Dillan Bentley

While the New York Rangers have had a greatly disappointing season overall, this season has nonetheless been one where a few of the team’s younger players have taken real steps forward. While the rapid growth of star prospect Gabe Perreault, and the resurgence of 2020 No. 1 overall pick Alexis Lafreniere, have drawn the headlines, the Rangers are also benefiting from the development of the team’s younger role players. One player occupying that status who has taken a real step forward this season is big Swedish forward Adam Edstrom.

Edstrom, 25, has earned enough of the trust of head coach Mike Sullivan that he was kept in the team’s lineup as a fourth-line center over Juuso Parssinen, despite the fact that Edstrom has not played center since joining the North American professional ranks. Edstrom occupied the role for the Rangers’ victory over the Minnesota Wild yesterday, and it’s worth considering what that development might mean for Parssinen’s future in New York. If the 25-year-old, who has three points in 19 games this season, is being held out of the lineup in favor of a natural winger in Edstrom, it suggests he may not be in the Rangers’ future plans. Whether or not Edstrom is able to stick at the center position could seriously impact whether Parssinen will play out the next year on his contract (through 2026-27 at a $1.25MM) with the Rangers or elsewhere.

Other notes from around the NHL:

• When the Buffalo Sabres traded ascending winger J.J. Peterka to the Utah Mammoth last summer, one of the key pieces the team received in return was big defenseman Michael Kesselring. While Josh Doan has since emerged as the key part of the Sabres’ return in that deal, Kesselring was nonetheless seen as an important building block for the Sabres. That’s what makes the recent rise of former Quinnipiac University Bobcat Zach Metsa so surprising. Yesterday, Metsa played next to Rasmus Dahlin, while Kesselring spent his second straight game as a healthy scratch. Head coach Lindy Ruff’s increased level of trust in Metsa is worth monitoring moving forward. The Sabres’ blueline has become increasingly crowded, and once Mattias Samuelsson returns from injury, it’s fair to wonder what Kesselring’s path to playing time might look like. The 26-year-old has two points in 32 games this season and is a pending RFA with arbitration rights.
• The Laval Rocket, AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, signed NCAA free agent Dillan Bentley to a two-year, one-way AHL contract that runs through the 2027-28 season. Bentley will join Laval on a tryout for the rest of the 2025-26 campaign. Bentley, 24, joins the pro ranks after a four-year college career at UMass-Lowell. He was an alternate captain for the team this season, scoring 14 goals and 25 points in 33 games. He formerly served as the captain of his junior team in the NAHL. The signing returns the Canadiens to some familiar territory. This isn’t the first time the team’s management group, which has deep roots in the state of Massachusetts, has signed a top player out of Lowell; the Canadiens signed Lowell captain Lucas Condotta as an NCAA free agent in 2022. Condotta now serves as the Rocket’s captain.