Adam Sykora’s Push for Rangers Roster Put on Hold by Injury
Adam Sykora controls the puck during a matchup between HK Nitra and Ducs d’Angers at the IIHF Continental Cup Final on January 14, 2023. Photo by Mathis Benguigui.
Written by Gina Anton
NEW YORK — Adam Sykora had spent the offseason preparing for an opportunity he had been working toward for months.
The New York Rangers forward was coming off a late-season NHL stint that gave him a reason to believe he could earn a permanent spot in New York this fall. Instead, an injury will force him to put that pursuit on hold.
Sykora is expected to miss four to five months with a lower-body injury sustained during Monday’s preseason game against the New Jersey Devils. The 22-year-old was injured after being hit by Devils defenseman Mikael Diotte and falling awkwardly into the boards.
The injury comes at a difficult point in Sykora’s development.
He spent most of last season with the Hartford Wolf Pack, recording 29 points in 62 games. But after earning a call-up late in the year, Sykora made an impression in 11 NHL games, scoring three goals and adding an assist.
Long before competing for a spot with the Rangers, Sykora was already gaining professional experience with HK Nitra in Slovakia. He helped Nitra reach the 2023 IIHF Continental Cup Super Final, an early stage in a career that would eventually take him from European hockey to the AHL and, ultimately, the NHL.
Those 11 games gave him something to build on heading into training camp.
Rather than simply trying to earn another call-up, Sykora had a chance to compete for a roster spot from the start of the season. After putting in the work to get himself into that position, he will now have to watch the Rangers make those decisions without him.
For a young player trying to establish himself, that can make an already difficult recovery even more challenging. The season he had been preparing for is moving forward while his own timeline has suddenly changed.
Sykora’s opportunity has not disappeared, but it has been delayed.
His next challenge will be getting back to full health and finding a way to regain the momentum he built at the end of last season.
The Rangers continue their preseason Thursday against the Devils before facing the New York Islanders on Friday. They open the regular season Sept. 29 against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.
