A busy weekend for the Ducks at the NHL Draft is finally complete. In total, Anaheim added nine players to its top-ranked prospect pool, highlighted by first-rounders Beckett Sennecke and Stian Solberg plus a trio of third-round selections.
After the draft, AnaheimDucks.com caught up with Assistant GM and Director of Amateur Scouting Martin Madden for his thoughts on each of the nine newest Ducks and the indelible impact of longtime Ducks scout Glen Cochrane, who passed away in January.
On Glen Cochrane
Glenn came into Ducks Organization a year before I got here. Seventeen years he was with the Ducks and he loved every minute of it. He was such a total team guy, same as he was on the ice when he played. Whatever his role was, he would do it to the max with passion while keeping it fun for everybody. He was just the life of a party, the life of meetings, and doing that while bringing his independent perspective. That's how I would describe Glenn.
He had his point of view and he was willing to listen to yours, but you never had to prod him to know what he thought. The whole process about this draft, Glen was with us. He was watching more hockey than we were in the first half. I don't think he missed one WHL game played from September until January. He was a big part of our midseason meeting and he had strong opinions on a number of players in this draft class. And then we lost him. But those opinions and his spirit stayed with us throughout the process into today. One of the kids that he loved, was passionate for and that he truly believed in was Tarin Smith and it was nice that in the right spot for him, we were able to honor Glenn by making that pick.
On Beckett Sennecke
It was a really strong top of the draft [this year]. Beckett is a special player and he's just scratching the surface of his potential, just getting going in his growth spurt. He was still growing throughout the season, so he's just catching up in terms of strength, but he has that elite hockey sense, elite skill and elite skating ability that will permit him to keep doing what he did in the OHL playoffs at the next level.
Other players in this draft are closer than him to playing and having a role in the NHL. He's not there physically yet, but ultimately, when he's part of our group, he's going to be an impact player. That's why we took him.
On Stian Solberg
I think there is more to come with the puck for him. The way he ran the power play in the world championship cannot be dismissed. Yes, he is a hard-nosed physical defender first but with that mobility, that poise and that unbelievable self-confidence, he's going to be a leader on our team. There's no doubt about that.
On Lucas Pettersson
We think he's very, very similar to William Karlsson at the same age. He's got elite hockey sense, really good skill and very good skating ability that might have been masked a little bit when he played center. He played center most of the year, both at the junior level and with the U-18 team, and he's really responsible two-way like William was the same age.
He didn't want to be caught out of position, but when they used him with different players on the wing, how dynamic he can be with his elite hands and speed really opened our eyes.
This is not just a two-way center. This player has real top-six upside. He's a home run type of pick. He can become a regular top-six player in the NHL and a productive one at that.
On Maxim Masse
Maxim is a complete player. He's really smart, he's competitive and he's got elite hands. He needs to work on his quickness and agility a little bit coming out of tight spaces and that probably is why he was still available where we took him.
He was the CHL Rookie of the Year as a 16-year-old. He put up huge numbers both seasons. I think early in the year he was feeling the pressure but in the second half we saw the Maxim that played a major role as a 16-year-old. You look at his frame (6-3, 190 lbs.), he's going to be able to play over 210 for fun. We see him as a middle six winger, whether that's on the second line or third line, he's going to bring depth of production down the road for us.
On Ethan Procyszyn
He's got that [aggressive style of play]. He's got the size, he's got the strength and he's got the speed to play his role at the next level. If he plays center, that's the way he's going to play. He's going to be penalty kill guy. He's going to be hard on the forecheck. He's going to make players accountable for sure.
In the playoffs, his team had some injuries and suspensions and he was asked to play up in the lineup, and he showed us that his hockey sense offensively is not to be pushed aside. He was just a good hockey player and he fits a need.
On Tarin Smith
Tarin is a smart player, a really, really good defenseman. Good all around mobility. He gains time and space for himself and makes a good first pass. I think there's more coming from him offensively as he gets stronger and as he gets more confident. We saw that in the second half and I think that was Glen's point in January. He's just scratching the surface [of his potential] at this point. He compared him to Josh Mahura. I think there are some differences between the two. I think Josh was a little bit more ahead physically at the same age, but in terms of the way they see the ice and make the game easy for their forwards, they're very similar.
On Alexandre Blais
Elite qualities. Yeah, we know he's not big, he's 5-10. He needs to put on a lot of weight before he's an NHL player, but you watch him play and you don't have to look for him. He's in the middle of the action all over the ice. He's a competitor. He wants the puck. He's making plays offensively and defensively. You don't have to look for him. He's the man on the ice and that's what we're projecting in the future. If we can get him to add muscle while not losing any speed, he's got a chance to be a middle-six forward down the road.
Austin Burnevik
I have to rely on our US scouts for describing Austin. I haven't seen him as much as some of the other players, but I know that he scored 40 goals in the USHL and not many guys scored 40 goals in the USHL. He's going to a really good program. St Cloud has produced some good players. They'll help him in the style of play. That's exciting.
On Darels Uljanskis
We saw him play both juniors in Sweden and with U-18's with Lavia. There's just one hole in his game. He needs to get a little bit more mobile off of his pivots to defend better against speed, but he's got size, he's got strength, he's got really good hockey sense and really good hands. He can really shoot the puck, so we'll help him get better.
