Prospect Info: 2024 Ducks Prospect Rankings #3

[MMC]

Each poll will run for 48 hours except in the case of a clear landslide. I will go to the top 25 and include a final poll where you can pick 5 honorable mentions. In the third poll I am voting for Olen Zellweger.

As always the list will define prospects as hockeysfuture does: NHL Prospect Criteria - Hockey's Future.

2024 Ducks Prospect Rankings:

1. LW - Cutter Gauthier (2024 acquired)
2. RW - Beckett Sennecke (2024 draftee)

Our graduates and departures are:

Leo Carlsson
Pavel Mintyukov
Lukas Dostal
Jackson LaCombe
Connor Hvidston
Jacob Perreault
Pavol Regenda
Benoit-Olivier Groulx
Brayden Tracey
Blake McLaughlin
Gage Alexander
Ben King
Jack Perbix
Artyom Galimov
Albin Sundsvik​

Click to read more...

 

[ScarTroy]

Zell has my vote here until we see a bit more from Luneau

 

[Rooch]

I can't really see how this is NOT Zelly. He's ready, he's here, and he's good.

 

[nbducksfan19]

Going with Luneau. He will likely never put up the points zellweger can, but I think he is much more likely to be a legitimate top pairing defenseman.

 

[goonsaredumb]

Zellweger easily for me, next one is when it gets tricky

 

[The Duck Knight]

Going with Luneau. He will likely never put up the points zellweger can, but I think he is much more likely to be a legitimate top pairing defenseman.

Same here. I base my vote on ceiling and how likely I think a player is to hit said ceiling. I love Zell but top pair D normally aren't that size.

 

[mightyquack]

Luneau for me as well, I see his absolute ceiling as a more well rounded top pairing guy compared to Zellweger. Though I was impressed that Zellweger held his own defensively at the NHL level this past season.

Zellweger is #4 on my list.

 

[Deuce22]

Even though I like Zellweger, I went with Luneau because I think Mintyukov and Solberg will be our top 2 LHD moving forward. Can't put a #3 LHD and PP guy that high in the rankings.

 

[AngelDuck]

Zellweger. There’s a lot more unknown with Luneau at this point

 

[GunnarStahl]

Zellweger. There’s a lot more unknown with Luneau at this point

That’s pretty much the split for me. If a time traveler came to me and said “in 5 years Luneau/Solberg will be the clear superior player” I would 100% buy it. There are many ways in which any of those players become the best of the three, but Zellweger seemingly has one hurdle that he’s already displayed some competency at overcoming, being height. Luneau needs to get over those injuries which is a fair bit harder.

Solberg is in this conversation for me but I typically defer to seniority in similar tiered players like these three.

 

[JAHV]

On the plus side, I love Zell. I do think he's got Visnovsky in him.

On the downside, while I'm excited for Luneau, the injury scares me enough that I'm tempering expectations.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

Zellweger apparently almost impressed enough in camp to earn a nine game trial in his D+2, before returning for that final year of junior.

Luneau broke camp with the Ducks in his D+2 and was never returned back to junior.

While I don't want to decide based entirely on NHL readiness, surely the right shot D who cracked our NHL roster at age 19, should not be too far down our rankings?

I'm a bit stuck with this one. I love Zell but feel like Luneau just deserves to be higher based on merit. But then does the injury scare me just enough to slide Zell ahead?

I'm gonna say Luneau and bank on him returning to full health.

 

[Kalv]

As for many, it's Luneau/Zell for me here. And as for many, I think Luneau's ceiling is higher.

That being said, going with Zelly here. With the height downside, but Luneau has missed too many games past 3 years. He played 13 conpetitive games in the last year. He has to prove injuries are behind him for me to vote him higher -– his development has clearly have to be impacted by the injuries, unfortunately, so I am not so sure about his ceiling anymore

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

I think it’s Zell without a doubt. I have Luneau at 5. Zellweger was a clear favorite over Luneau in our poll last year and it’s strange to me that some feel like the gap closed this past year, where Luneau had yet another major injury and missed most of a year of development.

 

[Gliff]

I think it’s Zell without a doubt. I have Luneau at 5. Zellweger was a clear favorite over Luneau in our poll last year and it’s strange to me that some feel like the gap closed this past year, where Luneau had yet another major injury and missed most of a year of development.

Major injury is a stretch. It was an infection lol.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

Major injury is a stretch. It was an infection lol.

So you think he closed the gap then? Maybe the infection was caused by a magic spider bite.

 

[Gliff]

So you think he closed the gap then? Maybe the infection was caused by a magic spider bite.

Not at all. I voted Zellweger. I just think using the infection as "yet another major injury" implying he is injury prone is a stretch.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

Not at all. I voted Zellweger. I just think using the infection as "yet another major injury" implying he is injury prone is a stretch.

Wasn’t implying anything, it’s just a fact that he’s had two major knee injuries. Or issues, if you want to object to the word injury, not that it was relevant objection.

 

[Goose of Reason]

Going with Zell, but as everyone here is saying Luneau and Solberg are both valid picks. But Zell looked like a PP weapon and Luneau had a brutal year injury/infection wise so i'm going with him for now.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

I feel like both Zell and Luneau will at least end up as 2nd pair Dmen. The tiebreaker is we need to see Luneau stay healthy and that his development/ceiling isn't effected by it. I think Luneau has more 2way upside with his size and reach but Zellweger has better offensive skills.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Zellweger apparently almost impressed enough in camp to earn a nine game trial in his D+2, before returning for that final year of junior.

Luneau broke camp with the Ducks in his D+2 and was never returned back to junior.

While I don't want to decide based entirely on NHL readiness, surely the right shot D who cracked our NHL roster at age 19, should not be too far down our rankings?

I'm a bit stuck with this one. I love Zell but feel like Luneau just deserves to be higher based on merit. But then does the injury scare me just enough to slide Zell ahead?

I'm gonna say Luneau and bank on him returning to full health.

Luneau's staph infection that happened at the WJC-20 to his knee prevented the return to juniors. The purpose for keeping Luneau with the NHL club in his D+2 season was mostly physical development like Carlsson, but more extreme. Luneau shared that he was tired of mostly body building and welcomed playing games on the ice. Luneau shouldn't get dinged for things outside of his control (Verbeek's load mgmt program and staph infection). Neither of them were hockey related injuries.

Luneau showed some flash in those seven NHL games played; which also pushed his ELC to start in 2024-25 season. Limiting Luneau to under 10 NHL games before the WJC-20 in Jan does support that Verbeek was intending on sending Luneau back to juniors after the WJC-20.

As for accolades, both won Defenseman of the Year (DotY) in their respective leagues in their D+1 seasons. We can include Minty winning DotY in his D+1 season too. Luneau's top-end talent is evident. Add onto the fact that Luneau is probably 5 inches taller and 20 lbs heavier than Zellweger, then that's a significant element in favor of Luneau.

Zell: 5'9 and 174 lbs (he's put on more mass since his draft b/c he's swole AF!)
Luneau: 6'2 and 192 lbs

Here's a quote from Cronin on Zellweger on a Jan 24, 2024 the Athletic article:

“There’s some big guys on the ice, and when you’re on a smaller guy — he’s 5-9, he’s obviously in really good shape; he’s a thick kid — he’s at a disadvantage when it comes to size and length,” Cronin said. “People getting sticks around him and getting a step inside of his hands. If you don’t have the additional or the matching length, you’re not going to be able to knock pucks free.​

​

“He’s aware of that. I think the big thing he’s going to have to manage in the NHL is what I call lane management. Getting between the attacker and the net and using his strength and his thickness to take away sticks and bodies.”​

 

[FiveHoleTickler]

Zelly, welly, welly, welly, welly, welly, welly, well!

 

[FiveTacos]

So you think he closed the gap then? Maybe the infection was caused by a magic spider bite.

If it was a radioactive spider, he's gonna come back stronger than ever.

 

[HanSolo]

Zell until Luneau proves all that time off didn't hurt him too badly.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Luneau for me