After the New York Rangers lost 1-0 to the Dallas Stars Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, with a bad play by Jeff Woywitka as the primary reason, the team has decided that now is the time to recall Tim Erixon from the Connecticut Whale according to the team. (See the official release below).
On the surface, some will say, “He makes one mistake and he’s gone. That isn’t fair.”
The question is though, “Do you think Woywitka is a future mainstay with the team?”
Tim Erixon, as has been reported here several times, is playing exceptionally well. The Woywitka signing, as well as Anton Stralman and even the resigning of Steve Eminger were done primarily as a stopgap measure to give some of the franchise’s young defensemen the time they need to develop in Hartford.
It’s worked before.
There was this one young defenseman that played about half a season in Hartford that had this reputation …what was his name again? Wasn’t he in Hartford about half the season or so before being recalled and then playing exceptionally well at the NHL level? What was his name again? McDon…something…
That is the EXACT plan that the team has had and is now executing with Jan Erixon‘s son. Having seen every game he’s played in at this level, he is so clearly ready to make the jump to the next frontier that to keep him in Hartford at this point will slow his development.
Could Erixon have made the same mistake? Of Course. But at the is point, all that last night did was reinforce to the team that they need to execute plan A now rather than waiting any longer.
NEW YORK RANGERS TRANSACTION UPDATE
Tim Erixon Recalled from Connecticut
New York, December 14, 2011 – 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).
Erixon, 20, has registered one goal and 11 assists for 12 points, along with 10 penalty minutes in 13 games with Connecticut this season. He currently has a three-game assist streak, tallying four assists during the stretch which began with a two-assist effort on Friday vs. Hershey. Erixon leads all Whale defensemen and is tied for sixth on the team in scoring with 12 points, and ranks second on Connecticut overall in average points per game (0.92) and is tied for third in assists (11). He registered seven points in a five-game span (one goal and six assists), beginning with his first career AHL goal on November 12 at St. John’s and culminating with a career-high, three assists on November 23 vs. Portland. Erixon tallied an assist while making his AHL debut on November 2 at Bridgeport.
The Port Chester, New York native began the season on the Rangers opening night roster, and skated in nine games with the Blueshirts before being assigned to Connecticut on October 29. Erixon posted a plus or even rating in six of his nine contests. He made his NHL debut on October 7 against Los Angeles in Stockholm, Sweden, as part of the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Premiere.
Erixon was acquired by the Rangers along with a fifth round selection in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft (Shane McColgan) from Calgary, in exchange for Roman Horak and two second round picks in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft (Markus Granlund, Tyler Wotherspoon) on June 1, 2011. He was originally selected by the Flames in the first round, 23rd overall, in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
(Photo courtesy of bleacherreport.com)
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