I'm sure they'll give him a look at C during preseason but him playing Center would give Eakins three very young Centers with very few games under their belt. Until Lundestrom and Zegras prove they can actually win some faceoffs and until they prove they can handle the increased minutes and tougher matchups they're bound to get with Getzlaf gone...until they prove they can do all of those things on a consistent basis I think Eakins will find it very hard to ice a rookie Center. Of course if Lundeström and Zegras convincingly make that step or if there are injuries the situation can change in a hurry. Once the picture in the standings becomes clearer Eakins might also be willing to take more risks but I don't think his plan right now is to start McTavish at Center anytime soon.
To start the 2021-22 seasson, the Ducks had three young centers, two of them rookies.
1C: Getzlaf
2C: Zegras (2019 draft - rookie)
3C: Lundestrom (2018 draft - going into 4th NHL season)
4C: Groulx (2018 draft - rookie)
Groulx struggled at the NHL level and was sent back down. The org seems quite fine with putting three young centers on the ice, especially if it's deemed a rebuild/developmental season.
=== Lundy ===
I don't really identify Lundestrom as an unproven center. Two seasons ago, he got in 73% NHL games. It was fewer games because he was sent down before the NHL season started to train at wing. Through injuries, Lundy solidified his place at center. Last year, Lundy improved upon his play by adding some offense and became the Ducks' best defensive forward. When coach Eakins kept sitting out youths in Zegras and Drysdale late in games, Eakins didn't hesitate to throw Lundy onto the ice late in games. In fact, it was expected to have Lundy out there to help shut the game down.
Lundy, NHL Games played
2018-19: 15 out of 82 games (18.3%)
2019-20: 15 out of 71 games (21.2%)
2020-21: 41 out of 56 games (73.2%)
2021-22: 80 out of 82 games (97.6%)
Eakins was Lundy's coach in the AHL for the 2018-19 season.
=== Zegras ===
Yes, Zegras is still considered an unestablished quantity as he has one full NHL season under his jersey. His ATOI was 17:54 in 75 games last year. I don't think the org is going to throttle Zegras. They'll probably use him in the same role as last year, highly sheltered and start 70%+ in the offensive zone.
===
Last year's start to the season with three young centers was far more unknown than going into this season. McTavish did get 9 games in last year as wing, but he was played in all three facets of the game (ES, PP, and PK) until Eakins started reining the youth save Lundy. It's a very small sample, but it's still a sample Eakins has to work with.
Although the center position up for grabs is Getzlaf's, I don't think any of us is saying it's a 1C spot available. Zegras is our default 1C, 3C is Lundy's, and 4C is Carrick/Grant. 2C is up for grabs. Last year, 2C was Zegras' spot by design. It's possible that same game plan could be extended for McTavish "if" this season is deemed a developmental/rebuild season like last year.
If it's a developmental season, then Eakins will use his 3rd and 4th lines against the opposing team's top-2 offensive lines more often. A healthy Silf to pair with Lundy makes for a great shutdown line with some counter offense (I did the breakdown on a healthy Silf-Lundy pair).
I would like for McTavish to earn the right to play 2C, but it could also be the game plan set for Verbeek/Eakins to start him out at 2C. That's what we did last season with Zegras. My brain thinks we're in rebuild/developmental mode this year. We sent McTavish back down to the OHL so that he can continue his development at center because there wasn't any center positions open for McTavish on the Ducks. He rewarded the Ducks with a wonderful season: OHL champs, Memorial Cup finalist, Olympic participant, and captained Canada to a WJC-20 gold medal.
I'm thinking Verbeek likes McTavish a lot to allow McTavish to participate at the WJC-20's. Verbeek did force McTavish to miss Dev camp for R&R, before the WJC-20s. There's a few signs that McTavish playing center to start the season is the game plan. I think McTavish's WJC-20 performance solidified it. In the pre-lim games, he was in an offensive role. In the medal round games, McTavish was forced into a shutdown role b/c 3C Greig fell to injury. That versatility and drive to help win gold might be the final nudge for Verbeek/Eakins to gamble, "Just how much more potential does McTavish have at center?"
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