Speculation: 2024-25 Roster thread

[JonathnTaylorTavares]

If they aren’t going to send Cutter down, at least switch him with Vatrano. Maybe a little easier matchup will help him. I still think he should go down to SD though.

Vat-Leo-Killorn
Fabbri-Mac-Z
Cutter-Strome-Terry
McGinn-Lundy-Leason

Load up the second line so Terry can have his own line

Vatrano-Leo-Killorn
Fabbri-Mac-Zegras-Cutter-Strome
-Terry-
McGinn-Lundy-Leason

 

[Leonardo87]

Cutter should not be sent down but he should not be on the top line or even Top 6 right now. Let the kid face the lesser competition and give him PP time.

 

[ZegrassyKnoll]

It was right in the middle of his "punishment" but not throwing Cutter out on the 5-on-3 seems like a mistake.

The only two guys out there who could hit a one-timer were Frank and McTavish, and McTavish was screening the goalie.

 

[All Mighty]

It was right in the middle of his "punishment" but not throwing Cutter out on the 5-on-3 seems like a mistake.

The only two guys out there who could hit a one-timer were Frank and McTavish, and McTavish was screening the goalie.

To maximize the one timer potential you need a righty out there who can hammer it. Terry is unfortunately not that guy. Having both Vatrano and Gauthier out there doesn’t help much. I guess one of them could maybe play the point, but that would probably be awkward for them.

 

[ZegrassyKnoll]

To maximize the one timer potential you need a righty out there who can hammer it. Terry is unfortunately not that guy. Having both Vatrano and Gauthier out there doesn’t help much. I guess one of them could maybe play the point, but that would probably be awkward for them.

Yeah I forgot Cutter is a LH shot. Still I think I would have preferred him out there over Vatrano, could have been a good learning experience for him.

Oh well, we won so not a big deal I guess.

 

[MMC]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1847323182534947271

 

[WhatTheDuck]

All the best to Frankie and family

 

[CrazyDuck4u]

Congrads Franky!!! Rest up brother

 

[All Mighty]

 

[ZegrassyKnoll]

I don't think it will make a huge difference but very curious to see what LaCombe joining the line-up does to the team.

I said it in the GDT but our biggest issue, even bigger than the PP, is exiting the zone. I'm assuming LaCombe will be replacing Zellweger and I think that has been one of Zelly's weaknesses so far (he and Gudas seem to keep passing it back and forth behind the net instead of moving it forward, even when the opportunity presents itself), which is disappointing because I always thought it was supposed to be one of his strengths.

 

[Mr Rogers]

I think Zell might need to go to SD just to get a jump-start. He looked very good towards the end last year, I’m not worried long-term but he might just need a spark or something.

 

[ohcomeonref]

I think Zell might need to go to SD just to get a jump-start. He looked very good towards the end last year, I’m not worried long-term but he might just need a spark or something.

It's funny that these qualifiers always need to be added in so people don't get upset. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE DOESN'T LOOK GOOD IT'S ONLY BEEN 4 GAMES?!@#@#!"

 

[Mr Rogers]

It's funny that these qualifiers always need to be added in so people don't get upset. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE DOESN'T LOOK GOOD IT'S ONLY BEEN 4 GAMES?!@#@#!"

So true, i feel like i'm writing like an attorney sometimes haha

 

[ZegrassyKnoll]

I think Zell might need to go to SD just to get a jump-start. He looked very good towards the end last year, I’m not worried long-term but he might just need a spark or something.

I can't remember, who was he paired with last year? It might just be that he and Gudas aren't a good duo.

 

[ScarTroy]

I can't remember, who was he paired with last year? It might just be that he and Gudas aren't a good duo.

Pretty sure he was with Fowler for most of his time here last year but I could be misremembering.

 

[Mr Rogers]

Yes I think he was with Cam a lot

 

[Dryish]

It's funny that these qualifiers always need to be added in so people don't get upset. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE DOESN'T LOOK GOOD IT'S ONLY BEEN 4 GAMES?!@#@#!"

I once read an adage that I've taken to heart from a Finnish Vancouver-based NHL analyst and blogger who had tons of contacts around the league, especially among scouts and player development guys. He mentioned how some old defensive guru had directly told him that based on his decades of experience, a young NHL defenseman needs on average about 300 games before they've fully rounded out as D-men on this level. That's almost four full seasons.

We need a lot of patience with our kids.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Yes I think he was with Cam a lot

Ya he was.

I feel like Zellweger was the only player that played next to cam where the pair looked halfway decent.... if the goal is to win i think zellweger should be in SD.... if the goal is development im indifferent.

 

[robbieboy3686]

If only zell wasn’t a midget.

 

[FiveTacos]

I once read an adage that I've taken to heart from a Finnish Vancouver-based NHL analyst and blogger who had tons of contacts around the league, especially among scouts and player development guys. He mentioned how some old defensive guru had directly told him that based on his decades of experience, a young NHL defenseman needs on average about 300 games before they've fully rounded out as D-men on this level. That's almost four full seasons.

It's true. Chris Pronger was the most advanced 18yo D prospect coming into the league in my lifetime, and even he wasn't really what I'd consider fully reliable on both ends until he was about 21 or 22. For most mortal dmen it should be around 23-25.

Offense can come around sooner, but that isn't the same as handling pressure during breakouts, playing good position, and such. The few who are truly polished defensively in their early 20s ... it's truly remarkable.

I will say though, Mintyukov is looking like he could be one of those advanced ones.

 

[ohcomeonref]

I once read an adage that I've taken to heart from a Finnish Vancouver-based NHL analyst and blogger who had tons of contacts around the league, especially among scouts and player development guys. He mentioned how some old defensive guru had directly told him that based on his decades of experience, a young NHL defenseman needs on average about 300 games before they've fully rounded out as D-men on this level. That's almost four full seasons.

We need a lot of patience with our kids.

Absolutely, goalies and defenseman take a lot longer than forwards typically. Although, this doesn't really change the point of what I was saying. People shouldn't get upset when people comment on players (good or bad), even if it's a small sample size. The comments will change when the player gets better, in the meantime what should we say? "Hey, at least he's trying out there!"

It's true. Chris Pronger was the most advanced 18yo D prospect coming into the league in my lifetime, and even he wasn't really what I'd consider fully reliable on both ends until he was about 21 or 22. For most mortal dmen it should be around 23-25.

Offense can come around sooner, but that isn't the same as handling pressure during breakouts, playing good position, and such. The few who are truly polished defensively in their early 20s ... it's truly remarkable.

I will say though, Mintyukov is looking like he could be one of those advanced ones.

I try not to get giddy like a schoolgirl thinking about the flashes #1D'esque play we've seen from Minty.

 

[Ducks DVM]

It's true. Chris Pronger was the most advanced 18yo D prospect coming into the league in my lifetime, and even he wasn't really what I'd consider fully reliable on both ends until he was about 21 or 22. For most mortal dmen it should be around 23-25.

Offense can come around sooner, but that isn't the same as handling pressure during breakouts, playing good position, and such. The few who are truly polished defensively in their early 20s ... it's truly remarkable.

I will say though, Mintyukov is looking like he could be one of those advanced ones.

I think Mintyukov is absolutely ahead of the curve offensively. Defensively, he’s right about where I think a player his age should be. I think Duomolin helps cover up some of his warts defensively.

 

[ZegrassyKnoll]

I once read an adage that I've taken to heart from a Finnish Vancouver-based NHL analyst and blogger who had tons of contacts around the league, especially among scouts and player development guys. He mentioned how some old defensive guru had directly told him that based on his decades of experience, a young NHL defenseman needs on average about 300 games before they've fully rounded out as D-men on this level. That's almost four full seasons.

We need a lot of patience with our kids.

Really illustrates the difficulty of getting out of a rebuild.

A good team can stay good by allowing a prospect enough time to develop before being added into an already-strong roster.

Meanwhile we have to give 4-5 players enough time to develop with the risk of waiting too long for them to not amount to anything.

If Steel and Comtois became the players we thought they would, we would have probably been able to just re-tool instead of rebuild and would be competing already. Alas.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Really illustrates the difficulty of getting out of a rebuild.

A good team can stay good by allowing a prospect enough time to develop before being added into an already-strong roster.

Meanwhile we have to give 4-5 players enough time to develop with the risk of waiting too long for them to not amount to anything.

If Steel and Comtois became the players we thought they would, we would have probably been able to just re-tool instead of rebuild and would be competing already. Alas.

It would have been nice if Comtois continued his high-level play from COVID season, but his effort was a dud after getting paid in the COVID off-season. On the flip side, it would have been nice if Kase wasn't concussion prone because his talent was evident.

I thought we were on the upside in 2021-22 when Terry and Z broke out and close to a playoff spot (3rd in the Pacific at All-Star break and 4 points from 3rd in the Pacific at the TDL), but still lacking talent depth. Then the Verbeekening occurred. We still had a lot of talent in our system before Verbeek took over.

The problem with Verbeek after the Verbeekening was not supplying the Ducks with better veteran support. Verbeek is forcing kids to mentor younger kids: four youths in our top-6 (Leo, Cutter, Z, and Mac) and four youths on our NHL blueline roster (Minty, Luneau, Zell, and LaCombe).

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

Just a giant amorphous, identityless blob. Cronin could juggle the lines if he wants (and he should try something different before the 30-game mark like he did last year), but that doesn't fix the fact that this roster is a strange mix of players that don't really appear to complement each other much in any way.