Though the Anaheim Ducks have begun to falter at the NHL level as of late, their prospects continue to flourish. With the NCAA tournament underway for collegiate prospects and the playoffs for juniors teams just around the corner, Ducks fans have plenty to look forward to when it comes to all things prospects.
Zellweger Has Monster Week for Silvertips
With every passing week, Olen Zellweger is looking to be even more of a steal for the Ducks. Drafted 34th overall in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, the 18-year-old defenseman has racked up an astounding 69 points in 49 games this season in the Western Hockey League (WHL) for the Everett Silvertips and was recently named WHL Player of the Week. He also set a single-season record for most points in a season for a Silvertips defenseman.
Not only is Zellweger a dynamic player on the offensive end, his excellent skating and puck handling also complement his playing style extremely well and are just a couple of reasons behind why he has excelled this season. Once he begins to bulk up, he could be a very dangerous player on the blue line for the Ducks in the future.
Gulls’ Big Week Powered by Limoges
The San Diego Gulls, the Ducks’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, had a very successful week thanks to performances from Jacob Perreault and Alex Limoges. Limoges, in particular, had an excellent week, as he netted his first career pro hat trick on Wednesday and extended his point streak to three games.
The forward has struggled to find consistency during his first full season in the AHL but has found his groove as of late, and more performances like this could see him possibly earn a cup of coffee with the big club.
Perreault also added two goals and three assists on top of Limoges’ performance while the goaltending duo of Olle Eriksson Ek and Lukáš Dostál was solid as well, backstopping the Gulls to a 2-0-1 record this past week. The recently acquired Drew Helleson also made his AHL debut on Tuesday after arriving in San Diego on Sunday and collected his first career AHL point on Wednesday, assisting on Limoges’ first goal of the game.
Quick Hits
- Mason McTavish scored a goal and assisted on three others this week for the Hamilton Bulldogs.
- Ian Moore had a goal and an assist for Harvard University as they edged Quinnipiac University by a score of 3-2 to win the ECAC Finals on March 19.
- Jackson LaCombe had two assists and Blake McLaughlin had an assist as the University of Minnesota fell 4-3 to Michigan in the Big 10 Finals on March 19.
- Kyle Kukkonen scored a goal in the Madison Capitols’ 7-3 win over the Green Bay Gamblers on March 19.
- Max Golod scored two goals and had an assist for the Tulsa Oilers this week.
- Ethan Bowen had three assists this week for the Chilliwack Chiefs.
- Bryce Kindopp, Lucas Elvenes, Axel Andersson and Greg Printz all had an assist apiece for the Gulls this week. Elvenes’ assist was his 100th career AHL point. Brayden Tracey also added a goal this week for the Gulls.
- Sasha Pastujov had a goal and an assist this week for the Guelph Storm.
- Sam Colangelo had an assist in Northeastern’s 2-1 overtime loss to Western Michigan in the Frozen Four yesterday.
Related: Ducks’ 2022 Trade Deadline Grades
With many prospects’ seasons coming to an end or just about to end, there’s a good chance that we could see some of them join up with the Gulls for the remainder of the season.