Is Jackson Lacombe Becoming A #1 Defenseman

[SmokeyDuck]

That's a great video, paints a very accurate idea of why he is so good. Jumps in the offense so quickly, and handles transition defense very well. Panic mode doesn't set in anymore and he looks poised. He's not mistake free but he makes up for it plenty.

Cronin has been telling the rookies to stop worrying about mistakes. If you make mistakes make them attacking, not being indecisive or passive. Seems to have worked for a few of the rooks. Another point for LaCombe the other night.

 

[GunnarStahl]

 

[Static]

 

[HanSolo]

40 points on an offensively anemic team like Anaheim is outstanding. I'm confident he'd have 50+ points on a legit playoff team. A lot of Anaheim's youth core have been making big strides since the Four Nations (HM to Carlsson with 23 points in 21 games) but Lacombe is the closest to star potential and even Ducks fans were skeptical he'd be more than a second pair guy last year. He's legit.

 

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[ColbyChaos]

All this Hutson glazing over his secondary assists when there a better rookie Dman all along

 

[LuGBuG]

All this Hutson glazing over his secondary assists when there a better rookie Dman all along

He’s not a rookie

 

[SmokeyDuck]

You just know something is going to happen when he is out there on the ice, its only a matter of time.

 

[John Mandalorian]

Absolutely never heard of this player.

When translated, his name means Kimbo Slice.

 

[thebestnic]

All this Hutson glazing over his secondary assists when there a better rookie Dman all along

Maybe try being informed instead of trying to take a shot at a player

 

[thebestnic]

Me dropping him at the start of the season because he was losing his minor eligibility (100 games) was certainly a decision

 

[Peasy]

Me dropping him at the start of the season because he was losing his minor eligibility (100 games) was certainly a decision

In my dynasty league he was still minor eligible this summer and for some reason the person who had him dropped him. I scooped him up simply because I might need a cheap d man at some point in the season but now hes turned into a stud and a mainstay on my roster

 

[thebestnic]

In my dynasty league he was still minor eligible this summer and for some reason the person who had him dropped him. I scooped him up simply because I might need a cheap d man at some point in the season but now hes turned into a stud and a mainstay on my roster

That might be me

 

[FiveTacos]

Me dropping him at the start of the season because he was losing his minor eligibility (100 games) was certainly a decision

To be fair no one saw this coming. Not even his biggest supporters. And some fans even made him a bit of a whipping boy for his rookie gaffes.

 

[edevils]

Quick question for Ducks fans:

How much influence has Trouba and Gudas had on him?

 

[Leonardo87]

Dude is becoming a Top pairing D.

 

[Static]

Quick question for Ducks fans:

How much influence has Trouba and Gudas had on him?

The benefit of trouba has really been in balancing the lineup. Lacombe/Mintyukov/Zellweger were often asked to play on their off side to accommodate having so many LD with Fowler still in the lineup.

Gudas is playing too many minutes, but his style of play allows lacombe to rove. Obviously, their effect on him behind the scenes is anyone's guess.

 

[featherhawk]

He already is a #1 D

highly underated player at this point in time.

 

[EddieTheEagle]

Do Ducks fans see LaCombe being the defacto #1 ahead of Zelly, Mint, and guys like Luneau?

Was very curious to see how it played out and thought it might be Mintyukov's to lose, but Jackson has been incredible.

 

[Mike C]

All this Hutson glazing over his secondary assists when there a better rookie Dman all along

Let's not disparage Hutson. Both guys can be good in their own right. LaCombe just doesn't get the same publicity because of his team and the time zone he plays in

 

[LuGBuG]

Do Ducks fans see LaCombe being the defacto #1 ahead of Zelly, Mint, and guys like Luneau?

Was very curious to see how it played out and thought it might be Mintyukov's to lose, but Jackson has been incredible.

I didn’t before the year that’s for sure. Now I don’t know. If anything it gives me even more excitement for the other Dmen considering how young they still are. Who knows what Lacombe ceiling is now but it’s exciting.

 

[GunnarStahl]

Do Ducks fans see LaCombe being the defacto #1 ahead of Zelly, Mint, and guys like Luneau?

Was very curious to see how it played out and thought it might be Mintyukov's to lose, but Jackson has been incredible.

At this point in time it will be his title to lose, and ideally if it's lost it because Minty or Luneau or Zell realize their potential and it is even more special than what we are seeing currently.

All three of them are significantly younger, by 2-3 years among them. That is a lot of dev time for young prospects like them. All though Jackson has more runway, I think, than may be anticipated. He had only recently switched to defense from forward at the time of the draft. Likely this gives him a bit more runway I would expect.

Minty is interesting, he has been deployed as a defensive defenseman this year with very little PP time, not that that means much on this team. Still with his size, offensive IQ, skill, and bite there is a lot to like there.

Luneau is just impressive as a person, should be a captain one day. His perseverance has been remarkable. Size, with a strong IQ, and great vision. Luneau is currently having the most productive season by a 20 year old in the AHL ever. On a Gulls team that has been very bad, until he decided to go bananas.


Ppg by U20 defenseman in the AHL with more than 30 games played. Since 00-01.

The one I expect may be an odd man out is Zellweger. Verbeek is not a fan of players lacking size (ironic). And I don't know how much he will provide outside of his offense and PP skills in his prime, which may likely be redundant on this back end in short order. Luckily for him, even though he is short, he is a bit of a fire hydrant. IF a player becomes the odd man out I expect it will be Zell, especially if Solberg starts pressuring for a spot in the line up. Solberg brings a lot that the youth D core doesnt have.

 

[HanSolo]

Do Ducks fans see LaCombe being the defacto #1 ahead of Zelly, Mint, and guys like Luneau?

Was very curious to see how it played out and thought it might be Mintyukov's to lose, but Jackson has been incredible.

I think you'd be hard pressed to expect anyone to leap past Lacombe right now. The one thing that could be a point in Mintyulov's favor is he's fairly behind Lacombe in development time. He could have a surge in play the way Lacombe did. Right now he looks like he's on track to be a solid two way second pair guy, but we've seen flashes of capacity to do what Lacombe currently does every shift. I wouldn't rule out Mintyukov becoming a number 1 quality defenseman one day.

Zellweger can still be a very productive PMD but he's starting to look like more of a third pair powerplay specialist. He's very good at moving the puck and could be an annual 50 maybe even 60 point guy at his best. But while his defensive effort is there in spades, it would be hard to pretend that his size isn't a limitation. And I don't think he's offensively dynamic enough to be a top pair guy on offense alone. But then again, he's still young and he could follow in the tracks of a guy like Theodore one day. But Theodore didn't have size holding him back defensively and while he's not and never will be a shutdown Dman, he's solid enough for Vegas' defensive system.

Luneau looks very good in the AHL. He might just be the same offensively as Zellweger with more height and a better frame to grow in to. It's tough to gage right now if he can be a number 1 quality because he still needs to translate his AHL quality to the NHL. No telling how that plays out. I think his defensive play still needs development too. Wouldn't rule out his developing number 1 quality talent, but I don't think anyone can say it's likely yet.

An exciting wildcard is Stian Solberg who only recently departed the SHL for the AHL. By all accounts he has some potential to be an outstanding two way defenseman with a nasty physical streak. Right now it seems like the Ducks org is intent on developing him to be a future partner for Luneau but I can see him, if everything goes right with his development, being a top pair physical support to whoever ends up the de facto number one guy.

But right now, Lacombe is leading the charge. I've always hated the way the Scott Niedermayer comp is thrown around for strong skating offensive defensemen, but I feel relatively unabashed in saying Lacombe has that potential and the stylistic comp is eerie. I think that's what Ducks fans were hoping for out of Cam Fowler, but Lacombe really does play the game very similarly to the way Niedermayer did at both ends of the ice. It's gonna be tough for the rest of the blueline youth core to top that.

 

[FissionFire]

This makes me wonder if there is something about that division all having terrible transition defense. Just seems incredibly coincidental that the top 3 guys on the list are all in the Pacific. Makes me want to see him do this at least 1 more season to make sure it’s not a fluke season by a weak defensive division.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Do Ducks fans see LaCombe being the defacto #1 ahead of Zelly, Mint, and guys like Luneau?

Was very curious to see how it played out and thought it might be Mintyukov's to lose, but Jackson has been incredible.

Tough to say…. At this point lacombe is in the driver seat… now he’s a bit older and has a bit more hockey development than the rest, but they def got a lot of room to make up.

LHD
Lacombe, Mintyukov, zellweger, solberg, t. Smith, hinds

Gives us pretty incredible depth on the left side, and a bunch of different styles to choose from. I think once solberg is ready PV prob sees left side as Lacombe - Minyukov - solberg


RHD (young)- zellweger is pretty comfortable on right side, so if they needed to move him to right side I could see that possibility

Luneau- helleson - moore - Warren

Little bit weaker on the right side, but helleson being a Nhl player was a nice hit…. Luneau has had an incredible season in the AHL. Moore might be the wild card here.