Aaron Voros certainly stands in contrast to the majority of forwards who have joined the Ducks in the Bob Murray era, guys like Jason Blake, Joffrey Lupul, Saku Koivu, Dan Sexton and Kyle Chipchura. In that group at least, there isn’t a natural fighter among them.
Voros, who was acquired Friday from the New York Rangers along with prospect Ryan Hillier for defenseman Steve Eminger, knows what got him to the NHL.
“The reason I’m in the league obviously is because I play a physical game,” he said.
“I play with a lot of energy, finish my checks, go to the net,” he continued. “I know what I need to do every game in order to be a good player. The way coach (Randy) Carlyle likes to run his team, I think my style definitely fits into this team. it almost feels like a perfect fit.”
It’s an apt description of the player the Ducks traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs two weeks ago, Mike Brown. In Voros, however, the Ducks get a player with a more typical fighter’s stature – 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds – ideal for an energy-line left wing and a good fit opposite enforcer George Parros or 6-4, 220-pound right wing Troy Bodie.
Voros didn’t complain about the playing time he received last season with the New York Rangers, when he was a healthy scratch for about half the season.
“I think I definitely have a little more to offer,” he said, “but at the same time I just show up to work every day. … New York signed me to a 3-year contract. Maybe there are a lot of reasons why it didn’t work out there.”
Voros also gives the Ducks the unique distinction of having two cancer survivors on their roster (along with Koivu, not to mention Blake, a leukemia survivor). He was the Minnesota Wild’s nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy in 2008 after overcoming a series of health-related obstacles at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He played college hockey there from 2001-04, making the CCHA All Rookie Team in his first season (2001-02). During his sophomore season, Voros underwent leg surgery to remove bone cancer on Jan. 30, 2003, the first of several operations. He returned to play that same season.
Voros hasn’t played previously with anyone on the Ducks’ current roster, Koivu or Blake included.
