The Anaheim Ducks have decided to bring up Stefan Noesen from the San Diego Gulls today as Rickard Rakell missed the morning skate with an upper-body injury. Noesen is a big, angry winger who can contribute at both ends of the ice but has faced injury throughout his young professional career. Selected in the first round in 2011, Noesen has only played in 116 games over the past three and a half seasons but is fully healthy and ready to make an impact at the NHL level. He’s played two games on emergency call-ups in the past, but was held scoreless in each. This year he’s collected 11 points and 28 penalty minutes in 18 AHL contests.
- Mark Barberio has been sent back to the AHL by the Montreal Canadiens after six games with the big club. The 26-year old defenseman recorded a single assist and four penalty minutes in his time up with the club and will now wait for his next chance. A veteran of 139 NHL games, Barberio hasn’t been able to carve out a spot for himself with the Canadiens since signing as a free agent in 2015. The move likely means that Nathan Beaulieu is ready to come back after taking a puck to the throat two weeks ago.
- The Canadiens have also sent Charles Hudon down to the AHL. Hudon had been called up earlier this season but suffered a broken sternum in practice on November 25th and was placed on injured reserve. The young forward played in just three games and recorded two assists prior to the injury.
- While the Canadiens send down a defender, the San Jose Sharks have brought one up. The team recalled Mirco Mueller today though it’s not clear what the corresponding move will be. The 21-year old Mueller was the Sharks first-round pick in 2013 (#18th overall) and broke in as a youngster in 2014-15 before spending most of last year in the AHL for more seasoning. In 16 AHL contests this year, Mueller has six assists and six penalty minutes. The Swiss-born defender has drawn rave reviews for his calm, safe play in his own end and is expected to develop an offensive game as he matures.
- In Pittsburgh, the Penguins have sent both Jake Guentzel and Derrick Pouliot to Wilker-Barre/Scranton ahead of their matchup Thursday against the Florida Panthers. As Bill West of TribLive reports, the Penguins didn’t want their young players just sitting on the sideline. While Guentzel and Pouliot have been held out of the lineup for different reasons, they’ve played just six games combined in the NHL this season and at 22-years old can still benefit from the added ice time in the minors. Pouliot, coming back from a lower-body injury had recently completed a conditioning stint with the WBS Penguins and will now likely skate on their top pairing.