Prospect Update: Troy Terry

By Michael Walters

Troy Terry was the final forward the Ducks selected in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. He just completed his freshman season at the University of Denver.

Terry had a successful freshman season at Denver. He appeared in all 41 of Denver’s games and scored nine goals and 22 points. Terry finished seventh on the team in points, but he was the second-highest scoring freshman on the team. His nine goals were tied for sixth on the team. What makes Terry’s play even more impressive is the fact that Denver was such a good team. Overall, Denver finished second in the NCHC and made it to the semifinals of the Frozen Four, losing to North Dakota, the eventual champs. 

Despite not scoring in the loss to North Dakota, Terry did have five assists in the two previous games, being one of the key pieces of Denver’s run to the frozen four. Anaheim had a number of prospects who were freshman in the NCAA last season, and Terry arguably had the best season out of all of them. What’s even more impressive is that Terry was one of the youngest players in college hockey last year because he went directly from the US Development Program to the NCAA and bypassed playing a year of juniors, whereas most NCAA players play at least one year of juniors.

This coming season, I’d like to see Terry build on a solid freshman season. If he can hit the 10 goal and 30 point marks, that would be fantastic. More time on the team’s top six would also be nice, but as a sophomore, that may be a little difficult. Also, I’d just like to see his strong two-way game continue to develop. After helping Denver reach the Frozen Four, it would be great if he could be one of the key pieces that lead Denver to a national championship, though that’s a bit more of a long shot. Regardless of how far Denver gets in the tournament next year, I’d like to see Terry have another solid tournament.

Anaheim will hold Terry’s rights until the conclusion of his college career. I’d expect him to spend at least the next two, if not three, seasons in the NCAA before turning pro. The Ducks are set at center in Anaheim and have some other solid centers in their pipeline who are either more NHL ready or are projected to have a higher ceiling. With that in mind, Terry can spend all four years in the NCAA, refining his game at Denver and becoming a solid two-way center who has a potential future as a second or third-line center in the NHL. He won’t ever be a top line center, but a strong two-way game and decent scoring ability could serve him well as he sets his sights on the NHL. After turning pro, he’ll probably spend a decent amount of time in the AHL with San Diego, adjusting to the professional game. Therefore, Terry is several years away from fans in Anaheim seeing him on the ice.

The Ducks really liked Terry at the draft last year, trying a number of times to move up and select him before someone else was able to grab him. Anaheim was quite happy to see him still available in the fifth round when they picked up again. Hopefully, he’ll end up being a steal for Anaheim, but it will be a number of years before that kind of label can be applied to him.

My next prospect update will be on Deven Sideroff.

For more Prospect Profiles/Updates, draft info, and other prospect news visit: Meet The Prospects

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Filed under: Meet The Ducks' Prospects Tagged: Anaheim Ducks, Ducks, ducksnpucks, Prospect update, troy terry