Ducks’ Stolarz Climbs Out of Taxi Squad

Early in January Anthony Stolarz signed a two-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks. He was quickly assigned to the taxi squad, where he practiced full-time with the team, but be the backup to the backup. Essentially if starting goalie John Gibson, or backup Ryan Miller were to be sick or get injured he would be ready to get on the ice.

In a matter of weeks, Stolarz was sent to the Ducks’ American Hockey League team, San Diego Gulls where he would be part of a four-goalie rotation. Ducks coach, Dallas Eakins had made it clear to him that he was in a tough spot and it was looking like he was not going to play any games this season with two healthy goalies.

“Gibson has been the busiest goalie in the NHL this season, starting 23 of the Ducks’ first 29 games. Despite recording three shutouts, his numbers have been down this season with a .894 save percentage and 3.11 goals-against average both the worst marks of his career.”

For weeks it seemed like the Ducks were playing mind games with Stolarz as he was sent back and forth from the AHL to the taxi squad back to the AHL. Until his patience and consistent commitment paid off. Unfortunately at the cost of the Ducks star goalie, Gibson, suffering a lower-body injury in the middle of March.

Gibson Gets Injured Again

Gibson missed six games due to that injury, with Miller taking his starting spot and Stolarz stepping out of the taxi limbo and into the backup position. With Miller not doing so well as the starter, Gibson bounced back from his injury for one glorious game against the San Jose Sharks, where he had 33 saves on 34 shots on goal.

Throughout the game you could feel Gibson was in his element and excited to be back, making crazy glove, split, and stick saves. On the outside, it seemed that Gibson was back on top and Stolarz would be sent yet again to the AHL. But Gibson had suffered yet another injury this time to his upper body that night.

Turning Point for Stolarz

This injury opened the door for Stolarz as he was named the starter and Miller as his backup for the next game against the Blues. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound goalie looked intimidating for the Blues, having this game be only his second start of the season, the Ducks had to make sure to have their defense game on point.

On Friday night, the Honda Center’s first night having fans back, Gibson had a tough time against the Vegas Golden Knights. He allowed four goals, and although he made 47 saves, it will be interesting to see who will take the goalie spot on Sunday night against Vegas. We look forward to seeing the Ducks finish out their season strong, with only eleven games remaining for them, this is a great opportunity for Stolarz to continue to prove to the team that he is a strong contender for next season as either a starter or a solid back up goalie.