Vincent Trocheck close to Rangers return; Urho Vaakanainen sidelined
Vincent Trocheck took another step toward returning to the New York Rangers lineup, when he participated in practice Monday. However, the 32-year-old center was limited and wore a no-contact jersey.
Trocheck remains on long term injured reserve, though is eligible to be activated by the Rangers at any time. He’s missed 11 games with an upper-body injury, and surpassed the 10-game LTIR minimum last week when the Rangers finished off a successful road trip out west.
“Just his presence being around the group means the world, just his leadership, his energy,” Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said following practice. “You know, just the fact that he joined the group today suggests that he’s getting closer. It’s great that he’s out there with the group. I think it helps the whole team overall. He’s such a big part of this team in so many ways, both on the ice and off the ice.”
The Rangers host the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, but Trocheck isn’t ready to play in a game just yet. He started skating last week for the first time since sustaining his injury in the second game of the season against the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 9.
After the home game Tuesday, the Rangers play twice later in the week, Friday at the Detroit Red Wings and Saturday at MSG against the Islanders. It’s not yet known if Trocheck is an option for those games.
Trocheck has one assist in two games this season. The Rangers (6-5-2) are 5-4-2 in the 11 games he’s missed.
The durable 13-year NHL veteran hadn’t missed a game in his first three seasons with the Rangers, after signing with them as a free agent in the summer of 2022. He had an NHL career-high 77 points with Rangers in 2023-24, and scored 26 goals last season. He also averaged more than 21 minutes TOI each of the past two seasons, playing in all key situations and taking most of the important face-offs for the Rangers.
Urho Vaakanainen day to day for Rangers with lower-body injury
Urho Vaakanainen didn’t practice Monday and is day to day with a lower-body injury. The 26-year-old defenseman played each of the past three games after he was a healthy scratch the previous three.
The exact nature of the injury isn’t known, nor is when he got hurt. Vaakanainen logged 12:34 TOI in a 3-2 overtime win over the Kraken in Seattle on Saturday. His final shift lasted four seconds and took place with under two minutes to play in regulation.
Vaakanainen has one assist in 10 games, primarily playing on the third defense pair with Braden Schneider. His average ice-time is down nearly two minutes per game (14:53) compared to last season, when Vaakanainen averaged 16:43 TOI in 46 games after the Rangers acquired him from the Anaheim Ducks in the Jacob Trouba trade last December.
With Vaakanainen out, rookie Matthew Robertson took his spot on the third pair at practice. Robertson’s been a healthy scratch the past three games after he played seven in a row. The 24-year-old originally drew into the lineup when Carson Soucy sustained an upper-body injury, and then remained in the lineup even after Soucy returned, at the expense of Vaakanainen.
Rookie Jarosalv Chmelar was the extra forward at practice after the 22-year-old was recalled from Hartford of the American Hockey League on Sunday, swapping spots with Brennan Othmann, who was assigned to the minors. Othmann played one game and was scratched the past three, after he was recalled from Hartford following an upper-body injury sustained by Matt Rempe.
Chmelar skated on a line with top Rangers prospect Gabe Perreault in Hartford this season. The 2021 fifth-round pick has five points (two goals, three assists) in nine games with Hartford.
Perreault has four-game goal and point streaks with Chmelar and Justin Dowling as his linemates, and leads Hartford with 10 points (five goals, five assists) in nine games.
Sullivan explained that after speaking with Rangers general manager Chris Drury, Hartford GM Chris Martin, and coach Grant Potulny, it was clear Chmelar was the obvious choice to be recalled once New York decided to send Othmann back down to the minors.
“He’s been their best forward. So, I think it’s as simple as that,” Sullivan stated. “He’s played extremely well for them and he’s deserving of the call up, and that’s why he’s here.”
