Clayton Stoner is out with a lower body injury and Simon Despres is out with an upper body injury. Both have been placed on the injured reserve and unavailable in the short-term. The struggling Ducks called up Munich-born Korbinian Holzer and Shea Theodore. By now you’ve probably heard that second name, unless of course you are following the NHL from Germany. Shea Theodore is from Langley, British Columbia and is 20 years old. The Ducks selected him in the first round (26th overall) and he already has a vast number of accolades.
International Career
Along with Connor McDavid, Shea Theodore helped lead the Canada WJC team to a gold medal in the 2015 competition. He was able to get a goal and an assist in seven games with Team Canada. He also won gold with Team Canada at the 2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.
Going along with his international career, Theodore played with Team British Columbia in the 2011 Canada Winter Games leading them to the gold medal. On the international stage, Shea has proved he is a mainstay and will be back for many years to come.
AHL Time with Admirals and Gulls
Theodore started out in the WHL with the Seattle Thunderbirds. In 2015, the left-handed defenseman won WHL Defenseman of the Year (an award also won by Derrick Pouliot, Tyson Barrie, and Dion Phaneuf). He was only recently called up to the Norfolk Admirals (then Ducks AHL team) in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. He only played 13 regular season games and four playoff games. He scored 11 points (4 g, 7a) in 13 regular season games.
Before the 2015-16 season, Theodore attended the Anaheim Ducks’ training camp. The Ducks had then completed the change of their AHL affiliation to the newly formed San Diego Gulls. Shea missed the cut for the team and was sent to the AHL on September 28th. Bruce Boudreau cited that Theodore could work a bit more on his speed. Shea only played in two games for the Gulls with an assist before he got the call to come to Anaheim.
What Shea Theodore Brings to Anaheim
Theodore is an offensive-defenseman. He has a 6’2, 175 pound frame and is known for his power play specialties. With the injury to Simon Despres and Clayton Stoner, it’s hard to say who his defensive partner could be. Anaheim is in desperate need of goals and will have use of Theodore’s offensive capabilities. The Ducks have started in a big hole to start the season, only mustering up one point in four games. There’s also been one goal in four games.
As of now, Stoner and Despres were paired up with Vatanen and Fowler respectively. Boudreau is not the biggest advocate of the left and right-handed defensemen pairings so Shea Theodore could play with either. Boudreau is also now recently a fan of changing his defensive pairings in the middle of the game so Theodore could be playing with a few different Ducks defensemen. With Boudreau concerned about Theodore’s speed it’s hard to imagine he has the green light to jump in on the play. He will most likely be staying back as the last line of defense (made more likely because it’s Vatanen and Fowler who he could be paired with who are known to jump in on the play). Either way, the Ducks need a jolt to their system and Theodore is the kind of player who can give it to them.
