The Rangers did this the right way.
They didn't rush Brennan Osman, the 16th overall pick in the first round of the 2021 draft, to the NHL, even though he impressed enough in training camp. They never promoted him as a savior. They never used his likeness to promote youth movements.
Instead, the Blueshirts allowed him to develop at the right pace and in the right place.
He played as part of Team Canada at the 2022 and 2023 World Junior Championships, winning the gold medal in the latter tournament. He advanced to the Memorial Cup semifinals after Peterborough's team won OHL honors last year.
He then served as an apprentice in Hartford and began this first professional season.
Following Tyler Pitlick's call-up from the Wolf Pack due to a lower-body injury, No. 71 will be sidelined indefinitely, with Osman scheduled to play at the Garden against the Blackhawks and Team Canada teammate Connor Bedard. Until Thursday, when he makes his NHL debut. .
And even with this promotion, the Rangers don't ask or expect him to carry that burden. They want him to have fun outside.
“I talked to my coaches and they told me to enjoy this moment,” Osman said after his morning skate. “They told me that I had earned it so I should enjoy the moment and take it one day at a time and enjoy my time.”
Osman, who celebrates his 21st birthday on Friday, has nine goals and 14 assists in 28 games with the Wolfpack.
While the numbers reflect his play to some extent, the winger was far more focused on mastering the minutiae of the professional game than obsessing over numbers. He left it in junior hockey.
“When you're playing junior hockey, you're the go-to player that everyone relies on, and you don't really focus on the details of your stick or your flight in the zone or anything like that,” said Osman, who scored 50 points. Two years ago in OHL Flint. “I'm more worried about, 'Oh, I want to score.'
“You're still young, and at that stage of your life, you think, 'Dot, dot, dot, that's going to get me drafted.'
Osman's offensive performance made him a calling card to be a first-round draft pick, but it takes more than that to make it to and in the NHL.
There's the 200-foot game, with all the details that make up a 200-foot NHL player.
Not only is he aware of this, he has tried to absorb as much information as possible.
“When I talked to Brennan, he emphasized that he was being coached and learning every day on video,” head coach Peter Laviolette said. “If you're willing to accept what you're doing on the ice and learn from it, you can really use that information to improve your game.
“That's the process that's happening. We need players and it seems like it's the right time and the right time.”
Osman scored two goals in his first professional game for the Wolfpack.
He then went the next 14 innings without scoring. He then exploded with seven goals in six games.
But now he's back on a nine-game AHL drought. That's professional life.
“We knew it was going to be a tough league. It's one of the most difficult leagues to play in the world,” Osman said. His parents, Jerry and Paige, are “ecstatic and a little emotional.” his debut work. “Everyone is basically fighting for a job here. I was lucky enough to get the first goal and was able to take the pressure off myself.
“I think my professional game has gotten better in the little things. I video my previous game every week and watch a lot of my own clips to see what I'm doing wrong and what I'm doing right and trying to learn.” after that. I think I'm progressing really well, so I'm really happy to be here and show Hartford and all the hard work that's been going on. ”
Osman will have Nick Bonino in the middle and Johnny Brodzinski on the right, while Laviolette will form a unit with Will Quill, Barclay Goodrow and Jimmy Vesey, leaving the top six intact.
Osman called Brodzinski, who was his linemate at Hartford before No. 22 was recalled Nov. 28, a “mentor.”
“I think it's a good fit. Nick is a really smart centerman, a really good player, a quick-thinking guy who's easy to talk to,” Laviolette said. “I think it's the same with Johnny. [plus] That there is some comfort in that.
“It seemed like the right place and the right time to put him in that position. We'll see how he goes tonight and how the game goes.”
