Rangers Assign Adam Edstrom To AHL
Sunday: Edstrom’s second stint with the Rangers was short-lived as the team announced that he has been sent back to the Wolf Pack. Edstrom did not see any game action while on recall.
Thursday: The Rangers recalled forward Adam Edstrom from the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack on Thursday, per a team release. This is the first non-emergency recall in his career.
Edstrom, 23, made his NHL debut before the holiday break, scoring one goal on three shots in 9:39 of ice time against the Ducks on December 17. The hulking 6-foot-6 Swedish center gives the Rangers some injury insurance as a 13th forward for their two-game road swing through Florida to close out 2023.
Drafted by the Rangers in the sixth round in 2019, Edstrom played three years with Rögle in the Swedish Hockey League before signing his entry-level contract shortly after the 2021-22 season concluded. The Rangers again loaned him out to Rögle last season, where he notched a career-high nine goals and 19 points in 42 games. To end the campaign, they assigned him to Hartford for his first taste of North American pro hockey after Skellefteå eliminated Rögle in the quarterfinals of the SHL playoffs.
Edstrom began this season in Hartford as expected. His eight goals in 24 games rank fifth on the Wolf Pack, a good start for a player widely viewed as having a limited offensive ceiling. Edstrom’s best-case scenario is still panning out as a third-line checking center, but so far, he looks to be in quite a solid place in his development for such a late-round pick.
New York Rangers Recall Adam Edstrom
With defenseman K’Andre Miller set to miss a second straight game due to personal reasons, the New York Rangers have opted to add more depth to their forward core, recalling Adam Edstrom from their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Edstrom was originally a sixth-round selection of the Rangers, going 161st overall in the 2019 NHL Draft. Not coming to North America until late last season, Edstrom had been playing for Rögle BK of the SHL, scoring 23 goals and 47 points over 174 games during his professional career overseas.
This season in Hartford, Edstrom has played in 21 total games, scoring seven goals and nine points in the process. Making his way primarily from his goal-scoring ability, Edstrom’s true claim to fame is his size. Standing at 6’8″, Edstrom is only one inch shorter than former defenseman, Zdeno Chara, making him tied for the tallest player on an NHL roster next to defenseman Tyler Myers.
Edstrom does not use his frame in the same manner as Chara or Myers but remains an intimidating player to line up against, nonetheless. In their game tonight against the Anaheim Ducks, there has been no confirmation if Edstrom will dress for the game, as the Rangers currently have 13 forwards on the roster aside from Edstrom.
New York Rangers Recall Jonny Brodzinski, Adam Edström
The New York Rangers have recalled forwards Jonny Brodzinski and Adam Edström, according to a team announcement. In a corresponding move, the Rangers have reassigned Connor Mackey to their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack.
The recalls of these two forwards is likely an indication that the Rangers expect to be without Kaapo Kakko for some time. Kakko left last night’s game with an injury and no more detail has been released in an official capacity beyond that.
The recall of Brodzinski is no surprise seeing as he appears to have cemented himself as the Rangers’ first-choice call-up over the last few years. A blisteringly hot start with the Wolf Pack (25 points in just 16 games) has further entrenched him in that role, and as a result, he’s likeliest to step into coach Peter Laviolette’s roster in place of Kakko.
The 30-year-old forward offers versatility (he can play both center and wing) and abundant energy. He’s also regarded as a high-character player, as he is in his third season as captain in Hartford. Since November 15th, Brodzinski has scored 13 points in six games, so maybe with another chance to play in the NHL Brodzinski will be able to chip in some offense.
As for Edström, his recall gives the Rangers a different flavor of forward to potentially plug into their lineup. While Brodzinski is undersized and relies on his work ethic and compete level to succeed at the game’s highest level, Edström boasts rare size at his center position.
The six-foot-eight Swedish pivot was a sixth-round pick of the Rangers at the 2019 draft who is currently in his rookie AHL campaign after a lengthy stint developing with the SHL’s Rögle BK. He has posted decent numbers in Hartford so far (nine points in 18 games) though one does wonder if he’s truly ready for NHL minutes.
Since the Rangers called up two forwards, it is somewhat notable that they passed over veteran Alex Belzile in favor of Edström. Belzile, a former AHL captain, currently ranks second on Hartford in scoring with 18 points in 18 games. He scored at a 16-goal, 37-point pace with the Montreal Canadiens late last season while playing fourth-line minutes, and has experience playing wing, center, and in the NHL playoffs.
But rather than call up Belzile, who may have offered a somewhat similar package of skills as Brodzinski, the Rangers have opted for a player with rare size in Edström, giving the prospect the chance to potentially make his NHL debut.
Metropolitan Notes: Rangers, Ersson, Penguins Defensemen, Edstrom
With a looming cap crunch for the Rangers, they will be hard-pressed to re-sign their pending restricted free agents to market-value contracts and round out the rest of their roster. To that end, Arthur Staple of The Athletic suggests (subscription link) that they may need to focus on bridge deals with defenseman K’Andre Miller and Alexis Lafreniere or even consider the possibility of moving Lafreniere this offseason. New York has more than $71MM in commitments to 14 players for next season per CapFriendly and a long-term deal for Miller would eat up a bulk of their cap space alone. It’s a problem they can ignore for now with the team aiming for a long postseason run but GM Chris Drury is going to have his work cut out for him to keep his core intact this summer.
More from the Metropolitan:
- The Flyers have returned goaltender Samuel Ersson to AHL Lehigh Valley, notes Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). He had served as the backup for Philadelphia for the past two games with Carter Hart dealing with an illness. Ersson’s first taste of NHL action has gone relatively well this season as he has a 3.03 GAA and a .898 SV% in ten games while winning six of his eight starts.
- A pair of injured Penguins defensemen have returned to the ice. Justin Guerriero of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review notes that Marcus Pettersson skated on his own before practice today with head coach Mike Sullivan indicating that the 26-year-old is making progress. He’s currently on LTIR and isn’t eligible to return until April 13th. Meanwhile, Jan Rutta returned to practice in a non-contact jersey. He has been out with an undisclosed injury for the last two weeks. Pittsburgh is down three blueliners at the moment (Dmitry Kulikov is also out) and just narrowly holding onto the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
- The Rangers have re-assigned prospect Adam Edstrom to the minors, per an announcement from AHL Hartford. The 22-year-old forward more than doubled his point output from a year ago, collecting nine goals and ten assists in 42 games with SHL Rogle. With their playoff run now over, Edstrom will now get his first taste of playing in North America.
Minor Transactions: 09/02/22
Just a few weeks from now, NHL teams will be taking the ice to do battle in the preseason. Meanwhile, minor league and European clubs continue to make additions to their own rosters in preparation for the regular season. As always, we’ll keep track of today’s notable minor moves right here.
- Max Martin, who played 13 games for the Texas Stars last season, has signed a new one-year deal with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits for 2022-23. The WHL champion went undrafted out of junior but had inked a deal with Texas to make the jump to the AHL. After just 22 games, he’ll now compete in the ECHL for the upcoming season.
- CapFriendly completed a bit of housekeeping today, moving Bogdan Trineyev, Adam Sykora, Adam Edstrom, Shakir Mukhamadullin, Dmitri Ovchinnikov, Marco Kasper, Noah Ostlund, and Mikael Pyyhtia to the “loaned” designation, indicating they will be playing overseas this season. There are no real surprises among the group, though it does include some top prospects that should be in North America in the coming years.
- Alex D’Orio, who had been on an entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins until this summer, has signed with IF Bjorkloven of the Swedish second tier. D’Orio became an unrestricted free agent when the Penguins decided to not issue him a qualifying offer.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
New York Rangers To Sign Adam Edstrom
According to CapFriendly, the New York Rangers are expected to sign forward Adam Edstrom to a three-year, entry-level contract (link). The 21-year-old Edstrom was the Rangers’ sixth-round pick, 161st overall, in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. The contract will begin in 2022-23 and carries an AAV of $846.67K; it does not include any performance bonuses.
Edstrom has spent his entire career playing in Sweden, debuting in the Swedish Hockey League with Mora IK in 2018-19. The forward has spent the rest of his SHL career with Rogle BK, where has played his last three seasons. In 132 games with Rogle BK since the start of 2019-20, Edstrom has played in 132 games, putting up 14 goals and 14 assists in that time. While his offensive numbers do not jump out, Edstrom stands at 6’4″ and weighs 207 pounds, giving him an ability to use his body and provide a physical presence for his teams.
Adding Edstrom gives the Rangers yet another young player to add to their incredibly strong prospect pool. The Rangers have recently put a focus on adding strong, physical players to their team to help them win games and protect their star talent, and Edstrom should add to that group as he develops. Edstrom may not see any time with the Rangers next season, but he will have an opportunity to come to North America and develop further in the Rangers system.