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Adam Sykora Assigned To AHL

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As European seasons end, AHL clubs are getting some talented reinforcements. Today, the Hartford Wolf Pack were assigned Adam Sykora by the New York Rangers after his playoff run in Slovakia ended a few days ago.

Sykora, 18, was the 63rd pick in 2022 and already appears to be well on his way to outperforming that draft position. With 21 points in 38 games for HK Nitra, he was the highest-scoring U20 player in the Extraliga (by quite a bit), and added four points in eight playoff games playing a significant role.

While his World Junior tournament didn’t result in much offensive production – Sykora scored just one goal in five games – it was a bit of a coming-out party for the talented young forward, who looked dangerous every time he touched the puck.

Even better, he continued to display the all-out energy that made him such an intriguing draft prospect. Sykora’s game has no lower gear, as he flies around the ice chasing the puck. That actually may have to be reined in a bit at the next level for the Rangers to get the most out of him, but his work ethic certainly won’t be questioned.

Signed to his three-year entry-level deal already, Sykora is in no danger of burning the first year. His contract will slide at least this season, and could again next year should he play outside the NHL.

Rangers Will Surrender 2024 Third-Round Pick

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When the New York Rangers clinched the playoffs last night, thanks to losses by the Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers, there must have been some smiles on a Western Conference club, too. The St. Louis Blues will now receive a 2024 third-round pick as part of the Vladimir Tarasenko trade, instead of the conditional fourth that was initially announced.

Lindgren Fully Participates In Practice

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Bleacher Report contributor Joe Yerdon reports Tage Thompson will miss today’s game against the Montreal Canadiens. He also mentions it is an upper-body injury and Thompson has been dealing with it for the team’s past two games, but batted through. The Sabres are off for three days after tonight’s contest so it is hoped he will be recovered in time to face the New York Rangers on Thursday.

  • Arthur Staple of The Athletic reports Ryan Lindgren was a full participant at practice today. Lindgren missed a month earlier this season with an upper-body injury before returning on March 21. He played just one game and has missed the Rangers past two contests after re-aggravating the same injury. It sounds like he could be ready to go tomorrow night when the Rangers face the Columbus Blue Jackets.

A Case For Ryan Lindgren To Go On LTIR Now

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  • The Rangers were hesitant to put Ryan Lindgren on LTIR when he was injured last month. He returned to the lineup only to re-aggravate his shoulder injury.  Accordingly, Mollie Walker of the New York Post wonders if New York might be better off doing so now.  A retroactive placement would keep him eligible to return for the playoffs while giving him ample time to ensure he’s fully ready to return.  Additionally, such a move would clear up their short-term cap difficulties, eliminating the possibility of them needing to play shorthanded for a game to become eligible for a cap-exempt recall.

Notes: Lindgren, Klingberg, Howard

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Mollie Walker of the New York Post reports New York Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren will not play this evening. She added that this is the same injury the top-pairing defenseman was dealing with previously and he tweaked it in his return on Tuesday night. Lindgren had previously missed four weeks of action with what has been termed an upper-body injury. He returned to face the Carolina Hurricanes two nights ago and briefly left before returning to finish the game. The Rangers appear to be taking a cautious approach and don’t want a key piece of their blue line to make things worse with the playoffs on the horizon.

The Rangers have 11 regular season games remaining before the postseason, but appear locked into the third seed in the Metropolitan Division. They are six points back of the New Jersey Devils for second in the division, but hold a ten point advantage on the New York Islanders who are in the top wildcard spot.

  • John Klingberg of the Minnesota Wild will also miss tonight’s game, according to a team release. Klingberg, an offensive defenseman, has four points in nine games since being acquired from the Anaheim Ducks at the trade deadline for Nikita Nesterenko, Andrej Sustr and a fourth-round draft pick. The team says it is an upper-body injury but there are not other details about the severity of the injury.
  • Chris Peters of Flo Hockey reports Isaac Howard is entering NCAA’s transfer portal. This will pave his departure from the University of Minnesota-Duluth after one season. Howard was a first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2022 and had six goals and 17 points in 35 games as a freshman. Peters also mentions this could lead him to reuniting with former coach Adam Nightingale who is behind the bench of Michigan State, but nothing is official yet.

New York Rangers Sign Bryce McConnell-Barker

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According to a team tweet, the New York Rangers have signed forward Bryce McConnell-Barker to a three-year, entry-level contract beginning with the 2023-24 season. PuckPedia reports the contract carries an $870,000 cap hit, broken down per year into $775,000 in base salary, $95,000 in signing bonuses, $80,000 in games played bonuses, and $80,000 in minors salary.

A natural center, the 18-year-old forward was selected by the Rangers in the third round of the 2022 NHL Draft. The pick used to select him, 97th overall, was acquired from the Colorado Avalanche in the Alexandar Georgiev trade on draft day.

McConnell-Barker spent the last two seasons with the Soo Greyhounds of the OHL after losing the entire 2020-21 campaign due to COVID. There, he’s played in 134 games and recorded 52 goals and 71 assists. The 6-foot-2, 194-pound forward also served as captain for the Greyhounds this season.

While McConnell-Barker’s -29 rating this season may be disappointing for a player heralded for his two-way game, he had a weak supporting cast on the Greyhounds, who sit with just 19 wins on the season with a handful of games remaining and are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. His production in 2022-23 has been promising, putting up over a point per game in his post-draft year.

McConnell-Barker is expected to return to the OHL next year, as he remains ineligible for assignment to the AHL until his age 20 season (2024-25).

Ryan Lindgren, Tyler Motte Miss Practice

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  • Ryan Lindgren and Tyler Motte both had maintenance days for the New York Rangers today, per Larry Books of The New York Post. Lindgren is fresh off returning from an 11-game absence due to an upper-body injury, and the team is likely going to ease him back into a normal game and practice routine with health for the playoffs at the top of everyone’s mind. Motte missed two games with an upper-body injury earlier in the month but has skated in seven straight contests since then, looking no worse for wear with three goals and an assist.

Minor Transactions: Kesselring, Berard, Krygier, Pivonka

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The Arizona Coyotes have announced via a press release that they have recalled defenseman Michael Kesselring from their AHL affiliate Tucson Roadrunners. Since being acquired from the Edmonton Oilers as part of the Nick Bjugstad trade, Kesselring has now been recalled on an emergency loan for the fourth time in just under three weeks.

After having a productive season with the Oilers’ AHL affiliate Bakersfield Condors, Kesselring has played three games for the Roadrunners, scoring two points, and four games for the Coyotes, scoring zero points. Given the seemingly unending rotating door that Kesselring has found himself in, this will likely not be the last time he will find himself being emergency recalled this year.

Other notes:

  • The New York Rangers have signed prospect Brett Berard to an entry-level contract that will kick in next year. In the meantime, the Providence College product will join the team’s AHL affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack on an amateur tryout basis. The contract will run until the end of the 2025-26 season, paying the forward $925K in the NHL, and $80K in the AHL. Drafted 134th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, Berard capped off a solid career at Providence, playing in a total of 91 regular season games, scoring 33 goals and 39 assists.
  • Jacob Pivonka will be joining the Bridgeport Islanders on an ATO today. Drafted 104th overall in the 2018 NHL Draft, the young forward played a majority of his collegiate career at the University of Notre Dame, but ultimately finished it at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. In his four-year college career, Pivonka played in 126 regular-season games, scoring 17 goals and 29 assists.
  • Also joining Pivonka in Bridgeport on an ATO will be defenseman Christian Krygier from Michigan State University. This will be the second transaction in as many days for the Krygier family, as his brother, Cole Krygier, just had his rights acquired by the Los Angeles Kings. Christian managed to accrue five seasons in the NCAA after being given another season of eligibility due to the Covid-19 pandemic and managed to score 20 points for the Spartans.

Ryan Lindgren To Return For Rangers

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  • One of their Metropolitan Division rivals is about to get their own injury reinforcement, as Ryan Lindgren will return tonight for the New York Rangers. Lindgren hasn’t played since February 25, but returns to a Rangers team that has won four straight and is slowly closing the gap between them and the division leaders.

Ryan Lindgren Nearing Return To Lineup

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The New York Rangers are beginning to roll after some big-ticket trade deadline additions but still have been without a notable piece to their defense core. That may change this week, as Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant told reporters today that he would “bet a lot” on defenseman Ryan Lindgren returning to the lineup on Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes.

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