Will Cuylle’s steady progression into sophomore season a major Rangers bright spot
Published Nov. 12, 2024, 12:00 a.m. ET
The bright spots for Will Cuylle have kept blending together through the first 13 Rangers games. A goal here. An assist there. Nine points in total.
The hits — the same ones that helped define his contributions as a rookie — that keep stringing together. And in the middle of a Rangers embarrassment last week, he provided the latest bright spot.
He faded toward the Buffalo net and positioned himself in front of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen less than five minutes into the third period, and when defenseman Zac Jones released a shot, it deflected off Cuylle, careened over Luukkonen and settled into the net.
It marked his fourth goal of the season, and he’s on pace to surge past the 21 points he collected as a rookie in 81 games.“I think that there’s a natural progression with that,” head coach Peter Laviolette said. “You’d like to think that somebody coming in their first year that scores a dozen goals, you’d like to think that there’s upside to that — and then probably an upside in the fourth or fifth year.
“It doesn’t always keep climbing. There’s peaks and valleys to it. … He’s a guy that’s put up points and has scored goals wherever he’s been, so I would imagine that that progression would take place here as well.”
There’s a “maturity” to Cuylle’s game in his second season, Laviolette said.