Wendell Cruz-Imagn ImagesGoing into the 2025-26 season, Juuso Parssinen was fighting for the New York Rangers’ third-line position, but things haven’t gone quite to plan for the Finnish forward.
When the Rangers signed Parssinen to a two-year, $2.5 million contract extension during the offseason, the expectation was that he would carve out a bottom-six role with the Blueshirts.
However, after getting beaten out by Noah Laba at training camp for the third-line center role and playing 14 of the first 24 games of the season, the Rangers placed Parssinen on waivers, with the risk that he could be claimed by any other team.
“No one wants to end up on waivers, it’s never fun,” Parssinen said. “You can’t beat yourself, you gotta work on yourself. I accept the situation. You can’t feel sorry for yourself. Work hard and prove that you belong in the NHL.”
Ultimately, Parssinen cleared waivers and was sent down to play with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League.
The 25-year-old forward’s luck didn’t improve upon joining the Wolf Pack, as in his first AHL game, he sustained an upper-body injury that required surgery and kept him out for two months.
“Antime you’re injured, it’s frustrating because everyone wants to be healthy, play as much as possible” Parssinen said. “Every time you get injured, that’s hard, but you gotta stay hard mentally, rehab hard, do your work. We have good trainers in Hartford, so they helped a lot.”
Parssinen played in 10 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack after returning from his injury, recording five goals, one assist, and six points.
During the 2024-25 campaign, Parssinen was traded two times, and now this season, even more has been thrown his way between being placed on waivers and his injury, so it’s hard not to grow frustrated given these series of events.
“Obviously, getting sent on waivers, then getting injured in Hartford in my first game, being out for two months, having a surgery, it’s been disappointing, but there’s still a lot to go this season,” Parssinen said.
On March 3, Parssinen was recalled by the Rangers and has suited up for the team in five games, playing in a fourth-line role.
He’s been a healthy scratch for the Rangers’ past four matchups, and Mike Sullivan feels that he hasn’t seen enough to truly assess Parssinen’s game.
“Juuso, he plays hard, he is a great kid, he works hard,” Sullivan said of Parssinen. “He works hard in practice, he plays the game hard. He hasn't played a lot for us most recently on this most recent column, so it's hard for me to offer you anything specific. What I can tell you is, when he's at his best, I think he's hard to play against. I think he makes good decisions with the puck. I think he's hard on the forecheck.
“I think he can be a momentum guy for us. He can help us build momentum just through his puck pursuit game and then his possession game, keeping the puck down low in the offensive zone. When he plays center, he has good size. He can lean on people down low in the defensive zone, kill plays in the corners, help us get out of our own zone. I think that’s the game, when Juuso is at his very best, that’s what’s happening.”
Being back in the fold with the Rangers, Parssinen is on a mission to prove himself to the organization, with the hopes of closing out the 2025-26 season on a high note.
“Go day-by-day, work my a–s off, prove I belong here, I belong in the league,” Parssinen said of what his goals are for the remainder of the season. “That’s all I’m thinking about, going day-by-day, and trying to help the team.