The Ducks recalled Matt Beleskey from AHL San Antonio today after placing forward Ryan Carter (foot) on injured reserve. Beleskey practiced at Honda Center with teammates this morning, skating at left wing with Petteri Nokelainen at center and Todd Marchant at right wing.
Carter’s foot was struck by a puck Wednesday and he did not practice Friday. Head coach Randy Carlyle said that an MRI revealed a bone bruise, but no break.
Beleskey appeared in two games with the Ducks last season, going scoreless while averaging 11:09 time on ice. In eight games for San Antonio this season, he had one goal, three points and 15 penalty minutes.
“We don’t bring a player in without saying we’re going to play him. We’re going to pay him,” Carlyle said of Beleskey. “We expect the transition to be less than what he experienced last time around, for sure.”
A former fourth-round draft pick (2006), Beleskey made his NHL debut with the Ducks on Jan. 9 against Tampa Bay, recording a plus-1 rating in just under 14 minutes of ice time. He spent the rest of the season with AHL Iowa, earning 11 goals and 35 points, with 58 penalty minutes, in 58 games.
“I’ve had a lot of time to learn the system,” Beleskey said. “I’m starting to get used to it.”
The the 21-year-old he skated with both Marchant and Nokelainen in preseason games this year. Beleskey described his game as that of a “hard-nosed, hard-working forward who’s going to bang, and if I have to, go into the corners and muck it up.”