Morning skate for the Anaheim Ducks in Detroit provided plenty of shake-up and shuffles, as the Ducks roster nears full health.
Ryan Strome will make his season debut on Thursday against the Red Wings, per the team announced on social media. Strome has missed all 16 games this season due to a stint on injured reserve for an upper-body injury suffered in practice just days before the season-opener in early October.
The Pacific Division-leading Ducks (11-4-1, 23 points) look to earn the season sweep of former goaltender John Gibson and the Detroit Red Wings (9-7-0, 18 points) at Little Caesars Arena.
“It was definitely a challenge,” Strome said on Ducks social media. “Sitting out and just supporting any way I can is what I was trying to do. Awesome to see the success they’ve had, the start we’ve had. Just can’t wait to try to contribute tonight, and excited to get back at it.”
Strome, who was activated off of IR on Sunday, will draw in on the third line between left wing Frank Vatrano and right wing Mikael Granlund, who is also back in the line-up per Ducks rinkside Victory+ reporter Aly Lozoff.
Granlund has missed eight games with a lower-body injury that was suffered on a non-contact play in Tampa Bay on Oct. 25. Granlund was given a week-to-week designation.
Granlund’s spot on the third-line wing likely means Alex Killorn will not play tonight in Detroit, despite taking part in the morning skate. Killorn took a stick to the face late in the loss in Colorado on Tuesday, which drew blood and sent the 36-year-old to the ice in some distress. Killorn did not play over the final eight minutes on Tuesday.
Ducks captain Radko Gudas has participated in the last two morning skates on this road trip, but the defenseman remains on IR with a lower-body injury. Gudas, who has missed the last nine games after the injury in Boston, was placed on IR on Sunday and must stay there for a minimum of one week.
Ryan Poehling was a late scratch in Detroit due to an upper-body injury, per Alexis Downie on the team’s DucksStream radio platform.
However, with two healthy forwards inserting into the line-up, Sam Colangelo was reassigned to AHL San Diego on Thursday.
Colangelo had played in just seven games with the Ducks this season and had not drawn into the line-up since Oct. 31 against Detroit. He tallied just one point, but it was a special one, with a goal in front of numerous friends and family in Boston.
With Nikita Nesterenko having a productive start, Ross Johnston proving his worth with strong forechecking efforts–including a three-point Gordie Howe Hat Trick night–and versatile Jansen Harkins returning to the lineup this month, Colangelo had been pushed back to the fringe.
As the only waiver exempt forward in the bottom-six, Colangelo was unfortunately the easy choice to be sent down. Waiver exempt means he would be not exposed to being snagged off the waiver wire.
Colangelo had a breakout moment after a midseason call-up last year with nine goals and two assists over the final 18 games of the season. The 23-year-old played 32 games with the Ducks last season and earned a two-year contract in the offseason. However, it was still a two-way deal, which made him waiver exempt and on the roster bubble entering this season.