The Sam Duggan Dilemma

Published November 30th 2023

Touted as a future captain for the organisation, the 25 year old forward from Reading, England has been the main prospect and project for the last 5 seasons, however so far in this campaign, he has iced 12 times, being scratched several times, which has made a massive hit in his TOI this season.

The so called post-‘pandemic’ focus for Duggan has been locking down the PK whilst providing the forecheck on the energy line with Ben Davies.

So far in this campaign, Cox and Sanford have put their hands up for more team responsibility, which has to this point been paid in full, almost to the same pace as their first season with the club, at 88.46% (Leagues best).

Two seasons ago, the PK finished at 86.25% (also, league best). To make a comparison, it was the ‘baby’ for Duggan, particularly last season, as it had become his pride and joy, although it ended at 79.17%.

On top of this, other fringe forwards and new stars have put up enough points to keep him locked out of the bottom six, with Riley Brandt having his best season as a Devil so far and Brandon Alderson causing selection chaos, which has seen Justin Crandall fill in on defence and even the top line during November.

The latter has hit over a point per game, at 1.26PPG in the EIHL so far. Whilst Brandt has been playing some very sublime hockey, forechecking hard, defensively improving and carrying the puck aggressively, helping his line to gain the zone entries with ease.

Brandt has scored 4 goals and earned 2 assists, having his best Challenge Cup campaign and seems to be a go-to guy for PR, being on track for his best season as a pro to date.

Additionally, the bottom six and the entire middle deck have kept the scoresheet cooking all season, which has recently forced wholesale line changes against Clan on the road, leaving the Braehead Arena with 7 markers and a shutout.

This is an area of interest that has alluded Devils teams in the previous few seasons.

The ultimate variable to consider is that Duggan has been part of the organisation leadership for the last three seasons, which makes one wonder, should an ‘A’ be sitting so many games and icing such little time?

Recently, Justin Crandall has worn the game day ‘A’ at home, which could mean that is the matter settled, although there has been official release regarding organisational changes for the roster. On Elite Prospects, it is currently Martin and Duggan listed, although we know Trevor Cox is the third alternate.

Duggan has averaged just 09:45 of ice time in the league this season with no points. In Challenge Cup, there has been more ice time (10:47), same appearances (6GP) but with more success, netting 3 times and adding a helper. He has also recorded the same amount of shots as Ryan Barrow and Brandon Alderson (12), however, yet again the latter, has a game less (5GP in CC) with the same scoring stats.

During the past month of November, Cardiff Devils travelled to Grenoble to play in the IIHF Continental Cup, which saw a weekend of hockey played over 3 games. In this time, there was more hockey played over a 10 day period, a total of 6 were completed.

Only one of those other games saw Sam Duggan get ice time, a road win in the Challenge Cup at Blaze, where he got on the board, however subsequently, the following home double header saw him looking on from the private gantry, instead of a much needed shuffle in the roster to maximise rest.

Duggan is a firm fan favourite, an infectious personality and a player looking to model their progress and path on the likes of esteemed greats such as Mark Richardson and Joey Martin.

It has been baffling to say the least, particularly amongst fans who relish to see more Brits dressed for games, so at this point, it has become concerning.

Would the next road game and weekend hockey feature the missing locker room man or will the seemingly apparent exile continue?

Sam Duggan Career to Date with Cardiff Devils

GP – 279

G – 21

A – 32

TP – 53

Update: Since publishing, Sam Duggan has been active on the roster in the weekend of the back to back defeats against Blaze and Panthers, adding 2 more league games, now averaging just over 10mins of TOI.