The Anaheim Ducks’ struggles continued this past season as the team finished with a league-low 58 points. The main culprit? Defense. Ducks goalies saw an average of 39 shots per game — a record high in the salary cap era. The club also allowed a league-high 4.09 goals-against per game, and their penalty-killing percentage ranked second to last at 72.14 percent. To put it quite frankly, the goalies were seeing way too much flying rubber. When you factor in injuries and trades, it was an outright disaster on the back end for the Ducks in 2022-23.
But there is hope on the horizon. Anaheim’s young core of defensive prospects is looming around the corner. Olen Zellweger, Pavel Mintyukov and Tristan Luneau are the three key assets that project to be the future of this club’s blue line.
Give credit to the scouting department as they have nailed the last three drafts, with these youngsters being the focal point of this defensive rebuild, setting up high expectations in Southern California. Their timeline to the pros is uncertain at this time, but Ducks fans can be reassured it’s not too far off. The kids are coming, and they plan on upgrading a defense that struggled during the worst season in franchise history.
What Went Wrong for the Ducks in 2022-23?
Things got off to a rough start, as Jamie Drysdale suffered a torn labrum just eight games into the season, ending the top prospect’s year prematurely. The Ducks’ first-round selection, sixth-overall, of the 2020 NHL Draft did not register a point in any of those games but was averaging 17:37 of ice time during that span. He has 40 points (seven goals, 33 assists) in 113 NHL games.
“For our team, that is a massive blow,” former Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins said at the time. “That kid is a big part of our team, especially our back end. His last three or four games had really started to turn it up a notch. For Jamie, individually, this is going to be a young man we’re going to have to keep a really close eye on.”
An Aging Core of Defenders
Anaheim’s top four veteran defensemen in terms of minutes played — Cam Fowler, John Klingberg, Kevin Shattenkirk and Dmitry Kulikov — combined for a minus-82 in the plus/minus column. Klingberg was subsequently shipped to the Minnesota Wild for a 2025 fourth-round pick and two prospects at the deadline. It then became a revolving door of aging vets and prospects trying to plug all the holes of this sinking ship.
For Fowler, the season was incredibly frustrating. While the 13-year veteran defenseman established a new career high in points with 48, he also saw his worst plus/minus (minus-23) since the 2011-12 season (minus-28). It’s hard to blame the former first-round pick, but moving forward, the Ducks are hoping he is the veteran presence for the young prospects that are about to emerge from the pipeline. Kulikov signed with the Florida Panthers during free agency this offseason, while Shattenkirk decided to join the Boston Bruins.
Too Much Rubber for Gibson
It’s safe to say that goaltender John Gibson took the brunt of it. The 29-year-old started 52 games last season, registering a 3.99 goals-against average (GAA) and a .899 save percentage (SV%), both career lows. The former All-Star saw the second most shots in the league with 1,983 and looked disengaged at times as the losses piled up. Offseason rumors (that Gibson’s team denied) about being moved did not help the situation.
While the 11-year veteran plans to be in between the pipes this upcoming season for Anaheim, it will be worth noting his demeanor if the pucks keep flying toward him at a rapid pace. Backup Anthony Stolarz got 12 starts last season and struggled as well before signing with the Panthers in the offseason. The Ducks did call up top goaltending prospect Lukas Dostal during the season, as he got a 17-game showcase (starts) for the organization. While he looked overmatched at times, he did show glimpses that he could one day take the reins from Gibson and be the future goaltender that this team so desperately needs.
Help Is on the Way With These 3 Prospects
This may be a hard sell, but there is room for optimism with help coming from the organization’s top-ranked pool of blueliners. The Ducks made NHL and Canadian Hockey League (CHL) history this past summer, becoming the first team to have its prospects win the Defenseman of the Year award in all three Canadian Hockey Leagues.
Zellweger completed the sweep in May, winning Western Hockey League (WHL) defenseman of the year honors for the second straight season, joining fellow Ducks prospects Mintyukov (Ontario Hockey League – OHL) and Luneau (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League – QMJHL) in their respective leagues. Later in the summer, Zellweger also won the CHL Defenseman of the Year award, making it the first time in franchise history that an Anaheim prospect has taken home that honor.
Only two NHL clubs have had two prospects named Defenseman of the Year in the same season: the Nashville Predators in 2008-09 (Jonathan Blue, WHL; Ryan Ellis, OHL) and the Edmonton Oilers in 2000-01 (Christian Chartier, WHL; Alexei Semyonov, OHL). Prospect Tyson Hinds also took home some hardware, earning the QMJHL’s Best Defensive Defenseman award. Even 2022 first-round pick Nathan Gaucher got in on the action and won the QMJHL Best Defensive Forward (Guy Carbonneau Trophy).
Olen Zellweger
The Ducks’ 2021 second-round pick dominated the WHL once again in 2022-23. He split the year between the Everett Silvertips and Kamloops Blazers, registering 32 goals and 48 assists in just 55 games. He then stepped it up a notch in the playoffs for the Blazers with 29 points in 14 games. The 19-year-old became the sixth player in WHL history to be named the WHL Defenseman of the Year in consecutive seasons. Zellweger is an elite skater and an excellent puck-moving defenseman. Some critics will point to his size at 5-foot-9 as being a deterrent, but with his hands and speed, it’s not hard to envision him becoming a top-pair defenseman in the NHL.
Anaheim’s special advisor to hockey operations and Ducks great Scott Niedermayer also likes what he sees: “He wants to do something every time he’s on the ice. When you get to the highest level of hockey, sometimes that can be a challenge, and you have to figure out when and where you do that. But you love to see it. Pat (Verbeek) talked about the competitiveness and what he wants in players. [Zellweger] has it. He has that competitiveness.”
Related: 3 Takeaways from Anaheim Ducks’ 2023 Development Camp
It’s hard to say where Zellweger starts the season when you consider his age, but I’m fairly confident we will see him skate at the Honda Center this upcoming season. He has the potential to be a special player and become a cornerstone for this organization for years to come.
Pavel Mintyukov
Verbeek’s first selection as Anaheim’s general manager looks like a game-changer. The 10th overall pick of the 2022 Draft appears to be the real deal, as he turned heads at development camp this offseason. He looks to be the face of the new generation of NHL defensemen: big, mobile, and highly skilled.
The 6-foot-1 blueliner split time between Saginaw and the Ottawa 67’s and lit the league on fire. He led all defensemen with 64 assists and an astounding 88 points while finishing second in goals with 24. Mintyukov is known to take chances and will have to adjust that trend in the pros, but his offensive potential has scouts drooling.
Unless he really impresses at training camp, I would expect Mintyukov to start off his pro career in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the San Diego Gulls. However, I don’t think Anaheim fans will be waiting too long before he’s in a Ducks uniform. The talent is there for the Russian defender, and he could be playing meaningful games in the NHL at some point during the upcoming season.
Tristan Luneau
The 53rd-overall pick from the 2022 Draft will not be eligible to play in the AHL for the 2023-24 season, but don’t think all eyes won’t be on the 19-year-old as he continues to develop in the QMJHL. He took massive steps this past season. Luneau has great hands and vision, which led to a breakout year with 20 goals and 63 assists in just 65 games.
The Victoriaville native finished with an eye-popping plus-49 and took home the Émile-Bouchard Trophy as the league’s top defenseman. Luneau will return to the QMJHL for his fourth and final season with the Gatineau Olympiques, where expectations will be high. He still hasn’t signed his entry-level deal with Anaheim, but that appears to be a formality at this point. I think we’ll be talking about him a year from now and discussing whether or not he’s ready to make the jump to the pros.
Leave It to the Kids
Keep your sunglasses on, Ducks fans, because the future is bright in Anaheim. I think it’s safe to say most NHL general managers are envious of this team’s prospect pool. When you add these names to the young core of Trevor Zegras, Mason McTavish and Leo Carlsson, you can see the blueprint for success being built right before your eyes.
Verbeek also added rugged defenseman Radko Gudas in the offseason giving the youngsters that tough veteran leader to lean on. While this season may present some growing pains, the Ducks are set up for the long haul. Optimism reigns supreme that this young talented group can deliver a Cup to hockey fans in Orange County at some point in the near future.
