CALGARY — Brennan Othmann had just shut the lights off to go to sleep on Thursday night when his phone started buzzing.

It was AHL Hartford GM Ryan Martin, who called to tell the 22-year-old forward he’d be joining the New York Rangers on a lengthy road trip through western Canada.

“I just got up and started packing my things,” Othmann said following Saturday’s practice at Scotiabank Saddledome. “I was pretty excited.”

It was a much different feeling than he had less than a month earlier, when the Rangers made Othmann a surprisingly early roster cut with a week remaining in NHL training camp.

“It was definitely a little disappointing,” he admitted. “I wasn’t really expecting it, to be honest, but you kind of just take that and you use that as motivation. I’m still a young player and still a player that has got some potential. I mean, I’m still happy with my game. I’m happy with where I’m at.”

Othmann was outlasted by fellow winger prospects Brett Berard and Gabe Perreault, but apparently something changed between then and now. The Rangers are in need of a replacement for Matt Rempe, who suffered an upper-body injury while fighting Ryan Reaves during Thursday’s 6-5 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks and subsequently stayed behind in New York, and it was Othmann who got the first call.

“We’re looking for guys to step in and help us win games, whether it be helping us offensively or being diligent defensively,” Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said. “Otter and I have had a number of conversations since before training camp started to where we are right now on what the expectations are and how we think he could potentially carve a role on this team.”

After being assigned to Hartford, the 6-foot, 192-pounder described a meeting with Sullivan, Martin and team president Chris Drury in which they detailed how he could earn his way back to New York.

“It was getting in people’s faces,” recalled Othmann, who’s posted one assist through four games with the Wolf Pack this season. “It was forechecking. It was hitting; all the things that I’m good at. Getting to the middle of the ice and causing a little bit of havoc.”

“Those (are) the things I did for the first three weeks down there in Hartford, and I think that’s maybe why I got a call up now,” he added. “Yeah, Remps is injured and whatnot. But I think I’ve developed the things that they asked me to do when I got sent down. I’m still gonna keep working on those things when I’m here.”

Othmann referred to this as “the first year where I spoke to a couple people and they’re like, ‘This is the role that we want you to play in New York when your time comes.’” That speaks to a lack of direction in his first two professional seasons, but he believes he’s returning with a clearer focus. His previous NHL stints didn’t yield the desired results, with only two assists and zero goals in 25 career games with the Rangers.

He mentioned other organizational changes aimed at improving a shaky developmental track record, including a new app in which Hartford prospects can sign up for extra work with AHL skills coach Colin Downey and others. It hasn’t translated to many wins yet, with the Wolf Pack off to a 1-4 start entering Saturday’s game in Springfield against the Thunderbirds. But Othmann described it as a largely positive environment.

“Our staff’s been doing a great job with some things that everyone thinks that we need to get to the next level,” he said. “And since we got down there, all the young guys are involved and everyone’s kind of building that, I’d say, family connection down there to get everyone back (to the NHL) as soon as possible. Everyone was happy when I was there (Friday), packing up my stuff. Everyone said, ‘Congratulations and good luck,’ and I got a hug from everybody. It kind of goes to show the relationships and the people are down there.”

Othmann’s latest opportunity may come with additional motives.

His name has been discussed in trade talks, according to a league source who believes that Drury is willing to move Othmann for another young player with upside. Such a deal has yet to materialize, with opposing GMs attempting to buy low on a former first-round pick who had a disappointing preseason and has seemingly fallen out of favor with the team that drafted him. But by making him their first forward recall, the Rangers are sending a not-so-subtle signal that they still value the prospect and won’t be giving him away. They’re also providing a chance to showcase his skills, be it for a role in New York or elsewhere.

“I can’t really focus on that stuff,” Othmann said of the trade rumors. “That stuff’s really all online, and I don’t know what’s true. I don’t know what’s false. I’ve just been super focused with Hartford and trying to get back up here. I mean, it’s no secret. A couple of the guys in Hartford were asking me and telling me about it, but I honestly was just playing hockey and taking each day, day by day. Keep moving forward and focusing on getting back here and playing at the NHL level at some point this year. I think I did a good job with it.”

Will Cuylle is stuck on one goal and zero assists in nine games this season. (Dan Hamilton / Imagn Images)

Will Cuylle trying to avoid frustration

Othmann spent Saturday’s practice skating on a 2025 version of the Kid Line with 23-year-old Will Cuylle and 22-year-old Noah Laba. “Two guys I’m really close and familiar with,” he said.

It’s a new spot for Cuylle, who spent the first nine games almost exclusively playing in the top six. Sullivan has looked to the power winger to fill the void left by the offseason trade that sent Chris Kreider to Anaheim, but he hasn’t carried momentum over from last season’s 20-goal, 300-hit breakout.

The 6-foot-3, 212-pounder is stuck on one goal and zero assists, with no points in his last six games.

“Obviously, the points are not where I want them to be, but I feel like I’ve had some good looks over the first however many games we’ve played,” Cuylle said. “They’re not going in right now, but it’s a long season. Just stay with it. I feel like my shooting percentage is super low right now, so usually that balances out.”

Cuylle’s converted on just one of 21 shots on goal, with a 4.8 percent success rate that falls well short of last season’s 13.2 percent. It’s come while adjusting to a career-high 17:38 average time on ice per game and the increasingly difficult matchups that stem from playing higher up in the lineup.

When asked earlier this week about both Cuylle and Alexis Lafrenière, who’s produced three points (one goal and two assists) while also logging top-six minutes, Sullivan said, “There’s another level to their game.” In Cuylle’s case, the hope might be that a return to the third-line spot, where he thrived last season, will help him get there.

“I’ve just got to try to keep the same level through it at all, whether it’s a 10-game point streak or 10 games without a point,” Cuylle said. “It can be easy to get frustrated, but I think if you try to keep the same level the whole time, that usually doesn’t happen.”

Lineup changes aimed at creating balance

Balance has been a buzzword surrounding the Rangers (3-4-2), who will enter Sunday’s 8 p.m. game against the Flames having lost five of their last six games. They’ve struggled to produce goals in many of those contests — an indictment of a roster that’s light on proven scoring talent — and while the offense finally opened up against the Sharks, it resulted in regression back to bad defensive habits.

Sullivan is aiming to solve those issues by reconfiguring his limited options at forward. Four new lines were revealed Saturday, starting with captain J.T. Miller being flanked by Artemi Panarin and the team’s surprising leading goal-scorer Taylor Raddysh, who’s up to four tallies following Thursday’s hat trick.

“Performance matters,” Sullivan said of the decision to promote Raddysh. “The guys that play well, we’re trying to reward with more significant ice time or opportunity, whatever it may be. I feel like he’s had a couple of pretty strong games. And I think when you combine that with some of the other conversations that we’ve had around balance, I think he’s a logical guy to put where we put.”

Miller and Panarin have only logged 13:31 together at five-on-five this season, according to Natural Stat Trick, but the Rangers have poured in four goals during that small sample size without allowing any. That’s good for an unsustainable average of 17.73 goals per 60 minutes, but Sullivan is going to find out what they can do with additional minutes.

New York has only generated three goals over 100:31 with Panarin and Mika Zibanejad skating together, although a 19-7 advantage in high-danger scoring chances suggests they probably deserved better. Now Zibanejad will play with Lafrenière and veteran Conor Sheary, who’s turned a professional tryout contract into consistent top-six usage despite still searching for his first goal. (He does have three assists and a 56.2 percent expected goals-for rating.)

Cuylle, Laba and Othmann will form an intriguing new third line, with Juuso Pärssinen replacing Rempe on what had been an effective “momentum” line with Adam Edström and Sam Carrick.

“There’s more balance. I would acknowledge that. Would you guys agree?” Sullivan asked the assembled group of reporters.

“We’ll see where it goes,” he added. “When we’re on the road, we can’t always control the matchups. So when you have a balanced attack, that helps a little bit on both sides of the puck. … There are threats offensively, but also there’s more conscientious play with how the lines are constructed.”