 Malhotra suffered an ankle injury in November that sidelined him for four games . Upon his recovery , his play was judged by team management to have suffered and he began to be benched . Meanwhile , the Canadian national junior team wanted the Rangers to loan him to them for the 2000 World Junior Championships . On December 12 , 1999 , general manager Neil Smith obliged and assigned Malhotra for the international tournament . He was then sent for a two @-@ week conditioning assignment with the Rangers ' American Hockey League ( AHL ) affiliate , the Hartford Wolf Pack . On March 14 , 2000 , he was sent back down to the OHL on March 14 , 2000 , in order to retain his eligibility for later AHL assignment in the season . Malhotra had dressed for only four games in the two months between his return from the World Junior Championships in early @-@ January and his junior reassignment . He was pointless in the 27 games total he played with the Rangers that season . 
