Derick Brassard Quietly Off To Great Start For New York Rangers

By Dominic Lancella on October 28, 2014

In the offseason when the New York Rangers lost Brian Boyle to free agency and Brad Richards to a contract buyout, the center position suddenly became very thin for the Blueshirts.

That situation got much more complicated when the Rangers lost their top center Derek Stepan to a broken leg during training camp. Stepan should hopefully be back within the next month, but in the meantime, center Derick Brassard is quietly having a great start to the 2014-15 season.

There’s been a lot of talk surrounding the Rangers’ lack of center depth, but Brassard has stepped up and played great early in the season. The Rangers brought in Matthew Lombardi this offseason and were also hoping that J.T. Miller would be able to step into a center role. Neither of them have worked out and Miller is already back in the AHL, but Brassard has quietly been New York’s best center.

Without Stepan, Brassard should be the Rangers’ best center, but besides that, he has looked like a leader. Brassard is second on the team in points with four goals and three assists. He’s also second among all Rangers forwards in average ice time.

Besides Brassard’s points total so far, he’s given great efforts in all nine of his games played. Brassard has been a key playmaker on offense and also a valuable penalty-killer on defense. He and Mats Zuccarello show great chemistry together, and the duo has played well as a penalty-killing pair. The two had a huge hand in completing an amazing 5-4 comeback victory on Monday against the Minnesota Wild, combining for six points, including the game-winning goal.

It’s noticeable on the ice that Brassard is working hard to make an impact every shift. He wants the puck and wants to be a player that coach Alain Vigneault can call on in any situation. His efforts are exactly what the Rangers need as this crucial stretch without Stepan continues. The Rangers still aren’t that deep at center even with a healthy Stepan, but Brassard has more than done his part. Brassard has also been arguably New York’s best player on faceoffs to this point.

Brassard has brought the type of effort and energy that New York fans wish every Rangers player played with on a nightly basis, and it’s helping drive the team. The team as a whole has been inconsistent this season, but the Rangers still find themselves with a 5-4-0 record in the middle of a tightly packed Metropolitan Division. Brassard has been a main contributor on a team that needs players like him to assume more responsibility and step up.

Brassard has certainly done that so far this season, and he seems extremely motivated to keep it up.