Injury Updates: Ryan, De La Rose, Stecher, Beecher

Calgary center Derek Ryan has resumed skating as he works his way back from a thumb injury, reports Postmedia’s Daniel Austin.  The veteran has missed the last dozen games due to the issue and was placed on LTIR.  Since he has missed the required 10 games and 24 days, he’s eligible to be activated as soon as he’s cleared to return, as long as the Flames can get back into cap compliance.  Ryan cleared waivers at the beginning of the season and was likely headed back for the waiver wire again had he not been injured in his tenth game; he had been getting shuffled to and from the taxi squad, being demoted on non-game days to bank cap space.  Another placement there will likely be what ultimately signifies his readiness to return.

More injury news from around the league:

• The Blues have placed center Jacob de la Rose on injured reserve, notes Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He suffered a lower-body injury early in yesterday’s wild game against San Jose.  While de la Rose cleared waivers to start the season, he had been a regular on the fourth line for the past three weeks, averaging just under 10 minutes per name, a total that’s slightly skewed by his early exit on Saturday.  He’s the sixth Blue on either regular IR or LTIR with Vladimir Tarasenko being the closest to returning.
• The Red Wings have placed defenseman Troy Stecher on injured reserve, CapFriendly reports. The 26-year-old has missed the last five games due to a lower-body injury and his placement is retroactive to February 19th.  Accordingly, he’s eligible to be activated at any time.  Detroit used the roster spot to recall winger Mathias Brome from the taxi squad in advance of their game tonight against Chicago.
• Bruins prospect John Beecher has undergone shoulder surgery which puts his college season to an end, relays Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now. It was a bit of a tough year for the 2019 first-rounder as a bout with COVID-19 put an end to his World Junior hopes and between that and this, the center was limited to just 16 games with the Wolverines this season, notching four goals and four assists.  Boston will now have to decide if he’s better off returning for his junior year or turning pro.