Rangers to recall Erixon as sixth defenseman

STOCKHOLM -- Rangers coach John Tortorella admitted Tuesday night that he had reservations about using either Brendan Bell or Stu Bickel as his No. 6 defenseman to start the season.

His voice was most definitely heard, because the club will recall rookie defenseman Tim Erixon from the Connecticut Whale of the AHL on Wednesday.

After practicing with the Whale on Wednesday, Erixon will fly to Stockholm to join the team for Thursday's practice in preparation for Friday's season-opener against Los Angeles in the 2011 Compuware NHL Premiere.

It's been a whirlwind adventure for the native Swede.

Erixon was in Europe with the Rangers until he was cut on Saturday. He returned to Connecticut on Sunday, but now he's ticketed for his third trans-Atlantic flight in a matter of 10 days.

Tortorella wanted Erixon to play in the AHL so he could get used to playing on the smaller ice sheet and work on parts of his game, including closing out players and overall being more physical.

However, with Marc Staal not here due to post-concussion symptoms and Tortorella clearly not comfortable with using Bell or Bickel, especially in back-to-back games, Erixon is on his way back.

Follow Dan Rosen on Twitter at: @drosennhl

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