Juuso Parssinen already faces a complicated path to getting his Rangers opportunities

Juuso Parssinen was one of the first restricted free agents taken care of by the Rangers this summer, with the 24-year-old signing a two-year contract extension just over two weeks after the end of the 2024-25 season.

After his season with three teams was cut short due to two trades, Parsinen entered Rangers training camp with a great chance to grab a third-string midfield role.

But the emergence of rookie Noah Laba resulted in Parsinen being relegated to street clothes for the first two games of the season.

in the wake of Vincent Trocheck has an upper body injurywho is expected to sideline him on a weekly basis, head coach Mike Sullivan initially inserted Parsinen into the lineup on Saturday at Pittsburgh.

But on Sunday against the Capitals, Sullivan chose to go with Johnny Brodzinski instead.

Brodzinski lined up in place on the left wing of the third line alongside Laba and Taylor Raddysh in his first appearance of the season.

“We’re trying to make decisions based on what we see and put groups together to see if we can have some success,” Sullivan said after the game. Losing 1-0 at Garden. “Johnny had a very strong camp, so we’re trying to move people in and out to give the guys a chance to see what we have and see if we can find a combination at that sixth position that will work for us.”

While skating in that spot on Saturday, Parsinen had a secondary assist on a 6-1 Radish run in the third period.

He also posted one blocked shot and two hits in 9:24 of ice time.

The only player on the ice to log less time was Carson Soucy, who exited the second period with an upper-body injury and then He was placed on injured reserve Sunday morning.

Parsinen’s tenure was ultimately short-lived.

“Yes, that’s how it is sometimes,” he said of being scratched. “I just tried to stay positive, work on myself, and do everything I can to help the other players that are playing.”

Parsinen, who scored six goals and provided 10 assists in 48 matches last season, said he can play as a winger or midfielder.

Sullivan will still stay with Mika Zibanejad at center on Sunday to replace Trocheck instead of using Brodzinski at center.

After spending his first two games on the wing, Zibanejad looked like a center back on Saturday and Sunday nights.

“We experimented with Pars throughout training camp and exhibition games in the middle,” Sullivan said. “Obviously, if we were to play Mika with JT (Miller), there was an opportunity to play a third midfield role that we thought Pars could fill. We tried to provide that opportunity for him, and he spent a lot of time in the midfield position throughout the exhibition matches. I think the emergence of Noah Laba just added another player in the mix that we could potentially go for in that role, and we know Pars is comfortable playing on the wing as well.

“We’ve got some versatility there with guys who can play in the middle and on the wing. We’ll keep watching and seeing what we have, and if we have to make adjustments along the way, we’ll do that.”