Will Cuylle

December 2023 – After banging the door down during training camp and earning a full-time spot on the Rangers roster, the lefty has now appeared in 23 games for New York, registering four goals and two assists.  His impact goes well beyond points, however, as Cuylle has shown that he is a hard-working, identity player.  Ironically, his number 50 was the same number briefly worn by former NYR prospect Lias Andersson, who was dealt to the LA Kings in the trade which resulted in the Rangers acquiring the draft pick used to select the rugged left wing.  Cuylle has earned the trust of new Rangers coach Peter Laviolette, and he has looked very solid during his young NHL career.  As his confidence continues to grow, look for the power forward to continue to assert his game at both ends of the rink; he put up good scoring numbers over the course of three seasons of OHL play, and also performed well last season while at AHL Hartford, posting 45 points in 69 games played.  Brendan Ferry

February 2023 – Cuylle, leading the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack in goals, earned his first call-up to the Rangers on January 24, and made his NHL debut on January 25th . It has been a whirlwind year for the burly forward, as he continues his rookie season of professional hockey. After winning a gold medal in August of 2022 with Team Canada at the U20 World Juniors, he went to the Rangers rookie camp and then the team’s main camp. Assigned to Hartford midway through the preseason, Cuylle played well and was chosen as the team’s representative for the AHL all-star game. The familiar number 13, as he wore in the minors, belongs to Alexis Lafreniere, so he selected number 50 with the big club. Brendan Ferry

June 2022 – Cuylle captained his OHL team, the Windsor Spitfires, to the OHL final, which concluded on June 15th.  Cuylle had a big season for Windsor, scoring 43 goals and adding 37 assists for 80 points in 59 games played.  Playing under former NHLer and one-time New York Ranger Marc Savard, Windsor got past fellow Rangers prospect, Brennan Othmann and his Flint Firebirds in the OHL’s Western Conference Finals en route to their berth in the OHL Finals.  Cuylle played terrific hockey during his team’s playoff run, and posted 10 points through six games in the Finals.  Unfortunately for Cuylle, he was held scoreless in Game 7 as the Spitfires missed out on winning the OHL title.  He will be AHL eligible for the 2022-2023 season and will presumably be a member of the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack heading into next season.  Brendan Ferry

October 2020 – Will Cuylle was selected by the New York Rangers in the late second-round of the 2020 NHL draft using the pick that was obtained from the Kings in exchange for Lias Andersson only minutes earlier. The sizable, hard-working left-winger fills somewhat of a void in the Rangers’ depth chart, so this selection could prove to be mutually beneficial for both team and player. Although he has a stronger than average defensive aptitude, pending a COVID-related transfer, he’ll likely remain in the OHL with Windsor until he’s eligible for the AHL in the fall of 2022. Brayden Olafson

July 2019 – One of two high-end 2019 NHL draft prospects playing for the Windsor Spitfires, Cuylle is the goal-scoring foil to teammate Jean-Luc Foudy. With a dangerous shot, Cuylle does an excellent job at finding the soft spots in zone and converting on his chances. His calling card has been his ability to put the puck in the net but he showed some passing ability as the season wore on in 2018-19. He displays a sound two-way game and is the rare case of a winger that consistently disrupts the oppositions transition game with the ability to break up passes and create turnovers with a good stick. Cuylle’s defensive awareness is above average for a player at his stage of development. The winger is able to flip the switch from defense to offence without missing a beat. Cuylle is among a number of players with a real shot to rise through rankings throughout his draft eligible season. Tony Ferrari