Ducks place Green on waivers.

Journeyman forward Josh Green has been placed on waivers.

Green was scoreless in 11 games as a Duck, with a minus-2 rating and six penalty minutes, playing primarily a fourth-line left wing role. The veteran started the season with Syracuse, playing seven games and notching a goal and three points.

With forwards Kyle Chipchura (concussion) and Joffrey Lupul (back) on the mend, waiving Green could be the first step toward making room for one or both to return to the lineup. The Ducks also assigned Kyle Palmieri to Syracuse this week, and recalled forwards Dan Sexton and Brandon McMillan.

More to come soon, including comments from general manager Bob Murray.

Sexton, McMillan up; Palmieri down.

Dan Sexton and Brandon McMillan have been recalled from the Syracuse Crunch, and Kyle Palmieri is heading back to the Ducks’ American Hockey League affiliate.

Sexton played the first seven games of the season in Anaheim and went scoreless, then missed the next seven games with a broken nose. In four games with the Crunch, the right wing had two goals and five points.

McMillan gets his first NHL call-up after scoring four goals and six points in 16 games at Syracuse. He’s had an eventful year that included signing his entry-level contract in May, and a strong World Junior Championships for silver-medal-winning Team Canada in January.

Palmieri scored a goal in his NHL debut Nov. 3 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but was held without a point in the next nine games.

The Ducks host the Edmonton Oilers tomorrow at 5 p.m. at Honda Center.

Ducks trim training camp roster by 12.

A total of 12 players were cut from the Ducks’ training camp roster today: Nick Bonino, Rob Bordson, Mat Clark, Nicolas Deschamps, Joe DiPenta, Brandon McMillan, Mark Mitera and Kyle Palmieri were assigned to American Hockey League affiliate Syracuse. Emerson Etem (Medicine Hat/WHL), Peter Holland (Guelph/OHL), Devante Smith-Pelly (Mississauga/OHL) and Scott Valentine (Oshawa/OHL) were assigned to their respective junior teams.

None of the assignments were unexpected. DiPenta, who had already signed an AHL contract, was in camp on a pro tryout but not expected to make the NHL team.

Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle said he was impressed with the Long Beach native Etem, a first-round draft pick in June and Smith-Pelly, a second-round pick.

Continue reading “Ducks trim training camp roster by 12.” »

Brandon McMillan signs entry-level contract.

A third-round draft pick in 2008, McMillan broke out in 2009-10. In the midst of a 25-goal, 67-point season (both career highs) for the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets, he appeared for Team Canada at the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship, scoring four goals and eight points in six contests en route to the silver medal.

The 5-11, 185-pound winger also led the Rockets in postseason scoring, collecting five goals and 15 points in 12 games. McMillan had 56 goals and 169 points in 251 career WHL games.

McMillan will make $575,000 the first year, $575,000 the second and $645,000 in the third year if he makes the NHL roster.

Considering that 84 players were drafted before him in his class, McMillan is looks like a steal in Anaheim’s 2008 draft class, which included Jake Gardiner (first round, 17th overall), Nicolas Deschamps (second round, 35th overall), Eric O’Dell (second round, 39th overall), Justin Schultz (second round, 43rd overall), Josh Brittain (third round, 71st overall) and Marco Cousineau (third round, 83rd overall) all going before him.

North American prospects report; Parros on TV.

Reviews of ten Ducks prospects who just finished their North American junior seasons have been posted on Hockey’s Future: Peter Holland, Mat Clark, Josh Brittain Scott Valentine, Luca Sbisa, Brandon McMillan, Stefan Warg, Nicolas Deschamps, Marco Cousineau and Radoslav Illo.

Also, George Parros will be on a special all-Hockey episode of “Sports Soup” tonight on Versus (8:30 p.m.).  A disclaimer: Watched the show once to find Sen Dog of Cypress Hill talking about the Lakers. If this brand of talk show is your idea of entertainment … don’t miss it.

Brandon McMillan is WHL player of the week.

Kelowna Rockets forward Brandon McMillan, the Ducks’ third-round pick in the 2008 draft, earned Western Hockey Player of the Week honors today.

The 19-year-old collected seven points (two goals, five assists) in three games last week, bringing his season totals to 19 goals and 60 points in 52 games played. McMillan, who played for silver medal-winning Canada at the World Junior Championships in January, turns 20 in March and is eligible to turn pro next season.

WJC: Palmieri, Gardiner lead Team USA past McMillan, Canada.

Ducks prospects Kyle Palmieri (first round, 2009 Entry Draft) and Jake Gardiner (first round, 2008) had cause to celebrate Tuesday, when Team USA upset tournament host Canada, 6-5 in overtime at the IIHF World Junior Championships in Saskatoon.

Palmieri had one assist Tuesday to bring his seven-game tournament total to eight, second on his team and third among all players at the WJCs. His nine points were third on Team USA, and his plus-8 rating tied for second. Gardiner led the team with a plus-9 rating, and finished with three assists in seven games.

Brandon McMillan, a third-round pick by the Ducks in 2008, found himself on the losing end Tuesday. He finished the tournament with four goals and eight points for Team Canada, including two power-play goals.

Big day for Ducks prospects at WJCs.

We find the Canadian media’s obsession over the World Junior Championships to be oddly amusing. This was what the TSN home page looked like as of 11 p.m. Monday; note that Brandon McMillan’s hat trick for Team Canada got top billing over the NFL, the NHL, Suns-Lakers and certainly any American college football:


TSN - WJC.jpg

Continue reading “Big day for Ducks prospects at WJCs.” »

Gardiner, Palmieri on U.S. WJC roster

A pair of recent Ducks first-round draft picks, defenseman Jake Gardiner and forward Kyle Palmieri, were chosen for the 22-man Team USA World Junior Championships roster Wednesday.


Gardiner (2008) and Palmieri (2009) joinfellow Ducks prospects Brandon McMillan (Canada), Sami Vatanen (Finland), Igor Bobkov (Russia), Radoslav Illo (Slovakia) and Luca Sbisa (Switzerland), who were also named to their respective national teams for the WJCs, which begin Saturday in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.


Gardiner, 19, is in his second season at the University of Wisconsin. Palmieri, 18, is a freshman at Notre Dame.

Thousand Oaks native Max Nicastro, a 19-year-old defenseman who was drated by Detroit in 2008, did not make the final Team USA roster.

Brandon McMillan makes Canada’s WJC roster.

Forward Brandon McMillan, the Ducks’ third-round draft pick in 2008, has been selected to represent Team Canada at the World Junior Championships, the only Ducks prospect among 22 selected.

McMillan, 19, has nine goals and 30 points in 27 games for the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League.The left wing captained the WHL team in November for Game 6 of their Subway Super Series.

“His greatest asset is his speed,” Kelowna coach Ryan Huska told Kelowna.com. “And when he is skating there aren’t a lot of people around that can catch him. Two other things probably go with his personality. He’s willing to play whatever position is asked of him so if you’re looking for a picture of a perfect team player, Brandon would probably be your guy . . . and he will do whatever he has to do to put himself and the team he’s plying for in a position to win games.”

The tournament will be held Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Regina, and Team Canada is seeking its sixth consecutive gold medal.