Placing Blame For Brennan Othmann's Failures

DON'T BLAME BRENNAN OTHMANN!

That's the message – loud and clear – from Jesse Rubenstein, one of the smartest hockey guys from here to Scotty Bowman.

I'll tell you how smart this Jess Guy is. Months before anyone wrote a thing about Victor Mancini as a "surprise" Ranger it was Rubenstein who tipped me off and I wrote it on these pages.

As you now know, the once shadowy Mancini has a good shot at making the Rangers varsity. But this is not about Mancini, it's about Othmann.

Make that, it's about Othmann , the so-called flop who, – for two years in a row has been the Rangers number one prospect. Alas, poor Brennan has been demoted to number two on The Hockey News' Yearbook's Rangers Future Watch.

"A 21-goal season as an AHL rookie bodes well for sharpshooting winger," says The Hockey News. "Solid forechecker."

So, how come he's not wearing a Blueshirt? Rubenstein has the answer.

"Blame his 'failures' on the Rangers' hype machine," says Rubenstein. "If you watched (heard) Rangers broadcasts (telecasts) during the exhibitions, they (broadcasters) repeatedly put that kid under the microscope.

"Everything that Othmann did was dissected by Sam (Rosen) and Joe (Micheletti) before, during and after the telecasts. That poor kid had to score 30 goals during the pre-season to have a chance.

"But his fate was sealed when the Rangers failed to make any kind of significant move among the Top Six. Once they added Reilly Smith, that was it for The Kid. And it's part of the biggest issue.

"They tell the world their kids are the greatest and raise expectations among fans that – unless they score 30 goals in one day – they are treated like busts."

On the other hand, one might say in rebuttal that the Rangers lineup is so, so, so, solid, that another year in Hartford for a 21-year-old prospect – as we'd say in old Brooklyn – "Ain't The Worst Thing In The World!"