It got lost at the airport during his travels back to New York, and he was forced to wear Kaapo Kakko’s skates and borrow equipment from the team.
“He came into a new country and new culture and he got better as the year went on,” Jed Ortmeyer, the Rangers’ director of player development, said Tuesday. “He was captain of the world junior team for his country. A kid that is happy to come to the rink every day with a smile on his face and infectious energy, it spreads throughout the room. Really excited to have him around and keep working with him.”Other than two games with the Wolf Pack the year prior, it was his first action in the AHL.
“It was kind of different, it was a little harder,” Sykora said of the AHL. “Everything was faster, everything was bigger. The guys were unpredictable, they know what they’re doing. It was harder, but that was better for me.