still don’t feel particularly confident that he will be able to make the jump to the Wolf Pack soon. 

5. Matt Rempe, New York Rangers (8 GP: 1G) [+1]

February saw Matt Rempe return to the Rangers, and in my opinion, this is probably the best he has ever looked. The season has been very up and down for Rempe, who again struggled to find the balance of playing good physical hockey. However, outside of one slightly questionable hit against Nashville, it seems that Rempe has finally been able to strike that balance.

Even with a cast of different linemates throughout this month, for the most part he has remained a steady and effective player for the Rangers on the fourth line. There are still games that make it clear that the coaching staff still don’t have full confidence in him, but he is doing exactly what he should be. 

6. Nathan Aspinall, Flint Firebirds (11 GP: 4G, 5A) [+2]

Nathan Aspinall is one of the Rangers prospects that I find myself watching as much as possible, similarly to how I would pay attention to Othmann when he was still in the OHL. Aspinall has the ability to really take over games and that has been exactly what he has done a few times this season. His team isn’t great, they currently are not in a playoff spot with six games remaining in the regular season, but the standings are close enough that it could change in the course of one good weekend.

Aspinall’s play will likely be what catapults his team into the playoffs if it happens, but his underwhelming defensive play so far this season might be what ultimately keeps his team out of it as well. He is still very young and plays a very big role on his team, but I would like to see more improvement in the defensive area of his game.

7. Ty Henricks, Western Michigan University (7 GP: 3G, 1A) [NR]

Ty Henricks has been the most intriguing prospect for me over the last month. Not only is he on one of the best teams in college hockey, but he seems to be finding his game more and more. He has mostly played in the bottom six for the Broncos throughout this season, but compared to the beginning of the season when he tended to look a little lost out there, he now looks not only more comfortable, but more confident as well.

Henricks has been driving the play more often, he has been shooting the puck more, he has been playing a little more physically as well. These are all great signs for his continued development; maybe he will be another success story for the Rangers when it comes to using their late picks on tall forwards, since Adam Edström and Matt Rempe have become just that. 

8. Jaroslav Chmelař, Hartford Wolf Pack (11 GP: 2G, 3A) [NR]

When you look at the stat sheet for Jaroslav Chmelař, it’s easy to be underwhelmed by the season he is having. He isn’t an offensive powerhouse and his defensive game leaves much to be desired, but when you watch him play, you can tell those things don’t tell the full story. Chmelař has been moved around the Wolf Pack lineup all season — at this point he has played on every line, on both power play units and both penalty kill units.

In spite of this, he has still managed to go out and play every game with the same energy and determination, which is admirable for a young player like him who could have easily gotten discouraged when his role kept changing. I hope that at some point soon he gets a more consistent role that he can excel in, but I understand that the way this season has gone for the Wolf Pack has made it a little harder to do that. 

9. Jackson Dorrington, Northeastern University (8 GP: 3A) [NR]

The newest prospect for the Rangers, whom they acquired in the JT Miller trade, is Jackson Dorrington, a 20-year old, left-handed defenseman who currently plays for Northeastern. He is 6’2”, 210 pounds and he loves to block shots. With him being new to the prospect pool, I haven’t been able to watch him in as many games as I would have liked, but I have enjoyed watching Dorrington play over the last few weeks.

Dorrington usually plays on the first defensive pair for the Huskies and he loves to shoot the puck; it’s something I noticed a bunch when I watched him this month and something I don’t see a lot from other Rangers defensive prospects. His skating is okay, nothing to write home about, and at times he gets caught puck watching, but overall I think he has potential if he can do well in a transition to the AHL.

10. Drew Fortescue, Boston College (9 GP: 2A) [-7]

After playing some of his best hockey since being drafted over the last two months, February was somewhat of a step back for Drew Fortescue. I wouldn’t necessarily say he played poorly, but after looking better both offensively and defensively, he has basically stalled out. I think part of this was a switch in defensive partners for him, which caused him to have to get used to playing with someone else other than his usual partner, Eamon Powell. You could tell there was some familiarity between them in certain games but it never caused any big issues, more just small hiccups that you usually wouldn’t see.

Despite that, Fortescue managed to set a new career high in points after adding two assists this month, giving him ten assists in total for the season. The games only get harder from here on out, so we will get to see if Fortescue can remain the calm and steady presence his coaches have lauded him as.

Honorable Mentions

As I am once again only ranking  the top ten players, I will also name players that I believe were close to making the list this month, but fell just a little short. For February, both the players that I mention here were limited in the games they played for the month, whether that is due to injury or other circumstances. 

The first player is Noah Laba, who was only able to play three games this month before he sustained a lower body injury that kept him out of the remaining games during the tracking period. This is unfortunate because he had such a strong January. It’s unclear what the exact injury is, but he missed a handful of games in the first half of the season due to an ankle injury that kept him out on two separate occasions, so hopefully it’s not the same injury.

In the three games he was able to play, Laba scored one goal and looked like his usual dynamic self. Hopefully the injury won’t have any lasting effects because it would be a disappointing end to what has already been an up-and-down season for him. 

The second player is Rasmus Larsson, who played only two games during the tracking period and unfortunately I wasn’t able to watch the last game he played in, so I am unsure if he was injured in that game or if he is just being scratched by Northern Michigan. I would be surprised if it was the latter, seeing as how over his last four games, Larsson has scored three goals. For a team that has struggled to score over the last part of the season, it would be a strange decision to take out a player who has been one of the only ones scoring recently.

It’s been a tough season for Larsson, who has primarily been on the 3rd defense pairing for the Wildcats and who up until the last four games he played had zero points on the season. If he is out due to injury, I hope it isn’t too serious, and if he is out due to a healthy scratch, then hopefully we can see him play more and in a bigger role next season.