Pogge, Bickel assigned to ECHL Bakersfield. Update.

The Ducks have reassigned goaltender Justin Pogge and defenseman Stu Bickel to their ECHL affiliate in Bakersfield.

Pogge’s move is especially interesting: Good for the Bakersfield Condors, who get a goalie that might have been playing in the NHL — certainly in the American Hockey League — with another organization. Pogge was acquired from Toronto in exchange for draft picks over the summer, after he was squeezed out of the Leafs’ goaltending picture. He went 1-4-1 with a 4.36 goals-against average and .844 save percentage in seven NHL games last season.

But the Ducks have no AHL affiliate, and the Phoenix Coyotes sent two of their goalie prospects (Al Montoya and Josh Tordjman) to their team in San Antonio, where Pogge had been in training camp. If anything, Bakersfield’s proximity to Anaheim will expedite Pogge’s travel time in case of an injury to either Jean-Sebastien Giguere or Jonas Hiller.

And though it may be a shot to Pogge’s confidence, he’ll probably get better by playing in the ECHL, where there are more defensive breakdowns and more chances to make tough saves than in the AHL.

“We thought when we got Justin we’d have a chance to put him somewhere (in the AHL) but that hasn’t happened,” Ducks VP of hockey operations McNab told the Bakersfield Californian. McNab said he’d like to get Pogge into a position in the AHL where he’ll play, but if that doesn’t happen he’ll be playing in Bakersfield. “He obviously has to play because he is the guy who would come up if we have injuries here,” he said.

That creates a roster problem for Bakersfield, where Timo Pielmeier and Jean-Phillippe Levasseur were already on the roster. ECHL teams are only allowed to carry two goaltenders.

“It’s a tough situation right now,” McNab told the Californian. “We don’t have the ability to place all the players we want in the American League. Especially in goal. That’s our biggest burden.”

Bickel, a 23-year-old defenseman, didn’t play in either of San Antonio’s first two games. He recorded one assist in 21 games with the Iowa Chops in 2008-09.

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About J.P. Hoornstra

J.P. Hoornstra covers the Dodgers, Angels and Major League Baseball for the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Torrance Daily Breeze, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, San Bernardino Sun, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Whittier Daily News and Redlands Daily Facts. Before taking the beat in 2012, J.P. covered the NHL for four years. UCLA gave him a degree once upon a time; when he graduated on schedule, he missed getting Arnold Schwarzenegger's autograph on his diploma by five months.

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