Ducks Carlsson Expected Back After Opening Weekend

When he did play, he showed flashes of high-end talent which made him difficult to ignore.

Anaheim Ducks second overall pick Leo Carlsson will miss the season opener on Saturday. We've known this for a while, but the player himself confirmed this on Thursday.

In more positive news, he also stated that he's expecting to return next week to make his regular season, NHL debut.

Carlsson had a strong camp that earned him a look on the NHL roster before suffering an injury in practice last week.

Initially, there was fear that the injury would be long-term, but fortunately, Carlsson avoided a serious injury.

New head coach Greg Cronin also touched on how pleased he's been with Carlsson's performances in camp.

Carlsson dealt with a few injuries, suffering the aforementioned one in practice and an injury in the team's first preseason game against the Los Angeles Kings. Even still, he did enough to make an impression.

When he did play, he showed flashes of high-end talent which made him difficult to ignore. Carlsson plays with a level of finesse rarely found in a player his size, without shying away from the dirty areas of the ice.

When he returns he's expected to slot onto a third line with Max Jones and Jakub Silfverberg. It isn't the most high-skilled third line in the league, but there's the potential for Carlsson to do some damage. 

The target for Carlsson's debut appears to be next Thursday against the Dallas Stars, a league and home debut for him.