The Ducks started this year going 1-4-0 with -4 goal differential. They promptly followed that up with a six game win streak that included wins over the previously unbeaten Bruins squad, the surprisingly feisty Flyers, and those damn desert dogs. After 11 games Anaheim finds themselves in an unexpected, though not unwelcomed, place – a wild card spot. Lets take a look at some of the more interesting and/or notable factors in getting here.
Note: Unless other wise noted all contract information is courtesy of CapFriendly.com, all advanced stats are courtesy of Evolving-Hockey.com, and all traditional counting stats are courtesy of Hockey-Reference.com, without whom all of this would be impossible.
1. Ducks Number One Defenseman Emerges
Pavel Mintyukov looks like the real deal so far, eh? The Russian blueliner has already exhibited a dynamic game in all three zones, shown the type of offensive instincts that led to the Ducks taking him tenth overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, as well as a combination of poise and fearlessness that portend an incredibly bright future. He has already made a strong case for being the best defenseman on the team, and if I may be so bold, shown the potential to be the best blueliner ever drafted by Anaheim.
2. Picked Second Overall
All the talk around Leo Carlsson seems to be about the development plan that GM Pat Verbeek has him on right now, and to some degree that’s understandable. But it shouldn’t distract from the fact that 18 year old pivot has come into the league and looked both physically and mentally up to to the task. And against established NHLers no less. He has three goals and an assist in seven games and is averaging over 18 minutes a night when he plays. But don’t take it from me, take it from one of the half-dozen greatest players to ever pick up a hockey stick.
“He’s got a pretty mature game, I think, for a young player. You can tell that he cares about playing both sides of the puck, being good defensively. He’s got a lot of poise, that’s one thing that probably stood out the most is just his ability to hold onto pucks and not force plays. Part of that is having the ablity to do it but also the confidence, and it seems like he’s pretty comfortable and confident given the early stage of his career.” – Sidney Crosby
Via Derek Lee, The Sporting Tribune
3. Hats Off to Frank the Tank
Frank Vatrano was signed in the summer of 2022 to a three-year, $10.95million deal by Pat Verbeek to do one thing – score goals. And while the 2022-23 season was immensely disappointing for all involved, Vatrano largely held up his end of the bargain. One of four Ducks players to reach 20 goals on the season, the East Longmeadow native did about as much as could have been asked of him last year given the circumstances. In fact, his 22 goals last season was the second highest single season output of his career. And yet.. it was hard not to feel somewhat frustrated or underwhelmed by that production given how little it seemed to amount to in the big picture.
That is decidedly not the case this year. As it stands, Vatrano is currently tied with Alex DeBrincat, Travis Konecny, and David Pastrnak for second in the league in goals at 9; a sum that includes two hattricks, a shorty, three power play goals, and a pair of game winners. All that in just ten games. Perhaps the most important part of it all however, is not that he’s scoring goals in bunches, but rather that he is doing so on an Anaheim second line alongside a rejuvenated Ryan Strome and sophomore Mason McTavish.
4. What Does He Even Do Here?
Look, we need to talk about Cam Fowler and where he fits into this team. Pavel Mintyukov has emerged as the Ducks’ clear number one defenseman, especially on the left-side. Jackson LaCombe has struggled at times but has already shown the ability to impact the game positively at both ends with his skating and stick work. New veterans Radko Gudas and Ilya Lyubushkin have provided the physicality and defense first approach that this team was sorely lacking last year, and Urho Vaakanainen has looked surprisingly comfortable in his return from injury.
All of that is to say, what exactly does Fowler do for this team? He has historically been the team’s prime puck-mover and power play quarterback during his time in Southern California, but between Mintyukov, LaCombe, and Drysdale (whenever he returns), that role is all but accounted for. To his credit, he seems to know this himself and looks far more physically engaged than he has in years past. But that just isn’t his game and it never has been, so unless he is planning on completely re-inventing himself in his 14th season in the league, it’s hard to see how he fits into this team in the long and short term.
5. Mason McTavish Does His Best Getzlaf Impression
Look at this. Just look at it.
Yeah, that’s the good stuff right there. Give me more of that please.
6. Six in One, Half Dozen of the Others
The Ducks might have a lucky number on their hands. Their first win of the season came in a 6-3 victory over preseason prognosticators’ darling Carolina Hurricanes. With Sunday’s 4-2 victory over the Pacific Division favorites the Vegas Golden Knights, they extended their win streak to six straight. And according to H.R (which uses the mid-season January 31 cutoff date) the Ducks have six players on the roster who are 22 years old or younger. They even have six players, and only six players, with an xGF% north of the 50% mark via Evolving-Hockey.com. This section is also six lines long. Go Ducks.
7. Not-So-Special Teams
According to E.H the Ducks rank 23rd in xGF/60 (7.27) on the power play and 22nd in xGA/60 (9.09) on the penalty kill. For context, the Penguins have the best power play by expected goals with 14.05 xGF/60 and the Blues have the worst with 6.51xGF/60. In terms of the penalty kill, the Flyers have the best shorthanded unit with a mark of 5.38 xGA/60 and, to the surprise of absolutely nobody, the Sharks have the worst P.K. giving up 12.95 xGA/60 down a man. Quite simply, being in the bottom third of special teams play on both ends is not good enough for a team looking to make a leap. Now there is something to be said of the fact that despite this team’s record and/or place in the standings, they are not in fact For Real. That simple fact gives them some leeway to continue to develop as individuals and as a team. But if they expect to keep up this surprising run they’ve found themselves on early in the year, they’re going to have to get it together at both ends of the ice on special teams.
8. The Ketchup Bottle
As you have no doubt heard, Trevor Zegras is finding himself in the midst of a scoring slump. One goal and one assist after 11 games is not what anyone was hoping for, and it becomes even more unexpected given the team’s surprising start to the year. Now if you were just looking at the paper trail that would seem concerning, especially given the protracted contract negotiation that Zegras and Verbeek engaged in this summer. But the truth of it is, anyone watching the games will tell you Zegras has been one of the best players on the team all year. He’s third on the team in xDef GAR behind only Jakob Silfverberg and Troy Terry, a fact that highlights the concerted effort and focus he has put into addressing the concerns that both Greg Cronin and Pat Verbeek mentioned more than a couple times between the end of last year and his joining the team in camp this year. More than that though, you can see him generating chances on a nightly basis at even strength and on the power play. The offense is going to come, and once it does, get ready; because if this new found defensive focus is for real, there’s literally nothing the kid can’t do.
9. Gibson Isn’t Cooked, And Dostál Isn’t Lacking
As it stands right now, the Ducks have two goalies splitting time between the pipes in long-time backstop John Gibson and rookie netminder Lukáš Dostál. Gibson has, on paper, been the lesser of the two given his 2-3 record across 5 starts as opposed to Dostál’s 5-1 record over five starts but neither of those really tells the full story. In all situations Dostál is 10th in the league with a 5.98 GSAx and a .920 SV%, though John Gibson isn’t all together too far behind him, coming in at 22nd in the league with a 3.21 GSAx and a .913 SV%. However, that ranking inverts when you switch to 5v5 where Gibson surges up the standings to 7th in the league in GSAx with a mark of 4.73 and .943 SV% versus Dostál’s 19th ranked 2.44 GSAx and .930 SV%. The Czechian netminder is absolutely making a push for the starting role in Anaheim, but behind a reimagined blueline and a reinvigorated team, Gibson has shown he is still more than capable of carrying the mail in net for the Ducks. These are good problems to have folks.
10. New Leason Life
Brett Leason was claimed off waivers by Pat Verbeek last year in early October and proceeded to have a perfectly fine year as a fourth line forward. The 6’5″ winger has good speed for his size and while not overly physical has shown a willingness to leverage his frame on the forecheck and around the net. He hasn’t quite managed to get the production to go along with his play, only two goals and an assist on the year so far, but watch him for even a few minutes and his play peaks for itself. The underlying numbers back up the eye test as well, Leason has amassed a 2.5 xGAR total on the year, despite a less impressive total of 0.8 GAR. The process is there, and so long as he sticks to it, the results should follow as well.
11. The Ducks Have a Winning Record After 11 Games
Play sweetness.