Young center Adam Edstrom excited and ready for ‘new shot’ with Rangers

Adam Edstrom is expected to receive his second opportunity with the Rangers this week after being recalled from AHL Hartford.

The 23-year-old center made his NHL debut earlier this season and he impressed on both ends of the ice, recording three shots including his first career goal, and a pair of hits across nine minutes of ice time.

Edstrom was sent back down to Hartford following that matchup, but just a few games later he suffered an upper-body injury, which kept him sidelined for about a month and a half until his strong return to the lineup on Saturday night.

Now that he’s healthy, Peter Laviolette and the rest of the organization are hoping to see what they have in the youngster.

“Edstrom is a guy who played really well for us earlier this year. He was playing well at the time he got the recall, but we sent him back because we needed to, and he got banged up shortly after that,” Laviolette said following Sunday’s morning skate.

“He played last night and was healthy and played really well, so we just want to get him back up here in the mix and get him some reps moving forward.”

While the former sixth-round pick has just eight goals and two assists across 25 games this year with Hartford, he’s played well in the defensive end and is a reliable and physical penalty killer standing at 6-foot-8.

New York’s hoping Edstrom will slot in as the fourth-line center leading up to the trade deadline, shifting struggling veteran Barclay Goodrow over to the right side.

While nothing is guaranteed, it certainly seems like Edstrom is in line to receive his second chance on Monday against the Calgary Flames, and it’s an opportunity the youngster feels he’s ready for.

“We do this for a living, so we’re used to having to produce and be on top of our game when we get called up,” he said. “I’m glad to be back up here and get a new shot. If I get to play, I’m super excited, and I’m just going to do my best.”