I mean they are all young mahura / thrun / andersson still can turn into more, not to mention we’d still have lindholm Fowler and possibly Manson... with money to bring in another top 4 rhd and/or next years draft could provide that... or even a guy like Barron in this years draft with our 27 or 36
lindholm Manson
Fowler_______
we’re basically just lookin for bottom pairing dmen anyway
Your last sentence is a very underrated assessment.
I've been sharing the idea that GM Murray is stacking the defense with more mature defensemen so they can weather the storm with our young forwards as opposed to being young at forward and defense, which is what we did early last year.
Going forward today, here's who we might have as our seven NHL defensemen:
Lindholm (26) - Manson (28)
Fowler (28) - Gudz (28)
Djoos (25) - Curran (30)
Hakanpaa (28)
Fowler is signed through 2025-26 season, he would be 33 years of age. We'd have to assume that we're going to re-sign Lindholm after his contract expires after the 2021-22 season. That means we're set for a long minute with those two players. Here's the kicker about both those players, they just need a solid stay-at-home defenseman to maximize their play. We don't have to overspend to get a RHD since we have two currently under contract in Manson and Gudz. And while Djoos isn't flashy like Fowler, he's better defensively and can be trusted in the 2nd pairing. Djoos did play top pairing for us last year and wasn't overwhelmed like Fowler was last year as the top pairing guy. We could have this quartet for the next four to five years.
With the way our defense is set up, we're a basic offensive-defensive dmen combo - where Lindholm would be classified as an offensive dman, but we'll call him #1 dman who works best with a defensive d-man. He proved this with both Manson and Gudz last year. This simple set up makes roles easily defined. When Lindholm and Fowler were paired together, sometimes they both jumped into the offensive play. It was disastrous.
When you say, "we're basically just looking for bottom pairing dmen anyway," that's a significant recognition. We can take our time with our defensive prospects.
Defensive D prospects: Larsson, Benoit, Thrun
Offensive D prospects: Guhle, Mahura, Andersson, LaCombe
These current group of defensive prospect aren't your Lindolm and Fowler instant stars. They'll need more seasoning like Vatanen, Manson, and Theodore.
Larsson and Guhle may need more seasoning. Larsson is playing like a third pairing guy at the moment. Guhle has lost confidence and not an NHL player. Talent is there, but he needs his young brother's confidence. Either way, the highest level they'll be at the NHL level next year will be the third pairing if mass injuries should occur on the blue line.
I think LaCombe and Thrun could be 2nd pairing guys in the far future. Both prospects received recognition for their rookie season in the NCAA. Thrun is getting some high hype after his season. LaCombe finished as the 2nd highest scoring dman for Minny with 13 pts, who started off the season as an 18-year old and the highest dman scorer was a 23-year old with 14 points. His offense and skating was high in his draft year, but from a small high school and went to the NCAA route to learn how to play defense. These two prospects I'm very high on their projection to the NHL.
RHD Andersson is a wild card. He's an offensive defenseman who needs to learn how to play defense and when to properly transition from defense to offense. When I read up on his scouting report and Boston's assessment on him, Andersson is a long term project that the Bruins secured in the 2nd round rather than have to possibility of not being able to draft him later. Andersson was the Bruins' first selection in the 2018 NHL draft. GM Murray agrees with that assessment as he reiterated Andersson is still years away from the NHL, and this was said after Andersson's D+2 season.
Right now, my current assessment is that Ducks potentially might have a 2nd pairing players in Larsson, Guhle, LaCombe and Thrun. Offensive players in Mahura and Andersson for the third pairing, who can add their talents on the PP. There's no real rush to these players now that GM Murray's populated the NHL roster with more mature players, with Curran being the unknown quantity. Yet, Curran will be on the third pairing. Anaheim has a #1 D in Lindholm already, who is still only 26 years old, and a #3D in Fowler for five more seasons after this season.
Grabbing Drysdale or Sanderson will make us even richer, again, because we've secured our top-4/5 in the NHL for the next few seasons.
With that said, our forward corps needs more high end talent like a Zegras. We're a mixed bag at the NHL level and the possibility of losing Getzlaf or Getzlaf in a reduce role, then there's an immediate need to have a very talented forward. That's the scary part. Getzlaf is still the main driver for our forward group. Henrique is a good 2C. We can use Rico as an intermediate crutch. If the current youth contingent of Steel, Terry, Jones, and Comtois don't pan out, then we're SOL with just Zegras (... and Tracey). That's it? If we draft a defensemen 6th overall, then we're going to be in same boat of hoping a bottom first round or later prospect can blossom into a first line talent that we've been in for the past several years. We're still waiting on Steel, Terry, Jones, and Comtois. I think we kinda screwed up Lundestrom's progression. Yet, here is Zegras already pounding on the NHL door after his D+1 year, with one media ranking him 1st overall prospect going into this season.
Yes, it does suck drafting on need, but I think GM Murray has positioned it that way by, hopefully, addressing the NHL defensive unit for the next couple of years or more. Also recall, the Ducks' scouting group is very proficient at finding prospect defensemen later in the draft than they are at prospect forwards. Let's use that strength to draft a top end forward to where we have to develop less. Again, Zegras is already pounding on the NHL door where all of our other prospects are still middling. Holtz, Rossi, Raymond, or Perfetti, one of these forwards with high end talent will be there for the Ducks. We need a top line for the future two seasons ago, unfortunately. We have a center piece with Zegras for the future and Rico as 2C. Zegras is gonna need a scoring winger. In the WJC, Zegras and Kaliyev were a very good scoring duo.
When I look at the legacy media and youtube hockey people, they all have the Ducks selecting Drysdale, stating that the Ducks cannot pass this talent up. Yet, four other teams did pass him up, one of them passing him up twice. But when Holtz is selected to teams below us, they cite how he's the perfect top line winger for their playmaking center because goals are a premium in the NHL. How does that not apply to us as well? We were ranked last in PP goals last year and someone like Holtz (or another forward) may help in that area.
When we were projected to go 5th in the draft, before the lottery, I was dead set on Drysdale and didn't budge. When we settled on 6th overall and the possibility of losing Drysdale to Ottawa at 5th, then I started looking around. Holtz just kept popping up as a player who fits the Ducks most going into the near future than Drysdale despite Drysdale being the BPA. (I see Drysdale tied #3 prospect with Byfield.) Holtz can play with men as he proved that last year in the SHL. Holtz proved his scoring touch translates against men as he proved that last year in the SHL. Holtz and Rossi are the two prospects who might be able to make the NHL jump after their D+1 year like Zegras. I just have a preference for a finisher because the past three seasons we've been missing a finisher.
Whether it's Holtz or another top end forward, a forward will have a much bigger impact for the Ducks' NHL club going into the future than a Drysdale or Sanderson because we maybe lacking forward talent sooner than later. Getz, Perry, Kesler and Eaves were all offensive drivers. We've lost three to injuries (Perry never regained his old self after his injury). Getz is the only one left and he's still driving the bus for the Ducks. I don't think Zegras alone can fulfill Getzlaf's importance to the team and I'd hate to leave Zegras on an island. Getz had Perry. Kariya had Selanne. Zegras has... ::: raising shoulders ::: While Drysdale is BPA at #6, if available, #6 is all about complementing Zegras, imo, and that duo outweighs D Drysdale or Sanderson.
