It’s been a whirlwind week for Calgary Wranglers forward Brennan Othmann. The Flames acquired him at the trade deadline for Ontario Hockey League forward Jacob Battaglia. Othmann says he’s happy to be here. “As soon as I heard, I was ecstatic and super excited,” said the 23-year-old from Pickering, Ont. “Speaking with Craig (Conroy) and Brad (Pascall), I was excited to get that phone call and happy to be here. Happy to start getting to work, and the two games on the weekend were good. It was good to get my feet wet and get started this week.” First-round draft choice Othmann was drafted in the first round, 16th overall, in 2021 by the Rangers. Othmann was a prolific scorer in junior; he put up 96 goals and added 101 assists in 177 games with Flint and Peterborough. In 120 American Hockey League games, he scored 41 goals and added 44 assists in 120 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack. But Othmann has only played 42 games in the NHL, scoring just one goal and adding two assists. He says maybe a change of scenery can be good. “There’s no hard feelings between New York,” he said. “I love the city, and it’s a classy organization. I’ve got a lot of relationships and built a lot of friendships. I’m happy for a change of scenery and happy for a new place and glad to be back in Canada.” Getting familiar with new linemates Othmann is playing on a line with Sam Morton and William Stromgren on the Wranglers. Morton was filling him in on the drills at Thursday’s practice and says he just wants to make sure Othmann feels comfortable. “I think a lot of that is just jumping into new drills and doing things you haven’t done before,” said Morton. “Just trying to help him ease into it and have the transition as smooth as possible and, you know, maybe get a little chemistry out of that.” Would love a call-up Othmann’s ultimate goal, of course, is to get the call-up from the Flames. Wranglers head coach Brett Sutter believes it will happen if he keeps working hard. “We need him to be a difference-maker in our top six and produce,” said Sutter. “We also need to see some of that competitiveness and that fire. That’s something our team really needs, and that’s been the strength of his career so far going back to juniors. So make sure that he’s got that edge every night.” Othmann says that’s just what he plans on bringing to the table. “The type of player I am is a driver,” he said. “I’m physical, and I can put the puck in the net. I kind of want to do that and contribute as much as I can.”
