The Ducks of last season had quite the magical year. The season started off pretty slow, but after the All-Star break, the Ducks got down to playing some solid hockey and edged out two teams to clinch the eighth playoff seed. In the playoffs, they didn’t bow out early but stunned the hockey world when they beat the heavily favoured Presidents Trophy champions San Jose Sharks in six games. The ride ended abruptly when they ran into the Detroit Red Wings and was erased in six games.
Things should be different in Quack land this season, as they should be able to make the playoffs if they stay healthy, a few go to players play a full consistent season and if their defence can hold up for a whole year. For this Ducks team consistency is the key, as more than half the team is made up of young players who are under the age of 25. At the same time those players can still play, but must realize that they are a playoff team and must play like one.
Offensively the Ducks will be led by three superstars, and quite possibly the best offensive line in all of hockey this upcoming year. Corey Perry is a solid sniper and put up a 32 goal campaign and added 40 assists. Playing on the other wing is Bobby Ryan who had a breakout rookie season with 31 goals in 64 games. Just imagine what he will be able to accomplish in a full season. Centering that solid duo will be the strong and burly Ryan Getzlaf who led this team offensively, and could’ve put up a thirty goal season himself, but opted instead to pass to Ryan and Perry, which isn’t bad. His 66 assists can justify that.
The re-acquired former Anaheim draft pick Joffrey Lupul is back for a second tour of duty with the Ducks. So far in his early career, this would-be superstar hasn’t lived up to his true potential but has showed flashes of brilliance. All that is needed is a kick in the pants and one complete season. Two players that can do that are Teemu Selanne or Ryan Getzlaf. If Lupul can get his game straight, the Ducks will have two dangerous scoring lines. For the Ducks they need Lupul to step up big, because Teemu Selanne is forty years old and could only do so much scoring now.
On the defensive end the Ducks will now heavily be counting on Scott Neidermayer to shoulder the defensive abilities and the scoring from the back end as they dealt Chris Pronger to Philadelphia during the off-season. No doubt, Neidermayer can still play the game at the age of 36, but how much will he have left in the tank after the Olympic break. Consider this; he will most definitely make Team Canada barring some sort of injury. Right there are two weeks that won’t be available during the stretch run of the season. The Ducks are a team that cannot afford to lose two weeks of Neidermayer’s stamina, just due to the fact that beyond Neidermayer, Ryan Whitney is the most reliable defensemen.
The Ducks did try to shore up their defense as they went out and signed former first round draft pick Steve Eminger to a two year deal. Over his young career, he is another player that has not lived up to his billing, and was dumped by Washington and Florida. Still, he has played some good hockey and should be a much better player as he will be ranked in the third or fourth slots on the depth chart. During his time in Washington and Florida he was ranked either first or second. So maybe playing with less pressure will help him and the Ducks’ defense.
At the same time, players such as Nick Boynton, James Wisniewski, and Sheldon Brookbank all need to step up big time and cover big minutes and plays that Chris Pronger used to make for this club.
Now to the always important position goaltending, because without it you just can’t win. Luckily for the Ducks they saw the emergence of youngster Jonas Hiller who stole the starting job away from J.S. Giguere. Hiller was basically the most important piece that turned around Anaheim’s season and got them into the playoffs, and Hiller continued his strong play well into the post-season.
OVERALL--> THE DUCKS HAVE A PLAYOFF TEAM ON PAPER, BUT DIDN’T SHOW THAT LAST YEAR UNTIL LATE IN THE SEASON. FOR THEM TO QUALIFY THIS SEASON, THIS TEAM MUST PLAY A COMPLETE 82 GAME SCHEDULE.
POSITIVE--> AN AMAZING NUMBER 1 LINE IN COREY PERRY, RYAN GETZLAF AND BOBBY RYAN. THE POTENTIAL OF A SECOND STRONG SCORING LINE IF JOFFREY LUPUL CAN POST A 30 GOAL SEASON.
NEGATIVE--> THE DEFENCE OF THE DUCKS LOOKS WEAK AND THAT WILL DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT THEY WILL QUALIFY FOR THE PLAYOFFS.
X-FACTOR--> OFFENSE WILL LEAD THE CHARGE FOR THE DUCKS AND IN THE MIDDLE OF ALL THAT IS RYAN GETZLAF. HE IS THE LEADER OF THIS TEAM OFFENSEIVELY AND WILL HAVE NO PROBLEM IN POSTING AN 85+ POINT SEASON.
SLEEPER PICK--> STEVE EMINGER SHOULD STRIVE IN THIS LOW KEY HOCKEY MARKET AND GET HIS CAREER BACK ON TRACK. LOOK FOR EMINGER TO BE A SOLID CONTRIBUTOR BOTH DEFENSIVELY AND OFFENSIVELY.
PREDICTION--> THE ANAHEIM DUCKS SHOULD BE ABLE TO MATCH THE 42 WINS FROM LAST SEASON, BUT WILL PROBABLY BE IN A DOG FIGHT ONCE AGAIN FOR THE FINAL PLAYOFF SPOT.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
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