New York Rangers: This could be Nicklas Jensen's last chance
The 23-year-old former first round pick of the Vancouver Canucks was called up Wednesday to be plugged into the New York Rangers lineup. Unless he can perform in this role, there is a very good chance that he won’t be back with the team next year.
The New York Rangers forward depth was the biggest factor for the excitement that followed this team in the preseason and early parts of this regular season. That same depth is about to be seriously tested without the likes of Pavel Buchnevich, Mika Zibanejad, Rick Nash, Matt Puempel and potentially Jimmy Vesey in the lineup for the time being.
And this is where the Hartford Wolfpack come in.
Earlier in the week, the Rangers called up veteran AHL forward Marek Hrivik to play some fourth line minutes for the team. A few days later, the Rangers called up another forward, this time winger Nicklas Jensen.
Jensen was expected to push for a roster spot in camp before the team went out and signed guys like Michael Grabner, Brandon Pirri as well as Nathan Gerbe who has since left the Rangers and the NHL after a strong campaign in the IIHF’s World Championships in May. He tallied 5 goals and 2 assists in the 8 games of the tournament for his Denmark team.
This year, Jensen has had his best statistical start to an AHL season as he has notched 8 goals and 7 assists through 21 games. This is coming after a solid half season in Hartford last year after being traded by the Canucks for Emerson Etem when he scored 25 points in 41 games.
Jensen has had very brief stints in the NHL throughout his career. Prior to Thursday night’s game, Jensen had only played in 24 games at the highest level, only recording 3 goals and 3 assists in those contests.
The fact of the matter is this; Jensen has been in the AHL for four seasons now. That four-year AHL mark starts to have others question if he is anything more than just that. He has a lot to prove at this level, and he must begin to prove that to the Rangers and the rest of the league before he is officially labeled a first round bust.
Nobody knows how long this NHL stint will last with some members of the Rangers’ stacked forward group scheduled to be back within a week or two, but Jensen knows that if he wants a real shot at a prolonged NHL career–be it with the Rangers or anyone else–he needs to make an impact over this next week.
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