Dirtyf1ghter
Registered User
- Aug 7, 2019
- 2,592
- 1,696
This Anaheim team is so effective that it has been in the cellar for a long time. Fans need to stop making up lives. Anaheim never made me feel like a management genius.Vatanen, Manson, Theodore, Montour, and Pettersson are all considered steals drafted under head scout and current asst GM Madden.
Drysdale in confirmed in the NHL as he'll never see the AHL ever again. By your own succinct defensive of a steal, Drysdale is a steal. Although, I wouldn't consider a Drysdale, who was considered a top-5/6 pick in the draft a steal. Top-15 steals would be Lindholm (projected to be in the mid-teens) and Fowler (dropped to 12th) would fit your "confirmed in NHL" definition.
Thrun was drafted by the Ducks in the 4th round, but wanted to become a FA. Ducks traded him to SJ for a 3rd round pick. Sucks that Ducks weren't able to keep Thrun, but they improve their asset value to a 3rd round pick.
Can't truly evaluate rookie LaCombe, who was forced into top-pairing duties due to injuries and other players in front of him not being better to help the team win games. Also, he's been a staple on the PK unit. Last year the Ducks ranked 31st in the league and this year they're 15th overall. Maybe stat watching isn't qualitative analysis.
[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TH]Ducks 2023-24[/TH]
[TH]36 Games[/TH]
[TH][/TH]
[TH][/TH]
[TH][/TH]
[TH][/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Top pair w/ Fowler[/TD]
[TD]Games[/TD]
[TD]Wins[/TD]
[TD]Losses[/TD]
[TD]OTL[/TD]
[TD]Pts[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Drysdale[/TD]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD]1[/TD]
[TD]3[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[TD]2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Luneau[/TD]
[TD]6[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[TD]6[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Vaaks[/TD]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD]1[/TD]
[TD]3[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[TD]2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]LaCombe[/TD]
[TD]22[/TD]
[TD]11[/TD]
[TD]11[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[TD]22[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Total[/TD]
[TD]36[/TD]
[TD]13[/TD]
[TD]23[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[TD]26[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Oddest thing is that LaCombe, playing mostly on his off-side as a top pairing D, actually helps the Ducks win games. Of course, depending on a rookie as a top pairing D is a tall task. Is LaCombe a flop? Only if you're a stat watcher.
Zellweger is 2nd in scoring for the Gulls (Ducks' AHL affiliate), one point behind the leader. Although he's a scoring machine, he needs to work on his offensive decision making (being risk averse) and work on his defense. He may need another year in San Diego to work on that defense.
Hinds has been solid defensively while recently playing on his off-side. Hinds adding offense is just a bonus to his defensive game and ability to send the puck out of the dzone. There's always a niche in the NHL for shutdown d-men.
It's odd to make a stink about prospects who were recently drafted, including those not drafted in the top-10 b/c the future away you are from the top-10, the less chances a player will make the NHL. 2nd rounders Zellweger and Luneau came away with hardward to point to their high potentials: Luneau won QMJHL defenseman of the year (DotY); Zellweger won WHL DotY twice as well as the CHL DotY. Hinds is a mid-third round pick and not that it means a whole lot, but he did win the QMJHL's best defensive d-man player of the year award. It shitty to shit on a 3rd round pick in his first year in the pros.
Anaheim's farm team is often ranked in the top-5 farm. Anaheim needs talent depth to be ranked that high, which includes their defensemen.
- Duck Farm Team Ranking
- The Hockey Writers, Sept 2023: 3rd
- The Athletic, U-23 Aug 2023: 1st
- Daily Faceoff, Sept 2023: 3rd
- Elite Prospects: 2nd
- Clutch Points, Aug 2023: 4th
It isn't as if the Ducks are being ranked high out of charity here, and that's excluding Thrun. They're ranked that high b/c they have prospects who have a track record that gives them higher potential. Outside of Drysdale and Helleson, a huge influx of defensemen are debuting their first full season in the pros (NHL or AHL): Mintyukov, LaCombe, Luneau, Zellweger, and Hinds.
Everything you say is not at all impressive.