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Name: Peter Holland
Age: 21
Position: Center
Hometown: Toronto, ON, Canada
Draft Story: 1st round, 15th overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
How did he become a Duck? Drafted. He signed his ELC in 2010 with the Ducks.
Where did the Ducks send him for the lockout? The Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League.
2011-2012 League & Team: The Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League.
Other hockey ventures: In addition to his rookie AHL season, Holland also saw 4 games with Ducks last season. In those 4 games Holland had 1 goal (a game winner) and a 38.9 FO%, in 7:42 TOI/G.
Key Stats Last Season: In his first AHL season, Holland struggled at first before completing a very productive rookie season. In 71 games Holland scored 60 points (23 goals and 37 assists), tallied 59 PIMs, and registered a +8 for the season. Holland quickly became the team's number 1 center, and developed some incredible chemistry with other AHL top producers Kyle Palmieri and Patrick Maroon. By the end of his rookie season Holland was 19th in AHL scoring, 4th in AHL rookie scoring, and was crucial in getting the Crunch into the playoffs.
Scout's Take: From Hockey's Future:
"Holland has begun to put his game together in the past couple of seasons. Where he was a player who could have been described as having all the tools but no tool box, Holland has evened out his effort and consistency. He is a big player with a soft touch. Although he is more of a shoot-first center, he has the vision and passing skills to be a respectable setup man."
Is he a Work-in-progress, Future trade-bait, or a Keeper? Keeper. He is incredibly talented, on both ends of the ice, and has succeeded at every level of hockey in his career so far. Take into account the fact that the Ducks are currently weak at center, have very little center depth in the minors behind Holland, and the imminent retirement of Saku Koivu.
Should we be excited? Maybe? On a scale of 1 to 5, I'd say he's a 5. He's the most talented center prospect we've seen since Getzlaf. Holland has developed chemistry with some of our explosive winger prospects, and he has the potential to fill a glaring need in our current roster. Duck's fan's should be salivating at the possibility of Holland in a Ducks sweater.