Prospect Info: 2022-23 Ducks Prospects

[tomd]

Despite his stat line he wasn't particularly impressive today.

 

[GunnarStahl]

Despite his stat line he wasn't particularly impressive today.

The whole game was kinda underwhelming lol, the blazers just kept scoring and the Pete’s just kept looking lame, they didn’t do a single thing outside of hospitalizing Masters. At first it was fun watching Kamloops get the early lead but it kinda killed the tension of the game 5 mins into the second.

 

[GunnarStahl]

Also I was hoping to be able to see OZ in his own end in person. That barely happened at all this Pete’s team maybe had him in his own zone ant even strength for like 2 minutes all game, tops. I suppose that may support the idea of “if you drive offense well enough you won’t have to play defense” but I think that philosophy is rather flawed. Some truth but not sustainable, especially at the NHL level.

Regardless, his PKing at this level is actually really effective, he gets to every puck first and just clears it down the ice, rinse and repeat and the penalty is gone before you know it, he decimated half of 2 Pete PPs doing this.

Lastly, his stick handling is terrifying for a defenseman, there were multiple times this game he dangled someone out of their jock, didn’t result in goals on these occasions but could definitely if game circumstances were slightly different.

Atmosphere was great btw, Kamloops was loving it!

 

[tomd]

Quebec beats Seattle 3-1 to run their record to 2-0. They play tomorrow night against Peterborough who is 0-2. I believe if they win that game they are thru to the final against either Seattle or Kamloops.

Gaucher: 0 points, +1, 1 shot, 12/27 on face-offs

Game was not televised in the states but will replay tomorrow at 11am (PST) on NHL Network.

Tomorrow night's game is on NHL Network at 6pm (PST)

 

[SergeConstantin74]

Big defensive game for Gaucher who was played against Guenther, Lambert and Schaefer, Seattle's top line. He was also solid on the PK.

 

[GunnarStahl]

Roy was not big on starting Gaucher in the offensive zone! I can’t remember a single offensive zone start for Gaucher this game. Outside of the PP. he took a ton of Dzone draws and was very effective at killing plays. So many players go for stick checks just for their stick to bounce off the attacking players stick, and the attacking player continues on, but when Gaucher goes for a stick check it blows out the opponents control of the puck and more often than not the puck ends up for grabs. he created a number of turnovers, and one or two that almost became dangerous, and had a decent rush play as well. A game that was mostly unremarkable but he very much played his role in this win. Seattle fans seemed quite frustrated with Quebec shutting down their top guys the whole game. Quebec now looks like favorites to win it all IMO. With a win against Peterborough they will clinch a ticket to the finals. And frankly Peterborough is reeling rn and on their heels, they’ve looked like the odd ones out.

Also Rousseau played a brilliant game, as did Milic.

 

[SergeConstantin74]

Roy was not big on starting Gaucher in the offensive zone! I can’t remember a single offensive zone start for Gaucher this game. Outside of the PP. he took a ton of Dzone draws and was very effective at killing plays. So many players go for stick checks just for their stick to bounce off the attacking players stick, and the attacking player continues on, but when Gaucher goes for a stick check it blows out the opponents control of the puck and more often than not the puck ends up for grabs. he created a number of turnovers, and one or two that almost became dangerous, and had a decent rush play as well. A game that was mostly unremarkable but he very much played his role in this win. Seattle fans seemed quite frustrated with Quebec shutting down their top guys the whole game. Quebec now looks like favorites to win it all IMO. With a win against Peterborough they will clinch a ticket to the finals. And frankly Peterborough is reeling rn and on their heels, they’ve looked like the odd ones out.

Also Rousseau played a brilliant game, as did Milic.

Quebec has already clinched a ticket to the final. Even if they lose against Peterborough, they’ll be 2-1 and will have the tie breaker against Kamloops and Seattle as they beat both of them.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

Roy was not big on starting Gaucher in the offensive zone! I can’t remember a single offensive zone start for Gaucher this game. Outside of the PP. he took a ton of Dzone draws and was very effective at killing plays. So many players go for stick checks just for their stick to bounce off the attacking players stick, and the attacking player continues on, but when Gaucher goes for a stick check it blows out the opponents control of the puck and more often than not the puck ends up for grabs. he created a number of turnovers, and one or two that almost became dangerous, and had a decent rush play as well. A game that was mostly unremarkable but he very much played his role in this win. Seattle fans seemed quite frustrated with Quebec shutting down their top guys the whole game. Quebec now looks like favorites to win it all IMO. With a win against Peterborough they will clinch a ticket to the finals. And frankly Peterborough is reeling rn and on their heels, they’ve looked like the odd ones out.

Also Rousseau played a brilliant game, as did Milic.

they have already clinched... its a mean nothing game for Quebec coming up... but a HUGE game for Kamloops and Seattle to watch cause a Peterborough loss makes for a Kamloops Vs Seattle semi finals forsure on friday

 

[SergeConstantin74]

Worst case scenario for Kamloops/Seattle would be a Quebec loss tonight. That would mean the loser of the Kamloops/Seattle game on Wednesday would play the tie breaker against Peterborough on Thursday. The semifinal is on Friday so one of Kamloops/Seattle could potentially play 3 games in 3 nights.

Quebec did it in 2015. They played their last game of the tournament against Rimouski, played the tie breaker the day after and then the semifinal. They didn't have much energy left for the semi and lost 9-2.

 

[Static]

LHJMQ

theqmjhl.ca

 

[SergeConstantin74]

 

[Sean Garrity]

Gaucher is just gonna be an ugly winner. Love it.

 

[MMC]

Less than 24 hours to sign Tschigerl or he will re-enter the draft

 

[Anaheim4ever]

Yeah they need to sign Tschigerl, it's not like he's Badini tier. If they need an extra contract slot then kick leason or white to the curb lol.

 

[MMC]

Yeah they need to sign Tschigerl, it's not like he's Badini tier. If they need an extra contract slot then kick leason or white to the curb lol.

I don't think they "need" an extra contract slot, they probably just don't see him as worth signing. 57 points in 60 games is decent production but nothing outstanding for the WHL, Grubbe who NY traded to Edmonton because they weren't going to sign had 67 points in 64 games in the W

 

[Ducks]

Regardless of any differences of opinion around draft position, i think we can all agree the Ducks need a Gaucher on the roster. His compete, defensive play and physicality is exactly what you build a shutdown line around. I don't even care about the points if he's shutting down top lines like this in the NHL someday.

 

[tomd]

Regardless of any differences of opinion around draft position, i think we can all agree the Ducks need a Gaucher on the roster. His compete, defensive play and physicality is exactly what you build a shutdown line around. I don't even care about the points if he's shutting down top lines like this in the NHL someday.

I suspect that when the Ducks drafted him last year they were expecting that his mediocre offensive numbers in 21-22 were an aberration and that he would improve on them significantly in 22-23. If he had been able to make those improvements then I'm sure the Ducks saw him as a middle six center (perhaps even 2nd line) with very valuable physical and defensive capabilities. A year later, I suspect that privately they are disappointed that his offense did not develop and realistically now see him as a bottom six (probable 4th line) center/winger. Still valuable but not what they were hoping for as a 1st rounder.

 

[tomd]

Craig Button hit the nail on the head with Zellweger between periods. Said that "less is more" from Zellweger at this point and he doesn't need to force the play so much. He made three really bad reads in the 1st period, one of which led directly to the Seattle goal. He was lucky the other two gaffes didn't end up in the back of the net as well. It's going to be very interesting to see if he can transition his play to be effective in the AHL next year.

 

[Ducks]

I suspect that when the Ducks drafted him last year they were expecting that his mediocre offensive numbers in 21-22 were an aberration and that he would improve on them significantly in 22-23. If he had been able to make those improvements then I'm sure the Ducks saw him as a middle six center (perhaps even 2nd line) with very valuable physical and defensive capabilities. A year later, I suspect that privately they are disappointed that his offense did not develop and realistically now see him as a bottom six (probable 4th line) center/winger. Still valuable but not what they were hoping for as a 1st rounder.

I was trying to avoid yet another conversation about his draft position in my last comment. We get it, you don't like the pick. I doubt the scouting staff sees him as a 4th line C, that seems more like you projecting your opinion. The kid just won the Q equivalent of the Selke trophy and is shutting down top lines in one of the most prestigious tournaments in junior hockey. He just won a gold at the WJC. Give him a break.

 

[tomd]

I was trying to avoid yet another conversation about his draft position in my last comment. We get it, you don't like the pick. I doubt the scouting staff sees him as a 4th line C, that seems more like you projecting your opinion. The kid just won the Q equivalent of the Selke trophy and is shutting down top lines in one of the most prestigious tournaments in junior hockey. He just won a gold at the WJC. Give him a break.

Yes, 4th line is what I see him as now given his lack of offensive development during his last 3 seasons of junior hockey. I think that is fair to point out and based on historical precedent it is the most likely outcome. It is virtually impossible to find a comparable player who fits his junior scoring profile who didn't top out as a 4th liner. At this point, if we are going to discuss the player, let's do so with realistic expectations and not blind hope.

 

[All Mighty]

Looks like Zellweger will have to play in a tiebreaker game tomorrow against Peterborough. I don't really understand why there needs to be a tiebreaker game considering Kamloops just beat Peterborough a few days ago. More ticket sales, I guess.

 

[tomd]

Looks like Zellweger will have to play in a tiebreaker game tomorrow against Peterborough. I don't really understand why there needs to be a tiebreaker game considering Kamloops just beat Peterborough a few days ago. More ticket sales, I guess.

First tiebreaker in several years but I agree that Kamloops should get the nod based upon beating Peterborough earlier. Blazers looked pretty bad tonight. They've been Jekyll and Hyde so far. Zellweger with perhaps the worst game of his junior career.

 

[TopShelfWaterBottle]

Yes, 4th line is what I see him as now given his lack of offensive development during his last 3 seasons of junior hockey. I think that is fair to point out and based on historical precedent it is the most likely outcome. It is virtually impossible to find a comparable player who fits his junior scoring profile who didn't top out as a 4th liner. At this point, if we are going to discuss the player, let's do so with realistic expectations and not blind hope.

Ricard rakell comes to mind

 

[Kalv]

Looking at the highlights, all those goals against were not Zellweger's fault, but it was clearly not a good game for him. I didn't see before and clearly don't see now how he could spend most of the season in Anaheim. IMO, he needs time in San Diego and there is nothing wrong with it. I would have hoped for him to have a better Memorial Cup though, this is where the games matter. It seems he has not had the best tournament.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

Ricard rakell comes to mind

If you take away Gaucher's age 16 season (Rakell was still in Sweden at that age), their CHL production is pretty close.

149 points in 149 games for Rakell.

134 points in 140 games for Gaucher.

Another example, happens to come from the same defunct OHL club as Rakell. Tom Wilson's NHL career high is 52 points, but he only had 85 points in 97 games across his final two seasons of junior. Obviously the type of nasty power forward we hope are getting in Gaucher.

How about our beloved long time captain Getzlaf? @tomd would have been writing him off in his final year of junior (D+2) where he only put up 54 points in 51 games.