One of the New York Rangers catching all the headlines during training camp is Adam Sýkora. Peter Baugh of The Athletic is reporting that Sýkora has a good chance of making the Slovakian Olympic hockey team. This would not be the first time Sýkora participated in international play, as he played for Team Slovakia during the World Championship this summer. While not an NHL game, Sýkora got to feel what it was like going up against NHL talent playing teams like Canada, Finland, and Sweden.
Sýkora has said this experience has given him an extra boost. He's been training harder than he has in order to make an even bigger impact for Team Slovakia in Milan. However, while Sýkora's sights seemed to be on the Olympics, this extra motivation can help him make the Rangers roster sooner. But what are Sýkora's chances of making the NHL this season, and what role could he have?
Adam Sýkora has a long but not impossible shot at dawning the Rangers sweater this season
Since being drafted by the Rangers in the second round of the 2022 NHL draft, he has spent most of his time with the Hartford Wolf Pack. Sure, he spent his first year in the organization overseas in Slovakia, but since then, he's been a fixture in Hartford. In 137 games, he has racked up 17 goals and 36 assists for 53 points. He's currently coming off his best season as he tallied nine goals and 21 assists for 30 points.
This point total may seem low, but Sýkora's contribution on the ice does not show up on the stat sheet. Sýkora plays a very intense style of hockey. Every game and shift, he does whatever it takes to put his team in a position to score. He's not afraid to block a shot or get into a battle for the puck. It's the type of intensity that has become popular in today's NHL. It's something that the Rangers are lacking on their current roster.
Sýkora is likely to start the season again with the Wolf Pack. With him being 21 years old and a bit undersized, the Rangers feel he needs a bit more seasoning in the minors before he's an NHL record. However, with so many questions in the Rangers bottom six a strong showing in the AHL could get him a call up. Will players like Juuso Parssinen, Adam Edstrom, Sam Carrick, and Taylor Raddysh be able to be solid NHL contributors for a whole season? That's yet to be seen and could open a spot for Sýkora.
He's also one of the most skill defensive prospects for the Rangers. One of the main problems the Rangers have had for years is there defense don't contribute much on defense. While it's not their main job, most successful NHL have one of their lines dedicated to playing shutdown defense. If these defensive problems for the Rangers continue we could see Drury give Sykora some run to try and shake things up.
While we likely won't see Sýkora until the new year, we can't write him off entirely. He provided an unexpected boost during the season.