While the New York Rangers remain mired in the NHL’s mushy middle, their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, is also trying to find its footing.

Hartford stumbled out of the gate at 3-7-4, including a seven-game losing streak that ran from Halloween into mid-November. Third-period woes were at the root of the problem. The Wolf Pack lost each of the first eight games in which they entered the final 20 minutes leading or tied, with that astonishing streak mercifully coming to an end with Friday’s 6-4 win over the Cleveland Monsters.

Second-year coach Grant Potulny has steadied his team of late, with four wins in the last six games to improve Hartford’s overall record to 7-9-4. The Rangers have tasked the 45-year-old with cultivating many of their top prospects, with the organization aiming to turn the AHL from a place for aging, fringe NHLers into an important stepping stone for young players.

But the pipeline isn’t exactly overflowing with talent. New York’s prospect pool ranks 24th among the 32 NHL teams, according to The Athletic’s Corey Pronman. That’s partially due to recent draft misses, but perhaps even more so a result of several trades that surrendered picks for short-term fixes.

The Wolf Pack’s uneven start to the season speaks to that diminished depth, but there are still a handful of players worth keeping an eye on. Frankly, the Rangers need some of them to hit so they can infuse a stagnant roster with youth — and the timeline to call them up could be accelerated if the Rangers fade in the Eastern Conference’s cluttered playoff race.

To get a feel for how the AHL prospects are progressing, we spoke to an Eastern Conference scout and two other league sources who have watched Hartford play this season. All of them were granted anonymity so they could speak freely without professional reprisal.

Perreault ‘too smart’ for AHL

There’s little debate about the highest offensive ceiling in the Rangers’ system.

Gabe Perreault was a highly productive player with both the U.S. National Development Program and Boston College, and he’s showing that it translates to the AHL level. The 2023 first-round pick leads the Wolf Pack with 14 points (eight goals and six assists) through 15 games while also posting a team-best plus-10 rating. He scored twice in Hartford’s 3-2 victory in Cleveland on Saturday, including the winner with 59 seconds remaining, while skating on the top line with Justin Dowling and Jaroslav Chmelař.

“You can tell in the American League: Sometimes he’s too smart for those guys,” the scout said. “He’s a cerebral player, and his stick is one of the best sticks I’ve seen.”

GABE PERREAULT WITH THE GAME WINNING GOAL 🚨🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/8e9QLqivOm

— Hartford Wolf Pack (@HWPHockey) November 30, 2025

The 20-year-old earned a three-game look with the NHL club in mid-November, but it quickly became apparent that the Rangers feel keeping him around will require more “physical maturity,” as coach Mike Sullivan put it.

“He’s right,” the scout said, concurring with Sullivan’s assessment. “I think the kid would admit it, too. I think he just needs to use his time down there to get stronger, to get heavier. … Not just stronger in the gym but stronger on pucks, which usually comes hand in hand.”

The scout noted that Perreault isn’t a burner — “If you say he’s fast, you’re lying,” he said — but he can make up for that because of how quickly he thinks the game.

“It comes with reps,” he added.

Those reps should come with Hartford, with the Rangers seemingly committed to allowing the 5-foot-11, 180-pounder the proper adjustment time. But whenever he arrives in the NHL for good — which all believe is a matter of when, not if — the consensus is that Perreault should be placed in a top-six role that befits his playmaking ability and lengthens a New York lineup in need of better balance.

“I think he’s in the right place (in the AHL) and I think he’s developing nicely and I think he’s going to be more than fine,” the scout said. “Teams can ruin prospects if you put them in the wrong place and they’re not ready. So I think they’re doing it right, as frustrating as it can be.”

Othmann suffering ‘identity crisis’

The reviews haven’t been as positive for Brennan Othmann, the Rangers’ 2021 first-round pick.

After an earlier-than-expected cut from training camp, a league source indicated that New York was exploring the possibility of trading Othmann. Another league source said the need for “a change of scenery” has been apparent, with the 22-year-old winger clearly pressing. The problem is, the Rangers don’t want to sell too low for a player whose stock has tumbled in NHL circles, leaving both sides stuck in a waiting pattern.

“It’s hard mentally when you get sent back down a third year,” the scout said.

Othmann seems to be caught between roles. The Rangers have asked him to embrace a hard-to-play-against mentality, but he’s been over-aggressive in seeking big hits and trying to agitate opponents, often at the expense of playing sound defense.

“It’s like an identity crisis,” the scout said. “He’s not sure what he is. Didn’t he score 50 or something in junior? … He’s not going to be that in the NHL. So then you’ve got to check, you’ve got to do the things that will make you get there.”

There were a couple of glaring miscues in Othmann’s lone NHL appearance of the season on Oct. 26, most notably when he abandoned his man in the slot to hand the Calgary Flames an easy goal. Sullivan referred to it as an “elemental” mistake and has repeatedly urged Othmann to improve his attention to detail.

The fractured confidence has also been evident on the offensive side. The 6-foot, 192-pounder has posted only seven points through 15 AHL games with a minus-five rating. He finally scored his first goal in a 6-3 loss to the Springfield Thunderbirds on Nov. 29, which the scout noted was the best he’s seen Othmann play this season.

“The hardest thing to do is obtain consistency with those young players in the NHL,” they added. “Some guys never get it. This guy, if he can get it, I think he can play. … He’s just not going to play as a top-six (forward).”

Chmelař could become useful fourth-liner

While Perreault and Othmann garner much of the attention due to their draft status, a few under-the-radar prospects came up in conversations. Chmelař is one who seems to be on the rise and earning more responsibility.

The 22-year-old winger’s upside may be limited, but the Rangers envision a potential fourth-liner who brings the size they covet at 6-5, 226 pounds. He got off to an especially strong start, which led to a surprising call-up and two-game stint for his NHL debut in early November.

“He was one of (Hartford’s) best players, if not their best player, in the first seven, eight games down there,” the scout said.

Chmelař has posted nine points (three goals and six assists) through 18 AHL games with a plus-five rating, including assists in both games versus Cleveland over the weekend. Potulny has been using him on the top line lately, but the 2021 fifth-round pick projects long-term as a “big and rangy” forward who battles in the high-danger areas, plays reliable defense and kills penalties.

“I think he can play because he’s so hard to move in front of the net,” the scout said. “He’s just smart, does the right thing and has got size to go with it. He’s freaking massive. I think he uses his size to his advantage. He leans on you. He’s strong in the corner, strong on body position in front of the net. I think he’s going to play.”

Young centers ‘a ways away’

Noah Laba separated himself from the pack during camp and has held down the third-line center position ever since. He’s the clear organizational favorite among an otherwise thin pool of prospects in the middle, but Hartford has a few others who could eventually compete for a 4C role.

The leading candidate is Dylan Roobroeck, a 6-7, 220-pounder who led the Wolf Pack with 20 goals as an AHL rookie and has followed up with 10 points (six goals and four assists) through 20 games this season. The 21-year-old still needs to refine his game in multiple areas, particularly on the defensive side, but he’s shown good mobility and hands for a big man while working his way up to Hartford’s second line.

“I like him, (but) he’s a ways away,” the scout said. “I think he’s still got a couple years to grow into his strength and body. If he can learn to lean on people and create room that way, it’s going to help his game.”

There’s even more work to do for Carey Terrance, the prospect who came back to the Rangers as part of the offseason trade that sent Chris Kreider to the Anaheim Ducks. The 20-year-old has shown some obvious hiccups in his first pro season.

The 6-1, 187-pounder has only two points (both goals) through 20 games played with a minus-six rating. He hasn’t scored since Oct. 25 and has been relegated to fourth-line duties in recent weeks.

“I’m not too sure on him,” the scout said. “The consistency is just not there. … You come from junior and you’re a bigger part of your junior team, and then you get to those levels and then all of a sudden you’re asked to be something less.”

Surpassing Terrance as Hartford’s 3C has been Bryce McConnell-Barker, who’s shown incremental improvements after his own rocky rookie season.

After registering only 15 points (seven goals and eight assists) in 68 games last season, which prompted a move from center to wing, he’s returned to his natural position and already has 10 points (five goals and five assists) through his first 20 games. The 21-year-old scored twice Friday, and while his odds of becoming an NHL regular remain somewhat long, he’s looked much more comfortable in Year 2.

More notes

• A couple of AHL prospects have cracked the Rangers’ lineup lately, starting with Brett Berard. It took a little while for the 23-year-old winger to find his stride with Hartford, which he said came after he “lost a little confidence” after narrowly missing the NHL cut out of camp. But he picked things up in November and has now appeared in five consecutive games with New York, providing what Sullivan described as “an energy guy that can be disruptive.”

“This guy can play because of his pace,” the scout said. “This guy’s going to help you on a third, fourth line because he can play nine minutes a night. … He’s the perfect guy for that. That’s what he does. That’s his quality: He’ll exhaust himself for his teammates.”

• Another player vying to become an NHL regular is Scott Morrow, a 22-year-old defenseman who should get an extended look now that Adam Fox is expected to be out until after Christmas with a left shoulder injury. His production was underwhelming with three points (one goal and two assists) in 12 games with Hartford, which Morrow attributed to “poor puck luck,” but the scout believes, “He’s the closest thing to bringing offense that they have in the organization.”

“He’s got a big shot,” the scout added. “He skates hard. His stride is hard. I really thought he would be up (in the NHL) more than he has.”

• There isn’t much optimism about the rest of the Wolf Pack’s defense corps helping the Rangers any time soon. They’re short on young defensemen who are anywhere close to NHL-ready, instead relying on veteran journeymen such as Casey Fitzgerald, Connor Mackey and Derrick Pouliot.

Jackson Dorrington, who came over from the Vancouver Canucks as part of the J.T. Miller trade, is the lone exception. One league source indicated the 21-year-old performed well in the first month of the season, but the scout sounded less impressed.

“It’s peaks and valleys,” the scout said. “I don’t know where his ceiling is.”

• Hartford’s undisputed starter in goal has been Dylan Garand, who was named an AHL All-Star last season and is now in his fourth professional campaign. But his numbers have dipped behind a wobbly defense, with his save percentage dropping from .913 to .897. The 23-year-old was called up when NHL backup Jonathan Quick went down with a lower-body injury on Nov. 22, but it was telling that the Rangers sent Garand back down earlier this week in favor of veteran Spencer Martin without giving him a chance to make his NHL debut. The Rangers love his makeup, with the 2020 fourth-round pick lauded for his intense preparation, but the trust factor isn’t quite there.

“I’d say it’s been all right,” Garand said of his start to the season. “Definitely some ups and downs. Our team has been struggling down there a little bit. Not that we’ve been playing bad hockey. We’ve been playing good, and then there are stretches of games where we kind of lose focus and it ends up costing us, especially late in the game. I think I’ve been playing good hockey, good enough to get results, just haven’t been getting those results. Definitely a little frustrating but it’s pushing me to become a better person and become a better goalie. We’re all going to be better because of the tough times.”