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Ducks Shorthanded Again

Photo: Jae C. Hong, AP

By Michael Walters

Last season the Anaheim Ducks experienced an unprecedented amount of injuries and it appears the Ducks won’t be getting any breaks to start this season.

The Ducks recently released their camp roster and numerous players were listed as injured. The names included Joseph Blandisi(upper body injury), Patrick Eaves (shoulder) Korbinian Holzer(wrist), Max Jones(thumb), Ryan Kesler(hip), and Kalle Kossila(hip). Joshua Mahura was added to the injury list as he suffered a concussion in the Ducks rookie game win over Las Vegas. He could return to camp in about a week. The Ducks will start the season shorthanded again.

Podcast: The Return of Ryan Kesler?

According to General Manager Bob Murray, Patrick Eaves could be ready to play sometime between the fifth and 10th game of the season. He is still recovering from surgery on his left shoulder and a post-viral syndrome, which is not as severe the original diagnosis of the Guillain-Barre syndrome he was thought to have had. Eaves has been on ice skating at the Ducks camp this weekend and so has Kesler. Unlike Eaves, it’s unknown when Kesler will play this season. Murray doesn’t plan to rush either player.

The Ducks will also be without Holzer to start the season. He will need 4-5 months to recover from wrist surgery. Kossila will be out until the end of November due to a hip surgery he had. Max Jones appears to be out at least another month after he hurt his thumb during the Ducks development camp in July.

Anaheim is also currently without Nick Ritchie since he has yet to sign a new contract with the Ducks. Ritchie hasn’t lived up to expectations as a first-round draft pick. He had 14 goals in the 2016-17 season and 10 last year. He is the only unsigned player and will miss the preseason and possibly the start of the season if a contract isn’t decided on. It would be in Ritchie’s best interest to get a deal done even if the finances are lower than expected given his recent performance last season.

Nothing New

The injury bug hitting Anaheim is nothing new to this team. Last season Ryan Kesler, Hampus Lindholm, and Sami Vatanen weren’t available to start the season. Ryan Getzlaf was in and out of the lineup at the beginning of the season. Several players were also hurt during the year, which included Cam Fowler, John Gibson, and Jakob Silfverberg. Eaves was only able to play two games.

The Ducks can overcome the injuries and still make the playoffs, but the road ahead won’t be easy. The Vegas Knights picked up Max Pacioretty and recently the San Jose Sharks traded for Erik Karlsson. Bob Murray didn’t add any major players to the Anaheim roster during the summer. If the Ducks are going to make a push this season, then they are going to need to lean on their younger talent.

Related: 

Ducks Camp Day OneBlandisi has just been cleared for contact and he didn’t seem to miss a beat yesterday at Ducks camp as he took a shot that broke the glass at Anaheim Ice.

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September 15th, 2018

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