Prospect Info: With the 34th overall pick in the 2021 Entry Draft, the Ducks select Olen Zellweger

[GreatBear]

All of the angry posters who were upset about not drafting Eklund got their undersized skill player
Interesting pick with Drysdale already here and a lack of defensive defensemen(physical)

Given his age I suspect that he is going to play in the NHL, assuming that he makes it, at around 190 - 200 pounds. While I would prefer an even heavier player, this is not totally undersized. This pick tends to fall within the Ducks drafting tendencies of younger players and/or players who have risen rapidly in the past season.

 

[MMC]

 

[bsu]

Mentioned his dog, I like him already.

 

[bsu]

 

[Hey234]

I like this pick a lot. High IQ, great skater, good at both ends, and super young with lots of room to grow. He's probably a few years away but I think it's a strong pick.

 

[Static]

Sounds like a nice kid

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Nice! I was expecting offensive defenseman Scott Morrow (RHD) with the 34th overall and it ends up being LHD Zellweger instead. Zellweger's scouting report has him being a good two-way defenders with high end potential offense where as Morrow is pure offense right now. And being the youngest (or one of the youngest) 2021 draft prospect means there could be more room for physical growth. I do wonder if the org has been tracking his height for the past couple of years just to see if there could be some progression rate that might project there could be some more additional height expansion possible?

And with Murray citing he'd be more involved in trades than FA next week, I can see offensive defenseman LaCombe (LHD) being part of a trade for a top-6 forward. Grabbing another offensive defenseman makes a lot more sense here to keep the cupboard stocked.

 

[cheesymc]

I really liked this kid early in the season along with Mailloux. But folks say he is super soft so I didn’t follow much after that. If he could be like a Spurgeon then he wouldn’t need to be physical.

 

[PuckProspects]

Boom or bust pick. I think he's always going to be limited by his size and doesn't have enough skill to make it. He is extremely young and his skating is impressive so hopefully he develops well and proves me wrong.

 

[bsu]

The NHL Blackbook hates this pick.

 

[EverybodylovesSbisa]

The NHL Blackbook hates this pick.

why?

 

[bsu]

I will just say the words the NHL Scouts say a lot. "Rover" "Can't defend" "He's a zero sum player" "he giveth, he taketh away" "defensive wise a disaster" "too small to defend anything" "cant escape because he's not poised enough with puck"

 

[cheesymc]

I will just say the words the NHL Scouts say a lot. "Rover" "Can't defend" "He's a zero sum player" "he giveth, he taketh away" "defensive wise a disaster" "too small to defend anything" "cant escape because he's not poised enough with puck"

Monty 2.0

 

[bsu]

Don't shoot the messenger lol

 

[Static]

Obviously don't know the player, but just want to say what a stark difference over three picks between 31 and 34. Seems extremely humble and a genuinely good kid vs a punk who had no problem humiliating a young girl.

For whatever other problems this franchise has I'm glad to have kids like this to root for.

 

[Kalv]

Size and reports similar to Sam Girard

 

[Static]

 

[ADHB]

It's probably gonna take me until at least 2024 to realize his name is Olen and not Owen.

 

[mightyquack]

Interesting pick. Like what I've been reading about him, seems like Anaheim like to really go after these boom/bust defencemen in the 2nd round. Also interesting given how young he is - basically have drafted him a year early so would be expecting bigger jumps then usual the next 2 years.

 

[Paul4587]

I’m on the fence with this pick. Not a huge fan but he’s very young so essentially has another year of development on most of this draft class.

 

[tomd]

He's going to get carded until he's 40. But that's fine if he becomes a Girard or Hughes type talent.

 

[nbducksfan19]

Obviously don't know the player, but just want to say what a stark difference over three picks between 31 and 34. Seems extremely humble and a genuinely good kid vs a punk who had no problem humiliating a young girl.

For whatever other problems this franchise has I'm glad to have kids like this to root for.

only thing I don’t like about this picture is that his dad is not a few inches taller…. Would have bodes well for a late growth spurt.

 

[cheesymc]

only thing I don’t like about this picture is that his dad is not a few inches taller…. Would have bodes well for a late growth spurt.

lol I was eyeing that too… his dad does look at least an inch taller and we lose height as we age. It’s possible he can grow 1-2 inches.

 

[Mr Rogers]

Similar demeanor to Drysdale it seems, both pretty bright kids on the backend

 

[Big Fat Rebound]

Does he have a growth spurt in him at all? If he does, we may have a serious prospect on our hands, even moreso than we do now