We’ve taken time this month to set some expectations for several young players primed for big roles with the Anaheim Ducks this coming season. Today, how about we take a look at some veterans?
Alex Killorn is eager to begin his second campaign with the team after a first that was marked by situational adjustments and injury trouble. It was about this time last year that he broke his finger, which forced him to miss the entire preseason and the first few weeks of the regular season. Once he got healthy, he finished the 2023-24 campaign as one of the most consistent Ducks, which should give him plenty of positive momentum heading into year two, when the expectations will be much higher. Killorn is next up on our list, so let’s set some expectations for the gritty forward.
Killorn’s Finish to 2023-24 Was an Encouraging Sign
Killorn didn’t make his Ducks debut until Nov. 5 and picked up his first points in a Ducks uniform on Nov. 10. His first goal came Nov. 24. He played regularly until mid-January when he needed arthroscopic knee surgery. He missed a month of action before returning in mid-February and playing in nearly every contest thereafter. He collected 17 points in the 29 remaining games, good for a points-per-game (P/G) average of .58, slightly better than his pre-injury average of .55.
Once Killorn settled in, he was one of the more consistent Ducks last season. Twelve of the 17 points he collected over the last two months of the season were goals, which made him one of the more dependable goal-scorers for a Ducks team that really had trouble finding the back of the net in the second half of the season. He found a home on the top line alongside Troy Terry and Leo Carlsson. His addition to the trio gave them a diversified look that included speed and high-end skill from Terry and Carlsson, and puck-hunting and gritty finishing ability from Killorn. All three of them played their best hockey when they were together. It bodes well for the season ahead.
Killorn’s Versatility Makes Him a Good Plug-and-Play Player
What makes the trio a good match is that no single player brings the same blend of skills to the table. This is what has always made Killorn an interesting player. He is big, has an edge, can finish, take faceoffs, hunt pucks and win corner battles, and is a power play asset. He serves as a nice complementary scoring piece to Terry, who is the primary finisher on that line. While Terry can play without the puck, he is most dangerous with it in his hands. Killorn knows that and can get him the puck. But he’s also a good option for the speed and playmaking of Carlsson. As a seasoned veteran, Killorn always knows where to be to make himself dangerous in the offensive zone.
This combination made him an invaluable piece of the Tampa Bay Lightning in their Stanley Cup championship dominance. This versatility served him well personally (he never had less than 14 goals in any full season) but also made him an asset at five-on-five and on the power play in Tampa Bay, where he got to play with Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, and many others. This was no more evident than in his final season with the Lightning in 2022-23, when he scored 27 times, assisted 37, and suited up for all 82 games.
Killorn Still Has the Goods to Deliver a Strong Season Offensively
Killorn’s career year in 2022-23 netted him a nice contract with the Ducks, where he provided more than just on-ice ability in year one of his term. The injuries made an already-tough transition from a championship-level club to a rebuilding roster even tougher, but as one of the team’s few seasoned veterans, he was and should continue to be a beacon of leadership and championship-level experience. It’s not just his linemates of last season that benefited from this, but rather their entire fleet of Grade-A forward prospects – Mason McTavish, Trevor Zegras, and Cutter Gauthier. As he enters an important second season with the club, what lies ahead for him?
Related: Ducks September Series: 2024-25 Expectations for Cutter Gauthier
Just as it was before his first season in Anaheim, Killorn’s place in the lineup is a tricky question. After early-season turbulence, he found chemistry and success on the top line with Terry and Carlsson. But there are so many forwards that head coach Greg Cronin needs to find good ice time for – a healthy Zegras and top-flight rookie Gauthier immediately come to mind, especially since those two weren’t in the lineup much in 2023-24. Killorn has skated with Carlsson and Gauthier thus far in training camp, while Zegras has skated with McTavish and Terry. Each are tantalizing combinations that, objectively, should maximize the skills of each player.
I’ve mentioned before that the improved health, influx of youth, and combination of skill, creativity, and experience will serve as a rising tide for the Ducks that will lift all proverbial boats. And this includes Killorn. If he in fact gets top-line minutes and finds himself on one of the sure-to-be-dynamic power play units, then Killorn will be in a great position to match or exceed his career scoring average (43.9 points) across a full season. He’ll be ready for those opportunities if he gets them, so if he suits up for 80-82 contests, then we should expect him to eclipse the 20-goal, 20-25-assist mark in season two in Orange Country. Preseason begins tonight; stay tuned.
