As junior seasons end, top prospects will get a short opportunity to get their feet wet professionally before the offseason begins. Today, the Hartford Wolf Pack announced an amateur tryout agreement for Maxim Barbashev, that will keep him with the team through the Calder Cup Playoffs.
He’ll be joined by Ryder Korczak, who has been assigned back to the Wolf Pack from the Moose Jaw Warriors.
Barbashev, selected 161st overall by the New York Rangers in 2022, has played the last three seasons with the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL. This season he posted 32 goals and 65 points in 67 games, but could not overcome the Halifax Mooseheads in the second round.
Not yet signed to an entry-level contract with the Rangers, this will be his first opportunity at the pro level. The 19-year-old forward is the younger brother of Vegas Golden Knights deadline acquisition Ivan Barbashev.
Korczak, meanwhile, is returning to a Hartford team that he played five games for earlier this season. After going scoreless in that short stint, the 2021 third-round pick returned to Moose Jaw and dominated, racking up 69 points in 48 regular season games.
He has already signed his ELC with the Rangers, and will likely spend all of next season in Hartford.
The 20-year-old center also has ties to the Vegas organization—his brother Kaedan Korczak was a second-round pick by the Golden Knights in 2019 and played ten games this season.