Anaheim Ducks Will Re-Assign Young Defenseman Luca Sbisa

The Ducks, fresh off a defeat Saturday night to the Columbus Blue Jackets, are now facing another loss.

The re-assignment of Luca Sbisa will mean the 19-year-old defenseman will not be finishing the season in the NHL.

Why did the Ducks re-assign Sbisa?

For Randy Carlyle, the answer is simply that the team is facing too much pressure for such a young, developing player to be exposed to.  While the Ducks are an abysmal 3-5-1 in their first nine games, rookie Sbisa might not be experiencing the NHL the way the Ducks had hoped.

However, while the Ducks are looking out for Sbisa's future, it's a wonder why they wouldn't allow him to experience the harsh realities of the NHL and the pressures of struggling throughout this rough start.  

There is no question that any lessons learned in the NHL are valuable to a player's future. Yet the Ducks feel that these are not the lessons an up and coming young needs to learn.

On the other end, fans should take into consideration the development that many of their favorites have been exposed to.  Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Bobby Ryan are all prime examples of players who have been given slow entry into the NHL elite.  Very few would argue that their developmental process has not served them well.

Finally, the answer may be that this is the final "simple" straw the Ducks have at their disposal in terms of turning this young season around.

After the re-assignment of Sbisa, the Ducks are carrying seven defensemen on their roster (Scott Niedermayer, James Wisniewski, Ryan Whitney, Sheldon Brookbank, Brendan Mikkelson, Steven Eminger, and Nick Boynton).  

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