Perseverance, patience pays off for Ducks’ Noesen

If it had worked out like originally planned, Stefan Noesen would have slipped on a Ducks jersey and hat and posed for the cameras, on stage under bright lights.

It was 2011, and Anaheim was set to take Noesen in the NHL draft. But the Ottawa Senators, positioned one spot ahead of the Ducks, nabbed Noesen with the 21st pick. Noesen still has the Senators jersey he posed with that day.

“It’s still at home,” Noesen said. “It’s in a closet. It’s tucked away.”

Five years later, no one knows better than Noesen how paths veer. Since that draft day, he’s been traded to the Ducks and endured two major leg injuries to make it to the NHL for an extended look with Anaheim, which hosts Ottawa on Sunday afternoon.

Although he’s a fourth-line plugger and hardly a household name, Noesen is a story of resolve and patience, starting with torn knee ligaments in his second game that almost washed out his first professional season. The next season, he lacerated his Achilles’ in his fourth game, on an freak faceoff play in which former Kings prospect Jordan Weal stepped on the back of his foot.

Ducks teammate Joseph Cramarossa was roommates with Noesen at the time and remembers the four-month rehabilitation, from a hard cast to a walking boot and frequent trips to the doctor’s office.

“Obviously he wasn’t the happiest and you can’t blame him,” Cramarossa said. “No one wants to be out for that long. But he stuck with it. A lot of guys, it can get to them mentally. He just kept pushing, pushing. Every time he came back, he was strong.”

Noesen said it never crossed his mind that his career could be in doubt. He’s taken an unorthodox road to begin with, from growing up in football-mad Plano, Texas, where perhaps some of that gridiron toughness was grooved into him.

“I have a good sense of perseverance, where I like proving people wrong,” Noesen said. “If someone tells me I can’t do it, I’m going to laugh at them and say, ‘OK, I’m going to do it.’ ”

Noesen is one of several intertwined subplots in Sunday’s game. In 2013 he was traded to the Ducks, along with Jakob Silfverberg and a draft pick that turned out to be Nick Ritchie, for former Ducks wing Bobby Ryan.

That 2011 draft? The Ducks traded their 22nd pick down to get forward Rickard Rakell and goalie John Gibson, two major pieces of the Ducks’ future.

Noesen’s dream came true Wednesday with his first NHL goal, almost five years to the day he signed an entry-level contract with Ottawa. He takes all this in with the healthy attitude that got him to this point.

“That’s how weird life is,” he said. “You never know when you’re going to come back. You never want to burn too many bridges or any bridges because it will come back and bite you in the butt every now and then. I thought I had a great time with Ottawa, way back when now, it feels like. It will be exciting to get a chance to play against them again.”

UP NEXT

VS. OTTAWA

When: 1 p.m., Sunday

On the air: TV: Prime; Radio: 830

Update: Ducks forward Ryan Garbutt was reassigned and Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle said Garbutt can use his first minor league games since 2012 to work on his game. … Ottawa’s Ryan recently returned from injury and is on a 15-game scoring slump. He has one goal and four assists in six games against the Ducks.