Anaheim Ducks Patiently Await The Much Needed Return Of Nate Thompson

By Griffin Foster |

Injuries seldom hold hockey players back from staying in the lineup every single night. There is no greater example of this than during the 2015 NHL playoffs when Anaheim Ducks center Nate Thompson played through two labral tears in his left shoulder.

Thompson injured his shoulder in the dying days of the regular season and missed the Ducks opening round sweep of the Winnipeg Jets. However Thompson would return for the second round and western conference finals, making his presence felt just as he had done for 80 regular season games in his first year with Anaheim.

Unfortunately Thompson found himself requiring surgery in the offseason to repair that damaged shoulder and he has yet to play in a game this season.

The Ducks have missed his presence in the lineup and they anxiously await his return.

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The original timetable out of surgery was a 5-6 month recovery period. October 31st marked five months since the surgery occurred and Thompson’s return is now within sight.

Thompson skated with teammates for the first time Wednesday morning, telling L.A. Times Ducks corespondent Curtis Zupke that “It was like Christmas for me out there to be with them.”

For Bob Murray, Bruce Boudreau and the entire Ducks team, it will be like Christmas for them when Thompson returns to the lineup soon.

At 31 years old, Thompson is a smart veteran that plays an incredibly strong two-way game, a guy that leads by example and brings a strong presence to the locker room. All of which are things the Ducks could use after a slow 2-7-2 start.

Thompson is not going to impress you with good looking offensive stats. He may not even make the advanced statistic guys jump out of their seats, but what Thompson supplies is intangibles.

What Thompson does every single night often goes unseen and un-praised, most don’t get a full grasp on the effect he has on each game. However when you dig deep, you find ways to showcase his worth.

Here’s some ’14-’15 stats. Rankings are amongst Ducks forwards who played in 15 games.

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His physical presence is one of the best that the Ducks have to offer. His work at the face-off dot and more specifically defensive zone face-off dot is unparalleled and he is an extremely talented shorthanded player. His return will make the leagues third best penalty kill unit, 89.7%, even better.

Shawn Horcoff has done a great job in Thompson’s absence, fulfilling the fourth center role. Horcoff, like Thompson, is a smart two-way style veteran that knows how to play in the defensive and neutral zones.

However, if you compare Horcoff’s stats so far this season to Thompson’s from last season, you’ll find something interesting.

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This isn’t to knock the play of Horcoff by any means, but this shows that slotting Thompson in the middle and Horcoff on his wing maximizes the Ducks roster potential.

Using the two together, or even apart, gives the Ducks a dominant presence of two-way players with the ability to take defensive and shutdown reliabilities away from Ryan Kesler who has been nonexistent offensively thus far.

Thompson and Horcoff also take penalty killing duties away from Ryan Getzlaf which is something that Bruce Boudreau has been trying to do and will continue to do all season.

The return of Thompson may not bring on the roar of cheers that say the return of Getzlaf will bring when he returns this weekend from appendicitis, but it absolutely should. Thompson is key to the Ducks success and his return effects a number of other centers and forwards.

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If all goes well, he should be back before the end of the month. If this is the case, the Ducks may begin to go on a strong run that will help them do a 180 on their slow start.

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