EDMONTON — Aside from a few healthy scratches, Urho Vaakanainen became a regular on the Rangers’ back end after his arrival as part of last December’s trade that sent Jacob Trouba to Anaheim.
The 26-year-old Finn even filled in on the second pairing when Adam Fox was injured but primarily skated on the third defensive pair with Braden Schneider during his first season with the Rangers.
Just seven games into the 2025-26 campaign, however, Vaakanainen lost his spot in the top six to rookie Matthew Robertson.
“Obviously, it’s never fun to be scratched,” Vaakanainen told The Post on Wednesday after practice. “But, you know, it’s a long season. Can’t really take it personally; coaches decide. You got to go with it. Obviously, Robo played really well so. Had a good conversation with [assistant coach David Quinn] and [head coach Mike Sullivan], so all good and just take it day by day and just work every day and be ready for the next game when you get the chance.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
