The Anaheim Ducks have sent injured forward Troy Terry to the minor leagues on a long-term injury conditioning loan, as he continues to recover from a broken bone below his kneecap. At the time of the injury it was announced that Terry would miss approximately ten weeks, of which only three have elapsed. The team has also recalled Chase De Leo from the AHL.
It’s actually not even the first broken leg for Terry, who suffered a non-displaced fracture last April which ended his season early. As Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register reported yesterday however, Terry has bounced back from this latest injury at an incredibly fast rate and has even resumed skating recently.
The 22-year old forward has played in 33 games for the Ducks this season, though he hasn’t been very effective offensively. With three goals and eight points in those games he is actually scoring at an even worse rate than he did last year as a rookie, something unexpected given the flashes he had shown at the University of Denver and in the minor leagues.
Getting back into some games will allow Terry’s development to continue, though where his ceiling really sits at this point isn’t clear. The fifth-round pick has to bring more to the table to be truly considered a building block moving forward. The fact that he will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season complicates things, though he is still not eligible for arbitration.