Recently, I predicted that the Anaheim Ducks’ next 50-goal scorer is currently waiting in the wings, and it wouldn’t be long before we saw someone become the first Duck since Corey Perry in 2010-11 to hit the mark. Similarly, the next 100-point getter for this team is not far off. The Ducks have a pool of unrefined yet undeniably talented offensive weapons on the roster or in the system, and we should see at least one of those guys hit triple-digit points in the near future. Let’s take a look at who it could be.
A Brief History of the Ducks’ 100-Point Scorers
To no one’s surprise, the same Ducks that delivered 50-goal campaigns are the ones that have also delivered 100-point seasons. Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne each did it twice as a member of the team: Kariya scored 108 and 101, while Selanne scored 109 and 107. Each player’s second 100-point season with the Ducks came in 1998-99, when they played on a line together, and became one of the most effective and dynamic scoring duos at the time. It should also be noted that during Selanne’s second stint in Anaheim, he scored 90 and 94 points in back-to-back seasons from 2005-2007.
Related: Ducks With 100-Point Seasons
Two other Ducks have come close to the mark as well. Ryan Getzlaf, the gifted passer that he was, scored 91 points in 2008-09, 66 of which were assists (a franchise record). The closest and most recent statistical season was Perry’s MVP season of 2010-11 when he scored 50 goals and 99 points. Remarkable seasons in their own right, and two franchise cornerstones in the same way Kariya and Selanne were. Now, whose next?
The Next Wave of Candidates
Trevor Zegras
There’s not much to say about this guy that hasn’t been said already. Offensively gifted, lightning-quick hands, great vision, puck magnet, and creativity are just a few of Trevor Zegras’ descriptors. When you’re looking at candidates to score 100 points, it makes the most sense to look at guys that have the puck the most, the guys that are the most creative, and that can create opportunities for themselves and their teammates. In essence, facilitators. That’s Zegras. He is a wizard with the puck and has put up numbers at every level he’s played at. He has all the tools to lead the Ducks down the middle, or at least on the top line, for years to come. Granted he gets signed, of course.
His buddy Jack Hughes, who just scored 99 points in his fourth pro season, seems like the perfect benchmark for Zegras, who will likewise be entering his fourth (but only third full) season of pro hockey. Sure, the New Jersey Devils are at a different stage as a franchise right now, but the Ducks resemble them in many ways. A group of talented young forwards is one of them.
Mason McTavish
Some of this stud’s descriptors: creative, strong, great shot, has a nose for the net, good in tight spaces. Mason McTavish is a candidate to get 100 points in the same way he’s a candidate to score 50 goals. He will see volume. He projects as a top-line player, plays on the power play, and he’ll likely skate five-on-five with some combination of Zegras, Troy Terry, Adam Henrique, or Leo Carlsson, which bodes well for him and the offense as a whole.
We cannot get too ahead of ourselves, because this team remains a ways away from threatening opposing teams with a potent offensive attack, but with time comes chemistry, and with chemistry comes production. McTavish will be one of the guys leading the way.
Leo Carlsson
Taken second overall by the Ducks in this summer’s draft, Carlsson is big-bodied, skates and protects the puck well, and also knows his way around the net. He is experienced against professionals, having played in Sweden’s top league last season, where he put up 25 points in 44 games as an 18-year-old. That was good for fourth all-time in scoring among skaters in their draft-eligible years, finishing only behind the Sedin twins, Elias Lindholm, and Niklas Backstrom. That’s pretty great. As the highest draft pick in franchise history (tied with Bobby Ryan), Carlsson will be shouldering significant expectations to lead the Ducks as a future top-2 centerman. Like the other players on this list, he won’t have a shortage of opportunities to produce offense and stands to eat up significant ice time for this team in the not-so-distant future. He’s absolutely one of the few that can get to 100 points.
Honorable Mention: Troy Terry
Terry can already score with the best of them and stands to get even better once the offense overall starts to improve. His attacking mindset and will to score are traits you want in one of your top offensive players, and with those traits, he can absolutely get there. While he can pass well and set up teammates too, he is more of a finisher and less of a facilitator. That said, he absolutely bears mentioning as a guy with a chance to reach 100 points. He’s a remarkable player, and the Ducks are fortunate to have him for the next seven seasons, perhaps longer.
Dark Horse Candidate: Olen Zellweger
Is this crazy? Possibly. But Erik Karlsson just showed us all that defensemen with offensive prowess can score 100 points in this league. His renaissance-like Norris Trophy-winning season was spectacular. You have other guys too, like Cale Makar, Roman Josi, and Victor Hedman who have produced eye-popping numbers from the blue line. I don’t want to build the kid up before he plays any NHL action, but his ability to produce at the junior and international levels speak for themselves: 80 points in 55 games in the Western Hockey League (WHL) last season, with 20 more points in the WHL Playoffs; 18 points across two World Junior Championship tournaments. He’s a bonafide star in the making.
Zellweger has proven himself on the biggest amateur stages and is more than ready for professional hockey. We’ll see whether he lands in the American Hockey League (AHL) or NHL this season, but can he eventually be one of the next point-churning blueliners in the NHL for the Ducks? Call it lofty, unrealistic, or whatever you want, but the all-world skill he’s displayed at every level of play thus far suggests he has a chance.
Official Prediction: Zegras Scores 100-Plus Points Within 4 Seasons
Like the next 50-goal scorer, I think the next 100-point guy in Anaheim comes within the next four seasons. It’s no secret that the offense needs work. But with additional years of experience for the young guys, the influx of veterans like Ryan Strome, Frank Vatrano, and Alex Killorn to provide supplementary scoring, and the infusion of offensively-talented defensemen into the lineup like Jamie Drysdale, Zellweger, and others, greater offensive opportunities will come. Zegras, with his undeniable talent, is primed to take advantage of all these factors and seems the most likely to do it. He’s almost too crafty, confident, and skilled not to.
Who do you think the next Duck will be to reach 100 points? Sound off in the comments below!
