Jackson LaCombe has officially arrived in Anaheim.
Nearly four years after the Ducks made the Minnesota-born defenseman the first high school hockey player selected in the 2019 NHL Draft, LaCombe has signed his entry-level contract, skated in his first practice as a professional and will make his NHL debut tomorrow night against the Vancouver Canucks at Honda Center.
"It's been great, it's super exciting," a humbly ecstatic LaCombe said in front of his new locker room stall at Great Park Ice. "I'm just thrilled to be here."
LaCombe Joins the Ducks, Set to Make NHL Debut Tuesday vs. Vancouver
LaCombe joins the Ducks for the club's final two games of the 2022-23 regular season, which will conclude Thursday with the Freeway Face-Off finale on home ice, while surely still processing the disappointing ending to what was a phenomenal senior season at the University of Minnesota.
The 22-year-old defenseman, part of an absolutely stacked Golden Gophers blue line, helped his home state's flagship program to a banner year, including the #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, a berth in the National Title game and 29-10-1 overall record.
Despite all that success, the season ended on a sour note for LaCombe and his teammates Saturday, as Minnesota fell in overtime to Quinnipiac, coming one shot away from the school's sixth national championship.
"Those guys on the team, the whole year we stuck together so well, and we all loved each other so much," LaCombe said. "That's what's hard about not winning. We were so close. I'll take a lot away from that [experience]."
The loss shouldn't diminish all that LaCombe accomplished throughout his four years in the maroon and gold. Drafted by Anaheim as an athletically gifted and promising blueliner with a long way to go in his technical skills and on-ice awareness, LaCombe checked off every box you could ask for a developing defenseman. He led Minnesota defenders in scoring in his sophomore, junior and senior seasons, improving on his personal point totals in each of those three years. He developed a great sense of pride in his defensive game as well, recognizing his offensive talents would only go as far as his checking prowess supported. He earned a place on the 2021 U.S. World Juniors team, helping the Americans to a gold medal alongside Ducks teammates Trevor Zegras and Drew Helleson.
So while LaCombe, like any elite athlete would, may still lament the result of Saturday's missed opportunity, his new head coach is excited about the prospect's growth and, even more so, how he's handled the ride.
"I think it's a great mindset to have," Dallas Eakins said. "'Hey, I've been through that and now I've got to focus on this.' It's how we like to go about our business here anyway, so I think that's a good thing for him.
"He's an excellent skater. He's got great posture on the ice. His head is always up. He passes the puck extremely hard, doesn't really complicate much. The skating part of it, especially on defense the way you have to play the game, that is certainly going to help him."
Even more so than on the ice though, Eakins said he's been impressed with LaCombe's maturity since last year's development camp, when the two sat in the head coach's office and discussed the merits of returning to school for another year. It was then that Eakins saw what makes LaCombe tick, a passionate desire to win a national title on behalf of those who had helped him get so far and a fierce loyalty to his friends and teammates wanting one more shot at it.
"He spoke about it so passionately and so respectfully," Eakins recalled. "I think that really shows you the kid's character and how he's built....He was one step away from fulfilling, obviously, a massive goal. But now he gets to check off another great goal, and that's playing an NHL game. It always starts with 'I just want to play one NHL game.'
"I just keep remembering that conversation we had in there. Not even a year's gone by and here he is. He almost checked off the one, but he is certainly gonna check off the other."
LaCombe's first NHL action will come as the Ducks take on the division rival Canucks. It's a mere two days after Helleson, his longtime childhood friend, took the ice for the first time as an NHLer last night vs. Colorado.
"I grew up playing with Drew, and we've been buddies for a long time, so it's special we ended up in the same spot," LaCombe said through a big smile. "I care for him a lot, so being able to be there for his first game was great. Hopefully, we'll be on the ice together tomorrow."
LaCombe acknowledged an excitement to be joining a young Ducks team full of developing players but quickly pointed out his focus will be on what he can control, surely music to the ears of his new coach.
"There are a lot of talented players here and we're all working towards the same goal," LaCombe said. "We all want to be in the lineup. Hopefully, it goes well. I'm excited."
"I think it's important to do your best to set the kid up for success," Eakins said. "To set the kid up with somebody that's really going to talk to him, like literally be sitting next to him on the bench and talking...So with that in mind, probably a good one for Jackson would be [Shattenkirk]. It gets the kid on his strong side and he's gonna have a partner there that's basically like a secondary coach. That should be a good fit."
Eakins added he believes getting these late NHL games on their resume before the summer can serve as a major catalyst for LaCombe and Helleson to push for a full-time place in the Ducks lineup come the fall.
"Hey, in two games, like how many minutes are they really gonna play? Are they gonna get a total of 30 minutes? Maybe a little less, maybe a little more," Eakins said. "That doesn't seem like a lot, but it's amazing how quick these kids notice like 'Oh that's different here'...There are all of these things that are just elite and, this is the highest level you can go in our sport. So I think it really opens up their eyes on the speed, the detail and the margin for success."
