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New York Rangers recall Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil from Hartford

The moment that all New York Rangers fans have waited for since the trade deadline has finally arrived. Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil are on their way.

The New York Rangers announced Sunday that they have recalled both Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil from Hartford.

Once the Rangers decided that rebuilding was in their best interest going forward, fans knew that they would see Andersson and Chytil at some point this season. The reason it took so long was that the Rangers did not want to burn the first year of their entry-level contract. So they waited until there was under 10 games remaining so both players can be a part of the rebuild long term.

Andersson was taken with the seventh overall pick in 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The pick was apart of the trade that sent Derek Stepan to the Arizona Coyotes. The Rangers also received Tony DeAngelo in that deal. Andersson was given the chance in training camp to crack the Rangers opening night lineup, but clearly, he was not ready. The 19-year-old center had since gone back to juniors and performed well.

In 22 games in the Swedish Hockey League, Andersson scored 14 points (seven goals, seven assists). He would be chosen as Sweden’s captain in the World Juniors Championship where he excelled, scoring seven points in seven games (six goals and one assist). Following the tournament, the Rangers assigned Andersson to Hartford to further his development and he has produced putting up 14 points in 24 games.

Chytil was selected with the 21st pick in 2017 NHL Entry Draft and actually broke camp with the Rangers to start this season. He played in just two games though as head coach Alain Vigneault felt that he still needed to put in some work to make it consistently at the NHL level. The team assigned him to Hartford instead of his junior team, and he has done nothing but impress.

In 45 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack, Chytil has scored 31 points (11 goals and 20 assists). He is tied for 26th, with teammate Vinni Lettieri, in the AHL rookie scoring race and is averaging .69 points per game. Just like Andersson, Chytil played in the World Juniors Championship for the Czech Republic where he scored two goals and two assists in seven games.

How the two fit in with the Rangers will be interesting to see. They already have a number one and two centers in Mika Zibanejad and Kevin Hayes. Perhaps, Andersson and Chytil will take the place of Cody McLeod and Paul Carey with one seeing time on the wing.

No matter what happens though, this is the part of the rebuild that fans are most excited for, and rightfully so. Both are expected to play against Washington Monday night.

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Dominick is a graduate of Canisius College. He has covered the Rangers for the last seven seasons and the Yankees for the last four.