Sean Durzi should not buy any lottery tickets anytime soon.
The Utah Mammoth missed 52 games last season because of an injury that occurred four games into the season. This year, it only took him two games to suffer a long-term ailment.
It happened in overtime of Saturday’s game against the Nashville Predators. Durzi collided hard with Predators forward Jonathan Marchessault and hit the ice right-arm-first. That’s significant because the injury that sidelined him last year was to his right shoulder.
Durzi, who’s a week away from his 27th birthday, is no stranger to long recoveries. In junior league play, he missed significant time after getting ankle surgery to remove an extra bone that had formed. It caused him to miss significant time, but it also opened a path for him to make it to the NHL.
But that doesn’t make it any easier.
“You’re going through the year, you see the guys leaving it all out there and there’s nothing you can do about it,” he said in February after returning from his shoulder surgery.
Through 32 games with Utah, Durzi has four goals and 12 points from the blue line.
Injuries aplenty
The Mammoth have struggled with injuries since the first day of training camp:
- Alexander Kerfoot skated on the first day of camp, but hasn’t returned since.
- Barrett Hayton could return Monday in Chicago after missing most of the preseason.
- Logan Cooley missed most of the preseason after a bad hit.
- Jack McBain got injured in the same game as Cooley.
- Liam O’Brien has been practicing in a non-contact jersey for some time.
- JJ Peterka, Nate Schmidt and Olli Määttä took “maintenance days,” which Tourigny hinted were due to minor injuries.
- Several prospects, including Tij Iginla, missed time during camp.
Last season, Utah wasn’t quite prepared for both Durzi and John Marino to miss most of the season. This year, GM Bill Armstrong made sure to stock up on defensemen in free agency.
Durzi’s absence will create more opportunities for the likes of Dmitri Simashev, who is easing his way into the NHL, and Nick DeSimone, who is happy to do whatever the team needs him to do.
It could also result in a call-up for someone like Maveric Lamoureux, who is currently playing top minutes in the AHL.