Rangers' Lundkvist requests trade, won't report to training camp

Another year, another New York Rangers prospect wanting out.

Nils Lundkvist has asked the club to trade him and will not be present for training camp when it opens Wednesday, his agent, Claude Lemieux, told USA Today's Vince Mercogliano.

The 22-year-old defenseman will stay home in Sweden until the Rangers honor the request. Lemieux said his client's desire to be dealt stems from January when New York demoted Lundkvist to the AHL and promoted fellow young blue-liner Braden Schneider.

Lundkvist struggled in 25 NHL games last season, collecting only one goal and three assists while averaging just under 14 minutes of ice time. Schneider leapfrogged him on the club's depth chart, taking his spot as the right-shot rearguard on the team's third pairing.

The Rangers' 28th overall pick in 2018 spent the majority of his time in 2021-22 with New York's AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. He registered three goals and 12 assists in 34 contests with the farm club.

Lundkvist excelled in Sweden's SHL prior to last season. He produced the most points by a defenseman under the age of 21 in league history (78) in 166 games over four campaigns from 2017 to 2021.

The Rangers went through a similar situation with Vitali Kravtsov. The team reportedly gave the 22-year-old forward's camp permission to seek a trade last October and then loaned him to the KHL in November before signing him to a one-year contract in June.

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