**Former Rangers Draft Pick Joins AHL’s Wolf Pack**
Maxim Barbashev, a fifth-round selection by the New York Rangers in the 2022 NHL Draft, has signed a one-year AHL contract with the Hartford Wolf Pack, despite not securing an entry-level deal with the Rangers.
The 20-year-old forward made his professional debut last season, playing one game for the Wolf Pack on April 20 against Springfield after signing an amateur tryout contract. He did not register any points in that appearance.
Standing 6-foot-2 and weighing 191 pounds, Barbashev recorded 35 points (14 goals, 21 assists) in 59 games split between two teams in the QMJHL last season. In the 2022-23 season, he scored 32 goals and accumulated 65 points in 67 games with Moncton, following a 15-goal season the previous year.
Barbashev will join three other players from the 2022 Rangers draft class on the Wolf Pack roster this coming season: forward Adam Sykora (second round), center Bryce McConnell-Barker (third round), and defenseman Victor Mancini, who was drafted two spots ahead of Barbashev in the fifth round.
Sykora, with the most professional experience among them, played a full season with Hartford at just 19 years old, earning 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in 66 games. McConnell-Barker had a brief stint in the Calder Cup Playoffs with Hartford after finishing his junior career with the Soo Greyhounds. Mancini, who completed his college career at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, contributed three assists in seven regular-season AHL games and added another three assists in 10 playoff games.
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