Sean Avery Assigned to Connecticut; Marc Staal Placed on IR
New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that defenseman Tim Erixon has been recalled from the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL), while forward Sean Avery has been assigned to Connecticut. In addition, defenseman Marc Staal has been placed on injured reserve.
Erixon, 20, registered two assists with a plus-three rating and 10 penalty minutes in five preseason contests with the Rangers prior to his assignment to Connecticut on Saturday. He tallied his first points as a Blueshirt with two assists, including one on the power play, at HC Sparta Praha on Friday. Erixon made his first appearance as a Ranger in the team’s preseason opener on September 21 vs. New Jersey at Albany, NY.
The 6-2, 190-pounder recorded five goals and 19 assists for 24 points, along with 40 penalty minutes with Skelleftea HC of the Swedish Elite League (SEL) last season. He established SEL career-highs in games played, assists and points while skating in his third full season in Sweden’s top professional league. Erixon tied for fifth on the team in assists and eighth in points, and ranked fifth on the club in penalty minutes. He also tied for fifth on the team in playoff goals (three) and assists (five), and sixth in points (eight) while establishing playoff career-highs in games played (18), goals, assists, points, and penalty minutes (12).
The Rangers now have 23 players remaining on their active roster, including two goaltenders, eight defensemen and 13 forwards. The Blueshirts will begin their 2011-12 regular season schedule on Friday, October 7 vs. the Los Angeles Kings at Stockholm, Sweden (1:00 p.m. ET), as part of the 2011 Compuware NHL Premiere.
NEW YORK RANGERS OPENING DAY ROSTER:
Goal (2) – Martin Biron, Henrik Lundqvist
Defense (8) – Brendan Bell, Stu Bickel, Michael Del Zotto, Steve Eminger, Tim Erixon, Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh, Michael Sauer
Forward (13) – Artem Anisimov, Brian Boyle, Ryan Callahan, Erik Christensen, Brandon Dubinsky, Ruslan Fedotenko, Marian Gaborik, Brandon Prust, Brad Richards, Mike Rupp, Derek Stepan, Wojtek Wolski, Mats Zuccarello
CT Whale looks pretty soft this year. Where is the legit enforcer?
Iva,
The Whale are NOT going to be soft at all. There are LOTS of guys on this team that are not shy about dropping the gloves. On top of that have you ever seen Andre Deveraux? The guy is a monster… Don’t worry about this team this season. They’re going to be plenty talented…