Tsulygin Called Up as Plavsic Waived

General Manager Jack Ferreira tried to address the team’s defensive woes by calling up rookie Nikolai Tsulygin and putting Adrian Plavsic on waivers.

Plavsic, 26, spent most of last season with Tampa Bay’s minor league team but impressed management during the exhibition season. However, he was minus-5 after six games with the Ducks.

Tsulygin, 21, a second-round pick in 1993, has yet to make the jump to the NHL but Ferreira has described him as very close. He was assigned to Fort Wayne of the International League shortly before the season.

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Paul Kariya’s injury is of utmost concern, but it’s not the only lingering abdominal injury affecting the Ducks. Prospect Frank Banham, a player management hoped might make the team this season after scoring a remarkable 83 goals last season for his junior team, is still sidelined because of a groin injury after more than six months.