David Quinn didn’t know much about Brett Howden before taking the job as Rangers coach, but the 20-year-old rookie has certainly made a striking early impression on the first-year coach, who keeps giving him more and more responsibility.
“He’s been really good,’’ Quinn said of Howden.
Howden, who surprised many by making the team out of training camp ahead of Lias Andersson, started out as the fourth-line center, but played well enough to jump over fellow rookie Filip Chytil to take over as the third line center. Now, he plays on the power play and the penalty kill, and through the first month of the season, the 6-3, 195-pound Howden is fourth on the team in scoring, with 3 goals and 5 assists.