The Rangers’ European pipeline has seen a few fresh twists over the past week, with six prospects spread across Sweden, Finland, Russia and Slovakia. Mikkel Eriksen has landed on loan with Mora IK, Samuel Jung is back in action in Finland after a six-week injury absence, and several others picked up meaningful minutes as their seasons moved along.
In Russia, Ivan Patrikhayev’s week was a limited one but still gave another look at how CSKA Moscow is managing its young defensemen. The 20-year-old was a healthy scratch in Monday and Friday’s games, then dressed for Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Amur Khaborovsk.
He logged 13:46 of ice time on the third pair, put one shot on goal, and remained part of a blue-line rotation that has him sharing the workload with 19-year-old Ivan Yukin. CSKA, which is on a five-game winning streak, is using both players in a defensive corps that’s already deep, and Patrikhayev has now signed through the 2027-28 season.
Yukin played Monday and Friday and totaled 24 minutes and 49 seconds across those two games.
Rico Gredig’s first week with EV Zug brought both his first point and a few notable moments away from the score sheet. After moving from HC Davos, the 2024 sixth-round pick has appeared in all four of his new club’s games.
On Tuesday, he took an early penalty that set up the game’s first goal on the power play. Later in the period, he absorbed a high stick to the face, drew a double-minor because he was bleeding, and Zug couldn’t cash in on the extended advantage.
Friday was more productive: Gredig picked up an assist on the opening goal, carrying the puck up ice to spark an odd-man rush that finished with Chris Egli scoring. EV Zug still fell 5-3, and Gredig finished minus-1 in 14:02 of ice time.
In Slovakia, Tomáš Chrenko finally got on the board after a slow start for HK Nitra, though the team’s results remain rough. The reigning champions are 1-3-1 through five games, and Chrenko had only one assist heading into the weekend despite his strong showing for the Rangers in the Rookie Series against Flyers prospects.
Friday brought Nitra its first win, a 3-1 result over second-place Vlci Zilina, and Chrenko fired four shots on goal in just under 13 minutes. On Sunday, he collected his first point of the season with an assist on the final goal in a 4-2 loss.
He logged 16:35 in that one, his heaviest workload so far, while Nitra slipped to 10th in the 12-team league.
Finland offered the best news of the week, with Samuel Jung finally returning to game action. The 20-year-old Czech winger, a 2025 sixth-round pick, had been sidelined since preseason after being hit into the boards by Victor Lööf.
Jung moved from Kärpät in Oulu to KalPa in Kuopio and was eased back in with a game for the under-20 team on Saturday against HPK from Hämeenlinna. The game turned into a 5-5 overtime thriller, and Jung scored the winner.
It came on his fifth shot of the game, and he finished with 19:23 of ice time, second among forwards.
Eriksen’s situation is familiar for a player his age: a short-term loan meant to get him on the ice. The 19-year-old Norwegian center, a 2025 fourth-round pick, was loaned by Färjestad BK to Mora IK in Allsvenskan, the second tier of Swedish hockey, where he spent time on loan last season as well.
Since arriving, he has played all three games and centered the second line. He made his season debut Wednesday in a 3-2 shootout loss to MoDo Hockey, then logged 14 and 17 minutes in the next two games.
He didn’t record a point, but his line produced three goals last week, including one from former Rangers prospect Oliver Tärnström. Eriksen also went 12-for-27 on face-offs, which showed the challenge of handling bigger, tougher opponents on the draw.
The last prospect in the group, Rasmus Larsson, is back in Sweden after a winding path through the organization. Drafted in the fifth round in 2023, the 22-year-old left-shot defenseman spent a year with the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL, then a freshman season at Northern Michigan before transferring to Robert Morris University ahead of 2025-26 and deciding this summer to return to Sweden.
He opened his season with Hudiksvalls HC, which finished first in HockeyEttan last season. In his debut Saturday, Larsson scored a goal and added three shots in a 7-1 win, then his team followed with a 2-1 shootout victory Sunday.
Hudiksvalls HC remains in HockeyEttan, the third tier of Swedish hockey, where promotion to HockeyAllsvenskan is possible but difficult to secure.
Upcoming schedule: Patrikhayev: Tuesday against SKA St.
Petersburg and Thursday against Dinamo Minsk Gredig: Tuesday against SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers and Thursday against Genève-Servette HC
Chrenko: Tuesday against HK 32 Liptovsky Mikulas and Friday against Dukla Michalovce Eriksen: Wednesday against Nybro Vikings IF and Friday against Kalmar HC
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