Rangers Daily: EJ Emery scratched in WJC opener; ECHL players strike
The 2026 World Junior Championship opened up Friday, and not a single New York Rangers prospect was in action for the first four games of the annual tournament. In fact, there’s only one Rangers prospect who earned a roster spot among the 10 countries taking part. And that one, EJ Emery, was a healthy scratch for the United States opener against Germany.
That’s a far cry from recent years when top Rangers prospects played big roles in the tournament. Most recently forward Gabe Perreault and defenseman Drew Fortescue helped the United States win consecutive gold medals in 2024 and 2025.
Prior to that, forward Brennan Othmann and goalie Dylan Garand helped Canada win back-to-back WJC titles in 2022 and 2023.
So, there’s a bit of a letdown for the tournament this year, from a Rangers point of view. Emery, who just missed making the 2025 U.S. squad, earned a roster spot this time, but watched their 6-3 victory Friday from the sidelines. It’s unknown if he’ll be in the lineup Saturday, when Team USA skates against Switzerland.
The Rangers selected Emery in the first round (No. 30 overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft. The 19-year-old is a defensive-minded right-shot defenseman, who recorded one point (an assist) in 31 games as a freshman at North Dakota last season. He has four points (two goals, two assists) and 22 penalty minutes in 17 games during his sophomore season. The wiry 6-foot-3, 185-pounder scored his first two NCAA goals in the same game against Minnesota on Oct. 17.
New York’s 2025 top pick, second-rounder (No. 46 overall) Malcolm Spence, played for Canada at the Summer Showcase. But the 18-year-old forward didn’t make the final cut for their 2026 World Junior roster.
In his freshman season at Michigan, Spence is fifth on the team with seven goals and 10th with 12 points in 20 games.
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NHL news and rumors
ESPN: ECHL players went on strike, with 13 games postponed Friday. The League and the players, represented by the PHPA, appeared headed for this result for quite some time after making little headway during collective bargaining the past 11 months.
Hartford Wolf Pack: The Rangers moved forward prospects Sullivan Mack and Zakary Karpa from their ECHL affiliate in Bloomington to Hartford of the American Hockey League as a result of strike.
Sportsnet: The New York Islanders placed goalie Ilya Sorokin on injured reserve, meaning he won’t play Saturday against the Rangers. They recalled Marcus Hogberg from Bridgeport of the AHL.
Yahoo: Islanders prospects lit the lamp often on the opening day of the World Junior Championship
TSN: The Toronto Maple Leafs promoted Steve Sullivan to assistant coach to replace Marc Savard, whom they fired Monday. Sullivan, a former NHL forward, was an assistant with Toronto of the AHL prior to his promotion.
New Jersey Hockey Now: James Nichols dives into the recent Devils trade chatter. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
