ALUMDATE: At The Christmas Break

It has not been a fun season for Simon Despres and the Anaheim Ducks.

Just four games into the 2015-16 season on Oct. 16, Despres suffered a concussion from a hit to the head. He has not played since.

From the Orange County Register on Dec. 19:

Earlier this month, Despres showed signs of improvement and attempted to skate on his own before a practice at Anaheim Ice. Lingering symptoms are now keeping the defenseman from taking steps forward in getting back on the ice, and the Ducks aren’t pushing him.

The Ducks have underperformed so far this season and sit dead last in the NHL's Western Conference, two points behind the Edmonton Oilers. Their problem hasn't been on the backend but up front - they've scored the fewest goals in the league this season with just 62 in 33 games.

On a more positive note, Mike Hoffman sits sixth in NHL goal scoring. 

NHL

Player	Team	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
Mike Hoffman	OTT	31	17	15	32
Jonathan Huberdeau	FLA	35	4	17	21
Charlie Coyle	MIN	33	8	9	17
Nathan Beaulieu	MTL	35	2	9	11
Eric Gelinas	NJ	21	1	2	3
Tomas Jurco	DET	13	1	2	3
Stanislav Galiev	WAS	7	0	2	2
Simon Despres	ANA	4	0	0	0

Alex Grant is having an impressive season with the American Hockey League's Springfield Falcons. The "original Sea Dog" sits fourth in AHL defensemen scoring with five goals and 22 points in 28 games. The Falcons are affiliated with the Arizona Coyotes.

Meanwhile, according to HockeyFights.com, Brett Gallant only has four fights this season with Lake Erie.

AHL

Player	Team	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
Alex Grant	SPR	28	5	17	22
Tomas Jurco*	GR	5	5	4	9
Zack Phillips	PRO	25	2	5	7
Stanislav Galiev*	HER	5	3	0	3
Yann Sauve*	POR	3	0	1	1
Brett Gallant	LE	22	0	0	0

*Not on active roster

Michael Kirkpatrick has gotten his professional career off to a good start. The former Sea Dogs forward and StFX X-Man sits sixth in ECHL rookie scoring with 12 goals and 22 points in 23 games with the Adirondack Thunder (Calgary Flames). Kirkpatrick is also tied for the rookie lead in goals.

Meanwhile, Charles-Olivier Roussel is sixth in ECHL defensemen scoring with two goals and 19 points in 26 games with the Norfolk Admirals (Edmonton Oilers).

ECHL

Player	Team	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
Michael Kirkpatrick	ADK	23	12	10	22
Charles-Olivier Roussel	NOR	26	2	17	19
Scott Howes	BRM	19	9	8	17
Yann Sauve	MAN	21	4	12	16
Danick Gauthier	WIC	24	6	3	9
Ryan Tesink	QC	23	2	5	7

There's only one former Sea Dogs goaltender playing in one of North America's top three professional leagues. Former University of Calgary Dino Jacob DeSerres has appeared in 10 games with the Colorado Eagles (no affiliate).

ECHL

Player	Team	GP	Record	GAA	SV%
Jacob DeSerres	COL	10	2-6-1-0	2.87	.876

Did we forget someone (we probably did)? Let us know.

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation