Tomáš Chrenko’s week in Slovakia came with a little bit of everything: late-game production, a strong finish at home and, soon enough, another international assignment.
The Rangers forward prospect helped HK Nitra earn points in back-to-back league games in the Slovak Tipsport Liga. On Friday, Chrenko set up a third-period goal with 3:20 left to force overtime against Vlci Zilina.
Matej Paulovič finished the job by tying the game and giving Nitra a point in an overtime loss. Chrenko logged two shots on goal and finished plus-1 in 17:16 of ice time.
He followed that up at home against HC Banska Brystica, where Nitra rolled to a 5-2 win. Chrenko picked up an assist on the second goal, scored by Dmytro Timashov.
Timashov, a former Maple Leafs, Red Wings and Islanders forward, has spent most of the season on Chrenko’s wing, and the two have started to click. Chrenko, who turned 19 on Monday, now has three straight games with an assist and has quietly worked his way back toward the form he showed last season.
Over his last 12 games, he has one goal and seven assists.
That stretch has earned him another look with Slovakia’s u20 team. Chrenko will leave HK Nitra for a week and head to Nyköping, Sweden, for the 5-nations Tournament, where Slovakia will face Sweden, Finland, Switzerland and Czechia.
The event begins on November 4th. It also comes about six weeks before he’s expected to represent Slovakia again at the 2027 World Junior Championship in Alberta.
Across Europe, another Rangers prospect got a different kind of reward. Mikkel Eriksen, the 19-year-old Norwegian winger with Färjestad BK, received a rookie contract last week after reaching 100 total minutes this season in the SHL.
Under SHL rules, players on a youth contract are offered a rookie deal once they hit that mark. Eriksen, a 2025 fourth-round pick, got there after a strong run since returning from loan at Mora, including two goals and an assist.
Eriksen was held off the scoresheet in Thursday’s 4-0 win over Timrå, but there was still more national-team news attached to his week. He was called up to Norway’s men’s team for a tournament in Amiens, France, where Norway will play France, Hungary and Slovenia starting November 5th.
Then on Saturday, he assisted on the opening goal in a 4-1 win over Växjö Lakers and finished plus-2. He now has three points, with two goals and one assist, in seven games.
Rico Gredig’s week with EV Zug was quieter on the stat sheet, though his ice time ticked up. The Swiss winger skated on the third line for a Zug team that outscored opponents 18-5 over three games last week.
His lone point came Saturday in an 8-1 win over SC Bern, when he picked up an assist. He played 14 minutes, his most since Oct.
- The 21-year-old, a sixth-round pick in the 2024 draft, did not earn a spot for the Euro Hockey Tour, as Switzerland heads to Finland for the Karjala tournament.
In the KHL, defenseman Ivan Patrikhayev got two looks against Vitaly Kravtsov and Traktor Chelyabinsk. On Wednesday, he posted a season-high 15:32 of ice time and finished plus-2 in CSKA Moscow’s 5-1 win.
On Sunday, CSKA won again in overtime in Chelyabinsk, and Patrikhayev added two shots on goal. Through nine games, the 20-year-old has two assists and no goals.
Samuel Jung also found the scoresheet in Finland, but KalPa u20 couldn’t turn it into wins. The 20-year-old produced a goal and two assists across two games, starting with a goal and an assist in Wednesday’s 6-4 loss to Jukurit, the former team of current Rangers defenseman Alberts Šmits. On Saturday, KalPa fell 8-3 to Vaasan Sport and slipped to 12th in the u20 standings.
Rasmus Larsson’s only appearance of the week came in Hudiksvalls’ 5-0 win over Järfälla HC. He didn’t record a point, but he did put five shots on goal, a season high.
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