Speculation: 2024-25 Roster thread

[Mr Rogers]

Well, it's also under the radar because Canada and the O6 don't bother with us. The other day on Overdrive there was a mention of us maybe looking to move Trouba at the TDL. They're absolutely clueless as to what goes on here.

Definitely agree on the media thing. A lot
of times, takes on the Ducks I don’t think are based on any inside information whatsoever. It’s just pure spitballing from people who don’t follow the team at all, based on cursory knowledge of the team.

I do think we’d be getting a lot more attention if Carlsson and/or McTavish and/or Zegras blew up. But I don’t really care about the lack of attention.

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

Our rebuild is now on the main boards. I swore I wasn’t going to engage but here I am on a Tuesday morning at work fully invested in the thread. …. I’ll never learn.

Biggest takeaway from that thread so far is just how much people hate the orange and if HF was reflective of the general public, if the Samuelis just went back to the original color scheme and away from trying to market local identity, they’d lead the league in merchandising revenue

 

[Hockey Duckie]

If Helleson is suspended for a game, then we'll have to bring up a young D on this road trip. It'll probably be Hinds. He can play LD and RD. The style he played in juniors was more of the stay-at-home D like Helleson. And like Helleson, can chip in offensively here and there.

 

[CrazyDuck4u]

Colangelo Recalled...

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

Colangelo Recalled...

Hope they play him with Strome/Frankie. His game should compliment theirs. He goes to the net (like Terry) and he has a solid shot.

 

[lwvs84]

Hope they play him with Strome/Frankie. His game should compliment theirs. He goes to the net (like Terry) and he has a solid shot.

Or Carlsson... he's got to be a better fit than Leason (and maybe Killorn).

I wonder if Killorn would be a better fit with McTavish and put Cutter with Carlsson. Carlsson seems to play at higher speeds than McTavish so having a faster winger than Killorn who can score should help. Last time they played together, Gauthier didn't have the confidence he does now.

 

[Firequacker]

Colangelo was apparently in the press box last night, so it seems like this was already on the radar. Does this most likely indicate no Troy on the trip (at least to start)? The Ducks haven't posted about the baby being born, which they usually do.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Or Carlsson... he's got to be a better fit than Leason (and maybe Killorn).

I wonder if Killorn would be a better fit with McTavish and put Cutter with Carlsson. Carlsson seems to play at higher speeds than McTavish so having a faster winger than Killorn who can score should help. Last time they played together, Gauthier didn't have the confidence he does now.

I think Cutter's development is best served with Mac and Fabbri. I know that trio was put together recently, but don't have the time to look it up specifically. Here is a split of Cutter's early play vs recent play.

Cutter	2024-25
Game Set	Games	G	A	Pts	ppg	+/-	ATOI
1 to 31	31	4	8	12	0.39	-5	14:25
32 to 40	9	1	5	6	0.67	5	15:18

I think putting Colangelo with Vatrano-Strome would be best for Colangelo because he's with two vets and Strome loves to pass the puck. Colangelo loves to shoot the puck. Seems like a good match than being on the 4th line for Colangelo. Maybe Cronin finally woke up and realized that Colangelo needs to be on a offensive line since he's the Gulls leading goal scorer still despite being gone a month in the NHL. He has 13 goals in 24 AHL games. Goal-angelo might be a moniker that sticks.

 

[Son of Gib]

At what point is it detrimental to Zell's development to have him sit every night?

 

[robbieboy3686]

At what point is it detrimental to Zell's development to have him sit every night?

They are doing load management with the young d maybe? Verbeek has spoken about how young players hit the wall around Christmas time, and that it’s hard for them to be horses down the stretch as a result. Just spit balling this one.

At what point is it detrimental to Zell's development to have him sit every night?

They are doing load management with the young d maybe? Verbeek has spoke about how young players hit the wall around Christmas time, and that it’s hard for them to be horses down the stretch as a result. Just spit balling this one

 

[Son of Gib]

They are doing load management with the young d maybe? Verbeek has spoken about how young players hit the wall around Christmas time, and that it’s hard for them to be horses down the stretch as a result. Just spit balling this one.


They are doing load management with the young d maybe? Verbeek has spoke about how young players hit the wall around Christmas time, and that it’s hard for them to be horses down the stretch as a result. Just spit balling this one

But isn't it like 5 games in a row now? That's more than just load management.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

Ducks RFAs for the upcoming off season, what are your predictions for how they will be handled?

Dostal - I'd like to see a full season as starter before you do anything long term, I believe he still has another year of RFA control

McTavish - I think you have to come up with some sort of bridge deal

Lundestrom - non qualify

Colangelo - keep on a cheap deal for sure

Helleson - cheap two year deal taking him to final RFA year, similar to Lacombe deal last year

Nesterenko - worth keeping as cheap depth

 

[robbieboy3686]

Ducks RFAs for the upcoming off season, what are your predictions for how they will be handled?

Dostal - I'd like to see a full season as starter before you do anything long term, I believe he still has another year of RFA control

McTavish - I think you have to come up with some sort of bridge deal

Lundestrom - non qualify

Colangelo - keep on a cheap deal for sure

Helleson - cheap two year deal taking him to final RFA year, similar to Lacombe deal last year

Nesterenko - worth keeping as cheap depth

I think helleson needs to be traded in a move where somehow we upgrade and snag a forward. Luneau needs a spot next season.

 

[DavidBL]

I think helleson needs to be traded in a move where somehow we upgrade and snag a forward. Luneau needs a spot next season.

Honestly I think you need to chose between Luneau and Zelly

 

[11Justin93]

I think helleson needs to be traded in a move where somehow we upgrade and snag a forward. Luneau needs a spot next season.

If a D is getting moved for a forward, it should be one of the LHD. We have more of them in the system and won't be able to play all of them in the future. I'd rather hang on to both of Luneau and Helleson to replace Gudas and Trouba in the very near future.

 

[robbieboy3686]

If a D is getting moved for a forward, it should be one of the LHD. We have more of them in the system and won't be able to play all of them in the future. I'd rather hang on to both of Luneau and Helleson to replace Gudas and Trouba in the very near future.

I know some of you feel that zellwegger is the next makar. But given PV comments about needing to be big and physical to endure a playoff run. Now that lacombe has emerged, he might be the odd duck out. On the flip side, zell they say is a rink rat and gym rat. Verbeek loves that for sure. Let’s not also forget, Solberg who we traded up to draft is waiting in the wings with Luneau.

Honestly I think you need to chose between Luneau and Zelly

Easy one for me. I’ll hang onto Luneau

If a D is getting moved for a forward, it should be one of the LHD. We have more of them in the system and won't be able to play all of them in the future. I'd rather hang on to both of Luneau and Helleson to replace Gudas and Trouba in the very near future.

I think verbeek will resign Trouba when all is said and done, as our sole vet dman on the team.

 

[duckpuck]

I think helleson needs to be traded in a move where somehow we upgrade and snag a forward. Luneau needs a spot next season.

Honestly I think you need to chose between Luneau and Zelly

Barring an offer the ducks can't refuse for an elite top line forward, I think this is a decision you make next year. But obviously the ducks have a log jam on defense.

 

[DavidBL]

Barring an offer the ducks can't refuse for an elite top line forward, I think this is a decision you make next year. But obviously the ducks have a log jam on defense.

Don't disagree on waiting. I think we're still waiting to figure out who we want to keep. I just see those 2 players as filling similar roles and in all honesty I think Zelly has looked better on the right side than left.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

I'd like to overripen Luneau and Solberg. Luneau is still raw and hasn't torn up the AHL like Zell did. Solberg is still learning how to play the defensive game at a high pro level (SHL) beyond "see opponent, hit opponent".

We're set on the left side with LaCombe, Minty, and Zell for next season. On the right side, we're also set with Gudas, Trouba, and Helleson... all of our stay at home and physical d-men. We're just missing that fringe NHL D.

The better we develop our d-men, the better our trade capital increases.

 

[Boo Boo]

Can we at least make the Playoffs before we start shipping out all our young D please I thought we learned our lesson last time

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Can we at least make the Playoffs before we start shipping out all our young D please I thought we learned our lesson last time

Pepperidge Farms remembers the "trade LaCombe" crowd from last year.

 

[Hey234]

Stephens has an article on the Athletic with midseason grades. Some interesting choices. Here's his list:

A+ LaCombe
A Terry, Dostal
A- Helleson, Gibson
B McGinn, Strome
B/B- Dumoulin, Zellweger
B- Killorn, Vatrano
B- /C+ Gauthier, Harkins
C+ Carlsson, Fabbri, Leason, Lundestrom, Gudas, Mintyukov
C Johnston, Zegras, Trouba
C- McTavish
Incomplete: Colangelo, Nesterenko

 

[Frosted Tips]

I'd like to overripen Luneau and Solberg. Luneau is still raw and hasn't torn up the AHL like Zell did. Solberg is still learning how to play the defensive game at a high pro level (SHL) beyond "see opponent, hit opponent".

We're set on the left side with LaCombe, Minty, and Zell for next season. On the right side, we're also set with Gudas, Trouba, and Helleson... all of our stay at home and physical d-men. We're just missing that fringe NHL D.

The better we develop our d-men, the better our trade capital increases.

Absolutely this. We should not be in a hurry to bring Solberg in the lineup especially at this point. I'm not opposed to bringing him to NA for next season but let's not pencil him in the lineup just yet.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

The Athletic shared their Player Card for the league today, Jan 15th. I compiled the cards for the Ducks and put them into lines and pairings. Some players aren't on the list such as RD Helleson or C Harkins, who's played more games than Zegras. Here's the only Player Card explanation I can find online: link. If you can explain some of the other stuff, then feel free to chime in.

The percentages (%) represent projected to be better than "x %" of players at his position. I used color scales to make it easier to identify for the "Rating" column. For the Difficulty %, I'm gonna assume it's a matchup level such as a forward facing an opponent's top pairing D and shutdown/offensive lines.

Line 1
I knew Vatrano and Strome were bad defensively due to their previous two seasons with us, but they are "turrible" against opponent's top pairing D and shutdown/offensive lines.

Terry draws the most calls differential! Also, Terry is on another level offensively. He's carrying those two like Mac was carrying them last year.

Line 2
Meager offense and abhorrent defense. Although, it looks like Mac and Cutter face the opponents second best D-pairing and shutdown/offensive lines. That line is just trading punches in a losing fashion. On the positive side, we see why Cutter is better off with Mac offensively b/c Leo's offense just isn't there this season.

Line 3
I'm quite surprised to see it's behaving like a shutdown line. McGinn is our 2nd best at drawing calls, then a huge drop off.

Line 4
I was expecting Harkins here and have Z as the extra, but the Athletic staff chose not to show 13 forwards. Lundy is our third best defensive forward.

---

We have failed our forward youths

All of our four youth forwards have offensive ratings of below 50%.

• Mac at 47% (3rd year in NHL)
• Cutter at 44% (rookie)
• Zegras at 36% (4th year in NHL from official rookie season)
• Carlsson at 21% (2nd year in NHL)

They are all selected in the top-9 or higher of their respective drafts. This is not a great look halfway through the season.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Defense Player Cards

Top Pair
LaCombe is carrying Gudas, especially on offensively. This pair faces the opponents' best players when on offense. Gudas incurs the worst Penalty differential.

Middle Pair
Oof. Far less offense and worse defense than our top pair.

Bottom Pair
Seems like a good 3rd pairing with your obligatory OFD + DFD combo. Zell provides the offense and Dumo the defense.

---

Youth review

LaCombe's offense is taking off, but his defense is still a work in progress as a top-pairing guy. His On-Ice Defense Diff % is best among our youth d-men even though is Def Rating is low.

Minty's offense has suffered this year b/c he has been put into a more defensive role in year 2 in the NHL. That defense is developing, but probably will take another year or two of development to where it doesn't affect his offense.

Zell's offense is popping, but it is also being propped up with a very high OZ Start%. When we look at the On-Ice Defense Diff %, we see Zell at 18%. This is probably why Zell has a very high OZ Start% at 5v5. Zell fits in great in a 3v3 situation because there is less chaos to worry about and he can easily track his assignment due to his speed. Zell needs a defensive-minded partner for Zell to excel. Pairing him with Minty for a small sample was not great when we put Dumo-Trouba together. It's best to keep our Minty and Zell with veterans.