ANAHEIM — Right wing Troy Terry took halting steps to begin the 2020-21 season. He was in and out of the Ducks’ lineup. His role was limited when he did play. He wasn’t getting ice time because his play didn’t warrant ice time. It took nine games before he recorded his first goal or assist.
That was then, this is now.
“He’s turning into one of the drivers on our team,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said.
Terry’s statistics are modest, to be sure. He had seven goals and nine assists while logging an average of 14:22 of ice time over 39 games. He set career highs for goals and points and there were signs that he might become a more consistent producer in the seasons to come.
In many ways, Terry, 23, could be considered the face of the Ducks’ rebuilding efforts, the long, agonizing process that tests the patience of everyone involved. Progress can be measured by incremental strides, which can prove maddening for those expecting more.
“Everybody thinks these things just go super fast,” Eakins said. “Hey, we’ll draft this guy and draft that guy and we’ll all be great. It’s not that. There’s some adversity. There’s some pain. There’s some suffering. There’s some quiet success along the way and, suddenly, it seems like you’ve arrived.”
Terry’s arrival is still to be determined, but he’s taken some significant strides to get there simply because he’s taken some significant strides. Encouraged by coaches and teammates alike, he’s abandoned the stationary game that got him nowhere.
Waiting for openings to develop wasn’t getting the desired results.
Shifting into attack mode has served him well this season.
Dancing, as Eakins describes it when Terry is moving his feet.
“I think I’ve definitely learned I have that ability,” Terry said. “It’s not trying to force it. When I’m in kind of an attack mentality is just kind of the way I can best put it. I’m letting my instincts take over. Stick moves and I’m not thinking about not messing up or anything like that. I’m just kind of letting my instincts take over and I have that stickhandling ability and it just kind of takes over from there. I’m not trying to force anything or do too much, but trying to attack and let my instincts take over.”
Terry has noticed opponents paying more attention to him lately as he carries the puck into the attacking zone, a sign they’ve noticed him during video sessions or scouting reports. The next step for him is to make them pay more often for paying too much attention to him.
When he has the puck, he can become something like a point guard in a basketball game, drawing defenders to him and then passing to open teammates. Or he can simply continue to move closer to the opposing net to create his own scoring chances, a skill he’s sharpening.
Terry is fourth among the Ducks with a 13.2 shooting percentage.
But he’s only 11th with 53 shots on goal.
One figure is acceptable to him.
The other, well, not so much.
“Once I get a move on a guy and create space, I just need to look to fire it on net more because I do believe I have a good wrist shot and I can sling it,” he said. “Just try to shoot from all angles. I think with the amount I have the puck on my stick in a hockey game, I should have more shots than I’ve been having.
“So that’s kind of the focus for me.”
One more step to take.
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