TARRYTOWN - Since being selected by fans as the winner of the 2024-25 Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award, a highlight of Will Cuylle blowing up Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and immediately dropping the gloves with Nicolas Hague has been recirculating on social media.
"Strong on my feet, keep your arms down and go through the chest," the 23-year-old forward said when asked to relive the Feb. 2 hit.
He let a slight smile slip and added, "That one was big."
Cuylle FLATTENED Pietrangelo before the tilt 💥 pic.twitter.com/D3y5vLMC1L
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 3, 2025
That it was, with the hardcore sequence illustrating Cuylle's toughness in one shareable clip. But that was just one of the 281 hits he's dished out this season.
He sits only four away from tying the Rangers' single-season record of 285, which former captain and four-time Steven McDonald Award winner Ryan Callahan set in 2009-10.
As Cuylle explained, they can't all turn into GIFs the way the Pietrangelo hit did. But if administered effectively − and repeatedly − those relentless body checks can swing possession rates and have an accumulation effect.
"You can't kill guys every game," he said following Friday's practice at the MSG Training Center. "The majority of hits are right after a guy passes it, or it's at his feet, and just trying to finish guys on the forecheck. It's more like disrupting plays and trying to get turnovers from them, too. Most of them aren't big and flashy and make the highlights, but they lead to turnovers, and they definitely wear D-men down. You could ask the D – going back when a guy dumps a puck in, they don't want to get hit four, five, six times a night by one guy that's coming in heavy. It definitely adds up, especially in playoff series. By Game 5, 6, 7, I wouldn’t want to get hit anymore."
Cuylle's average of 14.9 hits per 60 minutes played leads the Rangers and ranks 14th in the NHL among players who have appeared in at least 50 games this season, but physicality alone isn't what earned him the esteemed award.
In a deeply frustrating season that's seen New York tumble in the standings and led to players questioning their own effort after several embarrassing losses, the 6-foot-3, 212-pounder has been one of the very few constants.
"It's just giving your all every shift," Cuylle said. "I try to finish my hit every time I can. Make sure I'm skating as hard as I can on the forecheck. Not gliding and taking any shifts off. I try to earn everything I get. That's always how I've tried to approach things. … You never know when it could be your last shift."
