HARTFORD, Conn – The Connecticut Whale added a new player to their roster Wednesday, center Erik Christensen. And they could have a second new player, wing Wojtek Wolski, in the near future.
Christensen agreed to a two-week conditioning assignment request by the New York Rangers. He has one goal and four assists in 20 games with the Blueshirts.
Christensen, 28, told the New York media that it was ânever a question of saying âno,â it was âyesâ all the way.â
âI spoke to my agent, and we decided this was the best thing for me,â Christensen said. âI havenât played a lot. I really love hockey. I mean thatâs why I play the game. Thatâs more the point, I just want to play hockey. I understand there are things I need to work on, but I just want to be on the ice. Iâm excited to get some games again. This will give me the chance to go and play. Plus, it will keep me prepared in case something happens and I need to go back in the lineup.â
Coach John Tortorella said Christensen came to a quick decision in accepting the conditioning assignment and that he was pleased with the 28 year-oldâs decision.
âItâs for the right reason,â Tortorella said. âHeâs been out a lot and he needs to play.â
Last season, Christensen played in 69 games and tied his career high with 11 goals and added 16 assists.
Wolski, acquired last season from Phoenix for defenseman Michal Rozsival, has two assists in only six games in an injury-plagued second campaign with the Rangers and hasnât played since Nov. 3 when he had surgery for a sports hernia. Tortorella said Wolski also has been asked to join the Whale but was discussing the possibility with his representatives. Wolski remained with the Blueshirts because of a shoulder injury that former Hartford Wolf Pack forward Brandon Dubinsky sustained when hit by Taylor Pyatt in a 2-1 shootout victory over Phoenix on Tuesday night. Dubinsky did not practice Wednesday and will be a game-time decision to play against the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.
âThey should be impact players at (the AHL) level,â Whale coach Ken Gernander said of Christensen and possibly Wolski before the team bus departed Wednesday for Voorhees, NJ and then to Norfolk, VA. âTheyâre in shape, but obviously part of a two-week conditioning is to get your game agility or game conditioning back. But theyâre pretty high-caliber players, so I think (the game shape) will come back quickly and they should be impact players at this level.â
The Whale (19-12-2-4) can use some reinforcements since rugged right wing Andre Deveaux, their third-leading scorer with 11 goals and 14 assists and a major force on the power play and No. 1 line with Kris Newbury and All-Star rookie wing Jonathan Audy-Marchessault, was suspended for three games Tuesday for two boarding incidents against the Falcons.
Christensen, a third-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2002 who was claimed off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 2, 2009, has been squeezed out of the Rangers lineup largely because veteran center John Mitchell and speedy rookie left wing Carl Hagelin have contributed so much to the surging Rangers since being called up Nov. 24. Christensen and Wolski have had little chance to crack the lineup, which Tortorella again said he wasnât about to change after the Rangersâ win Tuesday night, their fifth in a row and 10th in 11 starts.
Christensen and Wolski had to give their consent for a conditioning assignment and also have to do so for their stay to last more than 14 days.
After games Friday and Saturday nights in Norfolk against the Admirals (21-13-1-2), who are second in the East Division to Hershey but have lost the first three games of a five-game homestand, the Whale plays at Portland next Wednesday and then returns home for the start of a five-game homestand Jan. 20 against the Atlantic Division-leading St. Johnâs IceCaps, the new affiliate of the new Winnipeg Jets. Deveaux will be eligible to return for the St. Johnâs game.
Deveaux has been effective on the Whaleâs No. 1 line and especially as a net-front presence on the power play, which has moved into a tie for third in the league with Norfolk at 21.6 percent. Deveaux, who signed a free-agent contract Aug. 16, has a team-high nine power-play goals, which is tied for second in the league to the 11 of Graham Mink of Hershey. Bruce Berlet of the Connecticut Whale
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