The New York Rangers have an abundance of talent in their prospect pool, including top names such as Brennan Othmann and Gabe Perreault. While those two receive most of the spotlight in their respective leagues, the Blueshirts still do possess other talent beginning to develop and flourish into top prospects.
Bryce McConnell-Barker is preparing to make the jump to professional hockey and make his first appearance with the Hartford Wolf Pack this season.
McConnell-Barker is ready to play his first full season in Hartford
While Othmann and Perreault may be the two most talented prospects in the Rangers’ pool, McConnell-Barker is already the Blueshirts’ top center prospect at just 20 years old. Drafted in the third round of the 2022 NHL entry draft, he spent the last two seasons remaining with the Soo Greyhounds of the OHL.
He was given the chance to make his professional hockey debut last year by joining the Wolf Pack for four games of the AHL Calder Cup playoffs, and is now set to join Hartford for the entirety of this season.
In his two seasons with Soo since being drafted by the Rangers, McConnell-Barker put on an elite offensive showcase. He recorded 77 points in 68 games in 2022-23, and posted a respectable 51 points in 52 games in 2023-24. His point totals ranked first on the team two seasons ago, and fourth last year. However, he did not record a point in his four playoff games with Hartford.
While McConnell-Barker seems to be developing nicely in the offensive zone, he has plenty of work to be done on the defensive side of his game. In his three seasons with the Greyhounds, he finished just one with a positive +/- statistic, and with a measly +1 rating. His worst was 2022-23, where he finished at a -27. Defense is certainly something McConnell-Barker must focus on developing when making his jump to the AHL.
- Rangers head coach could be on thin ice amidst team’s struggles
- Rangers could be preparing to trade away young star winger after lineup change
- Rangers’ puzzling roster change should put head coach on the hot seat
McConnell-Barker’s path to playing for the Rangers
There’s no rush for McConnell-Barker to bring his skills up to an NHL caliber. He’s just 20 years old, and is about to play his first full season with the Wolf Pack. There, he will take his first step into the world of professional hockey and take multiple seasons to hone his abilities.
In addition to the fact that McConnell-Barker isn’t ready for the NHL, the Rangers aren’t ready for their top center prospect either. Even if he was already playing at the same level as fellow prospect Brennan Othmann, the Rangers simply have no need for more centers right now.
Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck are locked up as the top two for at least the next five seasons, and Filip Chytil is a blossoming youngster in the bottom six. McConnell-Barker could theoretically fill a fourth-line role if one opens, but his skill set doesn’t appear to match the description of that position.
Until the Rangers are ready to move on from their current core, McConnell-Barker will likely remain with the Wolf Pack. He’s young and still has plenty of development required to make it to the NHL, and he has plenty of time to do it.
