Ex-Rangers 1st-round pick ejected from preseason opener, praised by coach

September 21, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

Brennan Othmann played only two shifts in his preseason debut for the Calgary Flames on Sunday. But the former first-round draft pick by the New York Rangers certainly packed quite a bit into those 53 seconds of ice time.

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Othmann had a great scoring chance on his first shift against the Seattle Kraken, ringing a shot off the crossbar after taking a pass from teammate Sam Honzek. Then on his second — and final — shift of the game, Othmann drilled Kraken defenseman Ville Ottavainen with a high, hard hit along the boards at the 5:05 mark of the first period.

Brennan Othmann ➡️ Ville Ottavainen • #NHL #HFhits #Flames 🆚 #SeaKraken • 2026 SEP 20
• Hayden received an unsportsmanlike conduct minor
Othmann 🆚 John Hayden linked: https://t.co/V97YnEtNjs
vid via @krakenhockeynetwork https://t.co/onYmF5cM5H pic.twitter.com/ZP638dQeTo

— HockeyFights.com (@hockeyfights) September 21, 2026

The referee’s arm went up signaling a penalty against Othmann, who then had to stand up for his hit when challenged to a fight by Seattle’s John Hayden.

The 23-year-old forward received a five-minute elbowing major, a five-minute fighting major, and a game misconduct.

“For the short time Othmann was in the game, he had impact,” Flames coach Ryan Huska said postgame. “It’s too bad he ended up getting tossed out like that because he was very noticeable — drew a penalty, had a chance off the crossbar, and then the big hit, and unfortunately there was an injury on the play.”

Ottavainen was able to finish the game, and logged 18:01 TOI in the Kraken’s 4-2 victory.

This is Othmann’s first training camp with the Flames, and he has his work cut out for him if he’s going to land a spot on their opening-night roster. The Rangers traded Othmann, their 2021 first-round pick, to the Flames last March in exchange for forward prospect Jacob Battaglia.

Othmann played two games with the Flames last season, recording an assist in his Calgary debut and scoring a goal in his second game, March 30 against the Colorado Avalanche. He also had seven points (one goal, six assists) and 13 penalty minutes in 14 games with the Calgary Wranglers of the American Hockey league after the trade.

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A 50-goal scorer in junior who potted 21 as a rookie pro with AHL Hartford in 2023-24, Othmann never found his footing nor consistency with the Rangers. He had just one goal in 42 games with the Rangers spread out over three seasons. A year ago, he was among the first cuts at Rangers training camp, and then had one points (goal) in 17 games with the Blueshirts after being recalled to the NHL.

“I think with the Rangers and that organization, I just never got going, never got an opportunity I felt like,” Othmann said late last season. “They have a lot of high-end talent players at both left- and right-wing, so it’s kind of hard to crack my way into that lineup over the last few years.”

He’s hoping to make an impact with the Flames, but is no shoo-in to make the team. In fact, Othmann didn’t even sign his one-year, two-way contract worth $975,000 in the NHL until training camp already started last week.

By the sounds of it, he made quite the impression on his coach Sunday. Let’s see what Othmann can do next time out, perhaps even lasting a full game.

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