In the past, a bottom-six assignment might have been somewhat unsettling to the offensively-gifted forward, but with the challenges this season has presented, he’s determined to view any opportunity in a positive light.
“If that’s where I’m going to be, that’s fine for me,” he said.
He admits being scratched from the lineup with the Greenville Road Warriors, and then again with the Missouri Mavericks, gave him a bit of an ego check. He was traded to the Stingrays from the Mavericks in November, just weeks after being sent to Missouri from Greenville.
“It’s a learning experience,” he said. “That makes for my attitude being the way it is today.”
The Stingrays are in the unique position of being a dual affiliate of both the American Hockey League’s Providence Bruins and Hershey Bears, meaning there’s more player movement than on a typical club with just one affiliation agreement. Hynes said the top six of the Stingrays is mainly comprised of players sent down from the AHL, which is why he finds himself further down the lineup. He still gets his time on the power play, however.
“That’s where I usually make my plays and show (coach Spencer Carbery) what I have offensively,” he said.
But in five-on-five situations, the coach is trying to instill an innate defensive responsibility in Hynes, preaching the safe play above the high-risk, high-reward style he’s been known to fall back on.
Hynes has nine points (3G-6A) in 19 games played this season — six of them (1G-5A) coming in his 12 games with the Stingrays.
While he’s happy to be seeing a regular shift again, he’s aware nothing is set in stone, particularly with all the roster shuffling on the Stingrays. He’s optimistic he’s shown enough that the team will want to keep him around.
“That being said, it’s a business,” he said. “That’s always in the back of your mind when you’re in the minors.”
Heading into Friday night’s matchup against the Toledo Walleye, the Stingrays were 17-12-1-5, tied for sixth in the Eastern Conference and fourth in their East Division.
Twitter: WS_CCQ