A quick gander at the Ducks roster currently reveals an influx of younger players will be taking on more important roles going forward. Veterans such as Ryan Getzlaf will be steady influencers to guide and teach along the way. The lineup will be chock-full of highly regarded prospects for the upcoming seasons. A few players to keep in mind will be Sonny Milano, Sam Steel, Troy Terry, Max Comtois, Brendan Guhle, and 2019 9th overall pick, Trevor Zegras. “The Hockey News” has recently credited the organization as being ranked 14th overall in terms of prospects. Let’s continue on our series and take a closer look at the Anaheim Ducks
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Record: 29-33-9 67 pts. (.472/27th)
GF/GM: 2.56(29th)
GA/GM: 3.17(25th)
PP: 14.7%(30th)
PK: 77%(26th)
CORSI%: 48.3% (25th)
Head Coach: Dallas Eakins
What Went Right
Following a rather disappointing 2018-2019 where they finished 6th in the Pacific Division(35-37-10), the Ducks were expected to stay on course with a rebuild mentality. Despite this, Anaheim started 2019-2020 on a very nice wave in their first eight games of the season winning six of them.
As noted by their 29th goals per game rank, the Ducks struggled to generate a steady stream of offense throughout the rest of the campaign. Adam Henrique proved to be the team’s best point producer with a modest 43 points. Henrique was good for 26 goals, his best season goal-wise since 2015-2016 when he scored 30.
What continued to be a trend was goaltenders John Gibson and Ryan Miller being very good despite facing well over their fair share of offensive chances. League average for the season in terms of high danger chances against was at 1281, the Ducks allowed 1416 against which resulted in both goalies being put to the test on most nights. With so many “prime” scoring chances being faced both tenders were able to pull off respectful save% marks of over .900.
What Went Wrong
It’s obvious that the Ducks are a work in progress. The fan base will have to be patient with the next version of themselves in the upcoming season(s). Ryan Getzlaf, is a proven winner and Stanley Cup Champion, he will take the time to be more of a guide and mentor for the newer players. In his mid 30’s it’s likely that we see him hover around the 40-60 point mark from here on out.
A return to form from Rickard Rakell will be front and center as 2019-2020 marked the second consecutive time he failed to reach 20 goals after having seasons of 20, 33, and 34 from 2015-2018. Rakell will be entering his prime years and will be counted to produce for the offensively challenged Ducks.
Forecasting 2020-2021
For this year’s draft, the Ducks have seven picks including two in the first round which really signifies their commitment to the rebuild. It’s difficult to predict where exactly Anaheim will finish but it’s likely to be similar to where they ended up at the close of this campaign, Adding even more highly regarded prospects is never a bad thing. with already have a decent pool of players in the system, it will just take a little time and patience for the nucleus to put together more consistency.
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