Will Cuylle is an interesting hockey player for the New York Rangers. A 6’3, 210 lb winger with a scoring touch, Cuylle has all the tools to succeed in a Mike Sullivan/Chris Drury environment. It seems the best case scenario for Cuylle is that he becomes a bit of a Tom Wilson-lite, but without the dirty play. He’s an agitator that forechecks hard and finishes his checks. He also has a pair of 20-goal seasons under his belt, so on paper he’s been solid. But for some reason, it feels like something is missing that gets him to the next level.
Early in the season, Will Cuylle was much like the rest of the Rangers. He looked lost, but was still doing some of the little things right. He was finishing his hits, he was forechecking hard (one of the only Rangers to do so), and was playing surprisingly solid defensive hockey. But as a top six forward, it felt like the offensive consistency was lacking. Failing to improve on his 20-25-45 season in 2024-2025 is certainly evident of this, though he missed by just 7 assists.
Will Cuylle’s full metrics tell the same story of what we saw on the ice. He was solid defensively, contributing to a 200-foot game in all three zones. His offensive metrics were pretty bad, which is a bit surprising given his most common linemates were Vincent Trocheck (417 mins TOI) and Mika Zibanejad (274 mins TOI). Cuylle also played 200+ minutes with JT Miller, Noah Laba, and Alexis Lafreniere. Long story short, we should have expected more consistent offensive play from Cuylle given his deployment.
Aside: It’s interesting that Will Cuylle’s metrics were essentially the inverse of his top centers.
No one questions Will Cuylle’s defensive efforts or his style of play. Cuylle led the Rangers in hits with 302, where the next Ranger was Trocheck with 193. Cuylle also led all Rangers forwards in blocked shots with 68. The next forward was Zibanejad with 50. Cuylle does what a lot of the Rangers top six didn’t do last season, which was play with that physical edge and forechecking tenacity that was clearly missing from the Rangers skill players.
The question about Will Cuylle’s future with the Rangers will likely depend on his offensive ceiling. He has some nice “starter” stats with a pair of 20 goal seasons. But whether he can expand on that remains to be seen. Naturally, some powerplay time goes a long way to increasing that total. He had just four powerplay goals last season and was used sparingly with the man advantage. Without powerplay time, it will be difficult for Cuylle to meet some of the loftier expectations. That’s ok.
Without powerplay time, the hope is that Cuylle is able to drive offense more consistently. Very few Rangers were play drivers last year, a key issue with the club’s offense. That’s not all on Cuylle, but as a consistent member of the top six he has expectations to both drive play and either become more of a shooter or a better net front presence. He needs the opportunity to do so, and he also needs to produce when given that opportunity. Otherwise, his contract demands will play a significant role in his future with the Rangers.
All in all, Will Cuylle was fine. He took a step back offensively, but was solid defensively. The next step is to move from fringe top six winger to solid top six winger. More stability will help, but Cuylle can help himself by becoming more aggressive with shooting and capitalizing on his chances. Otherwise he’s likely already hit his (perfectly fine and still very good) ceiling.
2025-2026 Will Cuylle report card grade: B
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