It seemed like a long time coming, but finally it’s here.
The Rangers called up first-round picks Lias Andersson (No. 7 overall) and Filip Chytil (No. 21) from AHL Hartford on Sunday. The two will likely play out the rest of the season with the Blueshirts, starting with the home-and-home against the Capitals that begins with a Garden match Monday night.
Andersson, 19, could have played nine games with the Rangers without burning the first year of his entry-level deal, but management decided to keep him with the Wolf Pack until now, with the Rangers having just seven games remaining. The left-handed center started the season with his club team Frolunda and then captained Team Sweden to a silver medal in the World Junior Championships that ended in early January, infamously tossing his medal into the stands in a show of frustration.
“With his character and his work ethic and how competitive he is, it’s hard not to notice him every single game,” assistant general manager Chris Drury recently told The Post. “He’s very goal-orientated and he wants to be a Ranger as fast as he can for as long as he can.”
Andersson played part of the world championships with a shoulder injury, and went to New York for rehab. When he was ready to play again, he went to Hartford, where he could adjust to the smaller ice and the faster, more physical game. He put up five goals and 14 points in 24 games with the Wolf Pack, who are going to miss the playoffs.
The Rangers obtained the pick they used on Andersson from the Coyotes in the deal that sent Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta to Arizona. In addition to the pick, they also got young right-handed defenseman Tony DeAngelo. He played 32 games for the Rangers this season, but is likely out the rest of the year with a high ankle sprain.
Chytil, 18, made the Rangers out of training camp, but looked overwhelmed in his two-game NHL debut. They sent him to Hartford on Oct. 10, and he put up 11 goals and 31 points in 45 games.
“I think I’ve improved my game,” Chytil told the team’s website. “Everything is different here than in Europe. I’ve had to adjust my style for the U.S. It didn’t take so long, so I’m glad. All season has been very good for me. I’m learning in every game, so that’s most important.”
The talented young center could have gone back to his club team in his native Czech Republic, but both he and management thought he wasn’t far from being NHL ready and so he stayed close. His confidence and skill level impressed his veteran teammates during his short stint on Broadway.
The Rangers are set to miss the postseason for the first time in seven years, as general manager Jeff Gorton leads a rebuild. The fire sale included the trades of veterans Ryan McDonagh, Rick Nash, J.T. Miller and Michael Grabner, and both Andersson and Chytil are considered building blocks for the future — especially down the middle, where they were so thin this season.
Yet Gorton didn’t want to rush the process, and didn’t want to waste the first year of each of their entry-level deals on what is already a lost season. This two-week audition is now just a primer for training camp in September, when both will have a terrific chance to make the team — if not already penciled in for the opening-night roster.