Hartford Wolf Pack Weekly: Juuso Parssinen injured again in AHL return
Winners in six of their past 10 games (6-4-0-0), the Hartford Wolf Pack are chugging along. biut remain on the outside of the American Hockey League playoff picture.
Last week featured a pair of wins fir the Wolf Pack, followed by a 4-1 loss to the Toronto Marlies on Saturday.
The Wolf Pack defeated the Hershey Bears 5-4 in overtime on Tuesday, and followed up with a 3-2 win against the Bridgeport Islanders on Friday. Their loss to Toronto was Hartford’s 19th regulation defeat of the season.
The seventh-place Wolf Pack (16-19-4-1, 37 points) are one point out of the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. The New York Rangers AHL affiliate plays three games this week to continue their push, and inch closer returning to .500, and a possible playoff spot.
Defenseman Connor Mackey was called up by the Rangers on Monday, when they traded defenseman Carson Soucy to the Islanders for a 2026 third-round pick. Anton Blidh returned to Hartford after the forward’s brief NHL stint with New York.
Hartford Wolf Pack news-n-notes
Photo courtesy Hartford Wolf Pack
Juuso Pärssinen is back, sort of
There was good news and bad news for Juuso Parssinen, when he returned from an extended injury absence Friday. The 24-year-old forward scored a goal to help Hartford edge Bridgeport. But he didn’t make it out of the second period because of an upper-body issue. He’s considered day to day, and didn’t play Saturday.
Parssinen missed 19 games after he was he was hurt in his Hartford debut Nov. 28. That was two days after the Rangers placed Parssinen on waivers, following a dismal start to the 2025-26 season, when he had two goals and one assist over 14 games with New York.
Parssinen skated with Trey Fix-Wolansky and Brendan Brisson on the second line Friday, giving Hartford a veteran trio each with NHL experience. In his most recent spin in the AHL, Parssinen had 25 points (seven goals, 18 assists) in 36 games with Milwaukee during the 2023-24 season.
Bryce McConnell-Barker sets career high with eighth goal
Second-year pro Bryce McConnell-Barker is developing nicely with Hartford. A third-round pick (No. 97 overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft by the Rangers, McConnell-Barker is tied for fourth on the Wolf Pack with eight goals in 37 games this season, already one more than his total last season as a rookie pro. His three power play goals are tied for third most on the team with Fix-Wolansky, just two behind Brisson, the team leader with five.
McConnell-Barker is also tied for the Hartford lead with three game-winning goals. The 21-year-old forward pulled even with veteran Justin Dowling in that department, when he netted the game-winner in overtime, part of a two-goal-effort, against Hershey on Jan. 20.
Sitting on 14 points, McConnell-Barker is two shy of passing his total of 15 last season. He’s averaging 1.72 shots per game, after averaging 0.82 per game a year ago, part of the reason for his uptick in production.
Given the Rangers retooling, McConnell-Barker could be another option in New York for the bottom-six forward group at some point down the road.
Trey Fix-Wolansky paces Wolf Pack offense
Fix-Wolansky is pulling away from the pack — no pun intended — as Hartford’s top offensive threat. The diminutive (5-foot-6) forward leads the Wolf Pack with 15 goals and 27 points in 40 games. The 26-year-old is on a bit of a heater with a four-game point streak (four goals, three assists), including a hat-trick against Hershey on Jan. 20, and two primary assists against Bridgeport on Jan. 23.
Signed by the Rangers to a one-year, two-way contract last July, Fix-Wolansky registered a point in 22 of 40 games with Hartford, and recorded multiple points four times. His previous three seasons with Cleveland in the AHL, Fix-Wolansky scored 29 goals once and 26 goals twice.
He has four goals and six points in 26 career NHL games, most recently with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2023-24 season. So, depending on how many players depart and are brought in during the Rangers retool, Fix-Wolansky might get back to the NHL at some point this season.
Upcoming Games
All games can be viewed on AHLTVand heard on Mixlr.
Wednesday, January 28 vs Charlotte Checkers (Panthers) at 6:30pm, PeoplesBank Arena
- This is the second of eight meetings in the season series. Hartford won the first contest 4-1 on Oct. 29.
- Charlotte is 24-12-3-0 (51 points), third in the Atlantic Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference.
- Jack Devine leads the Checkers with 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists). Wilmer Skoog and Ben Steeves are tied second for scoring with 27 points apiece (15 goals, 12 assists each).
Friday, January 30 vs Bridgeport Islanders (New York) at 7:00pm, PeoplesBank Arena
- This is the eighth of 12 meetings in the season series. Hartford is 3-4-0-0 against Bridgeport.
- Bridgeport is 17-18-2-2 (38 points), sixth in the Atlantic Division and 12th in the Eastern Conference.
- Adam Beckman leads the Islanders with 25 points (16 goals, nine assists). Joey Larson (13 goals, 11 assist) and Alex Jefferies (seven goals, 17 assists) are tied for second in scoring with 24 points apiece.
Saturday, January 31 vs Springfield Thunderbirds (Blues) at 6:05pm, MassMutual Center
- This is the seventh of 10 meetings in the season series. Hartford is 4-2-0-0 against Springfield.
- Springfield is 14-20-4-2 (34 points), eighth in the Atlantic Division and 14th in the Eastern Conference.
- Matt Luff leads the Thunderbirds with 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists). Next is Matthew Peca with 27 points (eight goals, 19 assists).
