Havelid Is Returning to Form

Defenseman Niclas Havelid’s career with the Mighty Ducks has been stop and go.

He was on the go as a rookie in 1999-2000, then missed 22 games because of a broken finger. He was on the move again last season when a severe knee injury finished him.

A year after surgery to repair knee ligaments, Havelid believes he is finally returning to form.

He had been a healthy scratch in six of seven games when Vitaly Vishnevski suffered a sprained ankle against San Jose on Dec. 26. Havelid was solid in the first four games since.

“It’s getting there,” he said. “Some days are good days, some days are worse. I knew it was going to take time.

“The training staff and I talked about that. They said it could take up to a year to recover and to just want to be patient. It’s coming slowly, but it is definitely getting better the last couple weeks.”

Havelid’s strengths are skating and handling the puck, which were difficult to work on while he rehabilitated his knee.

“His size limitations without the puck are always going to be there,” Coach Bryan Murray said. “With the puck, he can add some to the offense we need at the back end and get the puck going out of our own end a little quicker.”