It's late June in Anaheim, which means it's time for the Ducks' annual prospect development camp at THE RINKS - Anaheim ICE. In all, 35 players are attending camp this week, which culminates with a scrimmage on Sunday at 10 a.m. Among the club's top prospects taking part in development camp are first-rounders Sam Steel, Max Jones, Jacob Larsson and 2018 selection Isac Lundestrom, whom the Ducks chose with their 23rd overall pick last week's draft in Dallas.
Development Camp Provides Learning, Fun and Friendship
Prospect development camp places an emphasis on both the on-ice and off-ice development of these young men. In addition to skating sessions, each player will receive a personally tailored nutritional recommendation and undergo testing for strength thresholds, range of movement and aerobic capacity. Away from the rink, players will have opportunities to visit Huntington Beach and other Southern California landmarks.
Some of these players have been through development camp before. But for others, like all seven of Anaheim's selections from this past draft, this marks a new and exciting experience.
"It's unbelievable," said defenseman Hunter Drew, selected in the sixth round (178th overall) last week. "You look around the room and you see all these names. All the coaches and staff. Just everyone around you just makes the experience unbelievable. You learn so much."
Leading the on-ice portion today was San Diego Gulls head coach Dallas Eakins, who expressed his excitement with development camp. "It's such a great time to see not only improvement from the guys who have been here before, but when the new draft picks show up," Eakins said. "They've been waiting their whole lives to get to an NHL team, and now they're here. They're excited, they're nervous."
As the Ducks' American Hockey League affiliate, Eakins knows how to work with younger players, especially those coming out of the junior and college ranks.
"For me, the most fun part is seeing the players starting to form those relationships with each other, and to see our staff from Todd [Marchant] to the coaches and myself, either forge new relationships or continue ones," he said. "It's the key to coaching. You've got to know those kids inside and out. You can't just go yell at them and tell them where to go and what to do. To me, you're kind of like a fatherly, big brother kind of figure that is going to try to push them to get better every day."
Eakins says he wants some of the more experienced players, such as Jones, to serve as role models.
"I said right away - we're going to do some stuff we do in San Diego," Eakins said. "If you've played for me before, move up to the front of the line. Take control of this. You know what the details are. Let's lead the way. Jonesy didn't play for us this year because he was in junior. He came in for a few games two years ago, and I got to know him at development camp. You're just trying to build the relationships so they're comfortable with you and I'm comfortable with them so there is always open - and more importantly - honest conversation."
It's always interesting to hear stories of draft picks who didn't attend the draft, such as 2018 fourth-rounder Jack Perbix. The Elk River, Minnesota native said he wanted to take his mind off things, so a tee time at the local golf course was booked. "I didn't want to keep staring at the TV because you never know what's going to happen," Perbix said. "I asked my brother and cousin to go out on the golf course, and if I get a call, I get a call. That's when I got it - on the fifth tee. I'll always remember that tee.
"It was just a surreal experience," he said. "I didn't do much golfing the rest of the day."
Perbix's close friend, Blake McLaughlin, was selected moments earlier in the third round.
"We grew up together all the way through Pee Wees," Perbix said. "We were linemates. He was a center and I was a right wing. We've always been close. It was unbelievable. I saw him get picked at [No.] 79, and then I got picked by the same team. First thing we did was FaceTime each other."
More on Sunday's 10 a.m. Scrimmage
Doors open at 8:45 a.m. prior to a 30-minute practice beginning at 9 a.m. Fans are invited to attend the open scrimmage session with a $5 suggested donation benefiting the Anaheim Ducks Foundation. Wild Wing and the Anaheim Ducks Street Team will be on hand with prizes and games for fans in attendance. Following the scrimmage, fans are welcome to attend a summer Select-A-Seat event at Honda Center. Beginning at 12 p.m., fans will have the opportunity to find the best available seat locations for the upcoming 2018-19 Anaheim Ducks season and join the Orange Alliance. For more information and to RSVP for Select-A-Seat, visit
www.AnaheimDucks.com/SelectASeat
.
