Jaroslav Chmelař Critical Of His Early-Season Play As He Gets Another Chance With Rangers

The New York Rangers recalled Jaroslav Chmelař from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League while sending Taylor Raddysh down in a corresponding move.

Chmelař, who started the season with the Rangers and was eventually sent down to the AHL, expressed his excitement to be back in the fold.

“Every time you get that call, super excited to get back,” Chmelař said about being recalled by the Rangers. “I was on a mission to get back up here, and hopefully continue to do that.”

Despite being a prime candidate to start the season in Hartford due to being waiver-exempt, Chmelař had an impressive training camp and earned a spot on the Rangers’ opening-night roster.

However, the 23-year-old forward played in seven games for the Rangers, failing to record a point before being sent back down to the AHL.

Chmelař was critical of his game through the opening stretch of the 2026-27 campaign, admitting that he could have been better.

“To be honest, I wasn’t the happiest with it,” Chmelař said. “I feel like I have way more impact on the game when I play the way I want to play. It seemed like I was off of that a little bit.”

In seven games with the Wolf Pack, Chmelař recorded two goals, two assists, and four points.

After losing four consecutive games, Mike Sullivan has made significant changes to his lines, and the Rangers’ management brass felt like it was the right time to bring up Chmelař, with the hope of providing a spark to the Rangers’ bottom-six forward unit.

“He (Chmelař) played very well down there and (Chris Drury) and his staff felt at this point that reinserting him into the lineup here, based on how he was playing down there, that potentially he could help our group,” Sullivan said. “I think as far as what the expectation is, Jaro is a big strong guy that can really skate.

“He's got decent offensive instincts and puck skills. He can be an unnerving player. He can disrupt breakouts. He can use his physicality and lean on people, finish checks in the offensive zone. When defensemen go back for pucks, he can create anxiety with his pressure, his ability to skate, and his physicality. And when he plays that way, he helps us by creating momentum. He's an unnerving player, and that's the type of influence that he can have on the game.”

Chmelař is slated to play on the Rangers’ fourth line alongside Noah Laba and Matt Rempe in Tuesday night’s game against the St. Louis Blues.