It’s not often that you see a player make his season debut in game seven of the second round of the playoffs, but that’s just what might happen tonight for Sam Carrick. The 25-year old forward was recalled today from the San Diego Gulls and was skating in Nate Thompson’s spot on the fourth line at practice this morning. Patrick Eaves and Logan Shaw both weren’t skating with the team, while Ondrej Kase participated fully.
A former Maple Leafs draft pick, Carrick was acquired by the Ducks earlier this year from Chicago along with Spencer Abbott in exchange for Kenton Helgesen and a seventh-round pick. Mostly done for depth at the AHL level, the Ducks may now rely on Carrick to play a few minutes in a deciding game. Carrick actually scored 11 points for the Gulls down the stretch, and has another four through their first seven playoff games. The former fifth-round pick is much more of a grinder than sniper even at the AHL level, and will be relied upon to provide energy and physicality should he get into the lineup.
For Anaheim, relying on Carrick is the last thing they expected as they headed into the playoffs relatively healthy up front. But after several key injuries, they’ll likely put even more pressure on their top two centers to lead them to the Western Conference Finals again this season. The team last went to the third round in 2014-15, but were eliminated by the Chicago Blackhawks in an epic seven-game series.