We’re into the top 10. From this point forward each player is going to receive their own post to commemorate their accomplishments both with the Ducks and throughout their career.
#10 – Andy McDonald
Average Rank: 11.44
To say Andy McDonald was a fan favorite in Anaheim would be putting it very lightly.
The diminutive forward stood just 5'8" which is damn near unheard of in today's NHL where the big-bodied center reigns.
Yet the speedy McDonald never let that slow him down. Literally.
In 2007, McDonald was selected to the NHL All-Star Game in replacement of injured Henrik Zetterberg, where he won the Fastest Skater competition.
And believe it or not, he went undrafted.
McDonald’s career began when the then-Mighty Ducks of Anaheim signed him as a free agent in 2000. We should have known how much of a gem we had when he scored his first career goal against the Los Angeles Kings in December of that year.
For the first several years of his career, Andy was consistently sidelined with multiple concussions (no doubt a result of his small size).
But when he was in the lineup, McDonald proved to be an invaluable asset.
Known for being a rock in the faceoff circle, McDonald found chemistry with Chris Kunitz and legendary Teemu Selanne to become one of the biggest scoring threats on the powerhouse Ducks that made runs to the Western Conference Final in 2006 and eventual Stanley Cup championship in 2007.
But beyond that, McDonald was a workhorse, averaging 16:48 and 17:35 per night in 2005/06 and 2006/07, respectively. Not bad for the only two years of his career where he managed to stay healthy for all 82 games.
During that magical run to the Ducks Stanley Cup championship, Andy McDonald had a number of big moments. In the semifinals vs. the Vancouver Canucks, McDonald registered a playoff hat trick, scoring the final tally of a 5-1 win in game one of the series.
Later in the final game of that Stanley Cup run, MacDonald would register his 10th goal of the playoffs by scoring the first goal of the game on fluky play with a lucky deflection past Ray Emery.
Five of those ten goals would come in that series, including two of them in game four (he also had the secondary assist on the third goal of the game too).
McDonald would not see much more time with Anaheim beyond that run, as he was dealt to the St. Louis Blues in December of that year to clear space for the return of Scott Neidermayer.
And perhaps even more sadly is the fact that his concussion issues would continue to plague him. McDonald never again played a full 82 game season, only once playing more than 60. These finally fully caught up to him in 2013 when he announced his retirement from the game due to concussion-related issues.
Now aged 37, McDonald may never be a hall-of-fame player, but his unforgettable contributions to two of the best seasons in Ducks history make him number 10 on our list.