ARIZONA COYOTES
Coyotes assign forward Anthony Duclair to AHL team in Tucson
Winnipeg Jets center Andrew Copp (9) competes with Arizona Coyotes left wing Anthony Duclair (10) for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Anthony Duclair’s struggles haven’t ceased, and the Arizona Coyotes announced Thursday they have demoted the forward to their AHL team in Tucson.
“Anthony is a good young player,” said Coyotes general manager John Chayka in a statement. “Unfortunately, he has struggled this season. We felt this was a good time to send him to Tucson to work on a few things and hopefully regain his scoring touch. We hope to have him rejoin our team soon.”
The move comes after the Coyotes fell 6-3 on Wednesday to Winnipeg, a game in which Duclair recorded a plus-minus of minus-3. It was just the second time three goals had been scored against Arizona with him on the ice this season.
Duclair, 21, has three goals and six assists in 41 games played this year. The nine points totaled is far off pace from the 44 — 20 goals and 24 assists — he put together in 81 games last season, good enough for fourth-best on the Coyotes. The second-year pro has seen his average time on ice decrease from 14:23 last year to 13:52 this year.
Tippett on @aduclair10: "We decided it's time for him to go down (to AHL) & try to gain some confidence. Hopefully the confidence will come"
— Dave Vest (@davest4yotes) January 20, 2017
Duclair has found opportunities with 58 shots on goal this season but has converted just 5.2 percent compared to 19 percent of those chances a year ago.
In December, Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said Duclair needed to “compete harder” after he was a healthy scratch for a game against Nashville.
