Rangers recall top prospect Will Cuylle from Hartford: will play Wednesday night in Toronto

The New York Rangers have called up one of their best prospects ahead of their next road trip to Toronto.

General manager Chris Drury and the team announced that they have recalled Will Cuylle from Hartford and have sent Sammy Blais down for conditioning.

Cuylle was a second-round pick by the Rangers back in 2020 and helped Team Canada win a gold medal at the 2022 World Junior Championship. The 20-year-old had four points in seven games during the tournament.

In 39 games for Hartford this season, Cuylle has tallied 13 goals and seven assists for 20 points. Among Wolf Pack skaters, he ranks first in goals and third in points. Across two seasons, he has totaled 15 goals and 10 assists for 25 points in 57 games.

Cuylle has ranked as one of the highest prospects currently with the Rangers right now with this being his first season in Hartford. three seasons with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), notching 163 points (91G-72A) in 184 games. In 2021-22, as captain of the Windsor, he posted 43 goals and 37 assists for 80 points and a plus-22 rating. He ranked tied for sixth in the OHL in goals last season. In the 2021-22 postseason, Cuylle recorded 31 points (15G-16A) in 25 games, ranking fourth in the OHL in playoff points, third in goals, and fourth in assists.

Sending Sammy Blais down for conditioning means that the Rangers would not have to put the veteran forward on waivers beforehand. In 52 games with the Rangers, Blais has not recorded a goal but has tallied nine assists across the last two seasons.

Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant told reporters that the Toronto native will play in Wednesday’s game against the Maple Leafs. Cuylle will be the first to native to play for a team other than the Maple Leafs and make his debut there since Kirk Tomlinson of the MNS on Feb. 24, 1988.

It will be an opportunity for Cuylle, still young in the Rangers system, to show he can produce at the NHL level while also getting a chance to play in front of friends and family.