Jonathan Drouin to sit AHL game for missing team meeting

Jonathan Drouin will not play in the Syracuse Crunch’s Wednesday night game against the Utica Comets because he missed a Tuesday pre-practice meeting.

According to the Syracuse.com Drouin had an “alarm clocks problem.” He apologized to the team and accepted full responsibility.

[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey contest today]

Drouin demanded a trade from the Lightning in November and the team sent him to Syracuse in early January. Following seven games in Syracuse, Drouin opted to not play until he was traded. The Lightning suspended Drouin, the No. 3 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, on Jan. 20, but lifted the suspension on March 7 after Drouin decided to report to the AHL.

In six games since he’s returned to Syracuse, the 20-year-old Drouin has five goals and one assist.

"I've said it since Day 1 I showed up back here: It'll be up to my play to prove that I can go back up there (to the NHL)," Drouin told the Associated Press last weekend.

According to Syracuse.com, Lightning assistant general manager Julien BriseBois said Drouin has been "great” since he returned to the team.

Last week at the NHL’s general managers meetings, Lightning GM Steve Yzerman said it was probable the team could recall Drouin at some point during the stretch run.

“Ultimately I go back to when he was first assigned to the AHL. It wasn’t a demotion, it was simply to go down, though not on conditioning, was strictly as conditioning to get some games after missing a lot due to injury,” Yzerman said. “The plan was for him to go down and play and come back, so with the situation right now, if it is good for our team and it is the right thing to do, he will be recalled. So it’s very realistic.”

MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY

- - - - - - -

Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper