Juuso Parssinen has been well-traveled throughout his short NHL career. After being drafted in the seventh round of the 2019 draft, he climbed the Finnish hockey ranks and played well enough in the AHL to make it to the league. Then last season, he was traded from the Nashville Predators to the Colorado Avalanche, before Colorado sent him to the New York Rangers as part of the Ryan Lindgren trade. The Rangers thought that this young forward could develop into a regular in their lineup. But was he able to prove he belongs this season?
Expectations
Going into the season, there was an opportunity for Parssinen to have a role on the Rangers. It was clear that the Rangers had a hole on the third line center, and it seemed like Parrssinen had an inside track on it. He was coming off a season where he racked up six goals and 10 assists for 16 points. Now, these numbers are not great, and his metrics were not much better, but with him being only 24, there was still hope he could turn things around.
There have been many examples of players taking a little longer to develop than others. The hope was that giving him consistent ice time would allow him to be a "late bloomer". He could find some consistency on offense and improve his defense. This would be the answer the Rangers were looking for at third-line center.
Performance
Although he lost the third-line center job to Noah Laba, Parssinen got off to a decent start. He had an assist against the Penguins and scored a goal against the Maple Leafs in his second game. However, after this initial success, Parssinen began to struggle. Over the next 12 games, he suited up for, he only had a goal. This came on October 23rd against the Sharks, meaning he went nine straight games without registering a point. This lack of production caused the Rangers to place him on waivers on November 25th.
He cleared waivers and was sent down to Hartford. Just when things couldn't get worse, he sustained an upper-body injury in his first game with the Wolf Pack. This kept him out until late January. He put up a decent showing in 10 AHL games, racking up five goals and one assist for six points. This earned him a recall to the Rangers. But once again, he struggled, failing to record a point in six games before being sent back down to Hartford for the remainder of the season. He appeared in Hartford's final four games, only notching an assist.
In 20 games for the Rangers, he had a goal and two assists. But in his 15 games with the Wolf Pack, he had five goals and two assists for seven points. We saw the signs of the player we wanted Parssinen to be in the AHL. But he was unable to translate this to the NHL. His NHL metrics are not much better. According to Natural Stat Trick, he has a 43.39 CF%, a 49.14 SCF%, and a 40.21 xG%. He also allowed 59 scoring changes and 23 high-danger chances. These metrics do not inspire much confidence.
Grade: D+
Where do they go from here?
At this point, Parssinen's future is up in the air. With Laba having a strong rookie season, he has secured that third-line center role for next season. Unless he wants to play on one of the wings, the only shot he has at making the NHL roster is on the fourth line. That is, of course, if he can win a spot on the roster. With how poorly he played this past season, we do not know how the front office views him.
Parssinen's only hope is the state of the Rangers. With the team retooling the roster and looking for young talent, it creates another opportunity for him to prove himself. He will only be 25 at the start of next season, so there is still a chance he can have a breakout season. Of course, he will have to put in a lot of work this offseason and have a strong pre-season to regain the team's trust.
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