Verbeek: 'We're Going Through That Learning Process'

The Ducks have now moved past the quarter pole of the 2023-24 season and it's time to check in with the man in charge.

Anaheim's first two months of play has seen dramatic comebacks, a sliver of NHL history, significant winning and losing streaks, injuries and clear growth from the club's core young players.

GM Pat Verbeek joined Ducks Stream's "The Beeker" to discuss those topics and more with host Alexis Downie.

To listen to the full episode, click here.

Note some answers have been lightly edited for style and clarity.

On the start to the season
Well, with a young team and a new coach, I think I was expecting a little bit of a rollercoaster ride and now we're kind of seeing that. We were 1-0 after two games, went to 1-4-0 and then reeled off six in a row, which was really good. And now we're going through a stretch where we've found ways to lose. I wouldn't say other than maybe the Edmondson game and maybe the Colorado game, we've been in every game. I think there's been little mistakes, little turnovers at the wrong time, wrong places that have cost us points. I attribute that to a couple things. I think we're fairly young on the backend and we've certainly got some really young players upfront as well. Not all of it falls on them, but I think we're learning a new way, a new style, a new accountability of how to play and I think we're going through that learning process.

On the growing pains of a younger team
I've played on a team like this. Certainly we have some good veterans and some younger players. When you play against teams like LA, Colorado and even Edmonton, who are more mature teams not only from a playing standpoint, but from a physical aspect. So even though you're in the gym and you're working, there's just, it's hard to explain a man's strength versus a younger player's strength. So there are younger players are going through those growing pains as well, can't make a mistake at the wrong time and the [opposing] veterans make you pay. So that's all experience to me. More games, getting more games under their belt to learn those little nuances and understand the time of the game, the type of plays they can risk to make and type of plays that they shouldn't - where they should play safe. That's all part of the learning curve. As a result, there's going to be some games we win, some games we lose, and that's where we're at.

On the winning and losing streaks
We had a good run there for six games and now were in a tough run for seven here, so the young players are seeing both sides of it. Really, for me, it was harder as a player to get out of the losing streak than to come off a winning streak. You might win some games you probably don't deserve to win, but then there are some games that lose you that you deserved to win, and that is the toughest part. That's the hardest part to swallow.

On scoring depth
Obviously, we haven't had consistency with our lineup and with our forward lines. Leo's been in and out. On our fourth line, we move players in and out. At some point, I think when things stabilize a bit more with what we're doing with Leo, and that will probably be in the next six weeks or so, I think the consistency from the group, the consistency on lines being put together and learning to play with one another, I think chemistry will develop. And I think more success, throughout the lineup, chipping in goals will happen.

On special teams
We got off to a rough start, certainly on both special teams but I think, after the first three or four games, we got some units together that started to puck the puck around better and be more predictable in the plays were making. And I think we had success there. We've climbed up on both. I think we're 13th in both special teams, which is very respectable. I'm especially pleased with it with where we came from last year.

On Greg Cronin
I think he's been great. I've been very, very happy with him and his staff. I think what he's brought is, as you watcged throughout training camp, the evolution of teaching these guys the fundamentals of how to get in lines, fundamentals of how to pin guys and staple guys to the boards and keep their checks in front of them. That's been a huge learning process for this whole group. Some of the older players have never seen it and so now they're starting to. As I watch the games, it's becoming more natural to them and more consistent. That's a huge shift in how we play, defending but also forechecking as well. So I think the accountability has been there. Nobody gets missed in some of the team meetings if you're not performing. I think that's been new for the players and it takes a little bit of an adjustment as well. It's a process and we're only a month and a half into the season, so I expect things to become more comfortable and more natural for not only the players, but the coaches as well.

On the additions of Alex Killorn and Radko Gudas
Well Gudas has been a real important piece for us, not only with his competitiveness and physicality, but he drags guys into the fight so to speak and into the emotions of the game. He sticks up for his teammates.

Killorn's is just kind of getting back, he missed all most of the training camp and so it's been a slow start for him, but I expect him to pick it up here in the next couple of weeks. He'll get things turned around and going in the right direction. But as far as leadership and experience, he certainly brings really good attributes there.

On Pavel Mintyukov
I'm actually frankly surprised at how well he's doing. We knew he was a very smart, gifted player. It's funny, we knew about the offensive side, but he's been equally as good on the defensive side. Pavel put a lot of work in the gym in the offseason, and I think it's made a huge, huge difference in his battles along the boards. He's done a really good job. We've been very happy with him.

On the defense
I think the group, with Jackson [LaCombe] and then [Urho] Vaakanainen, after missing a lot of the last part of the year last year and coming up from the hip surgery, has done very well. Vaakanainen and Gudas actually have been a really good pairing together this year. Cam Fowler, we've been really happy with him and how he's played. He logs a lot of minutes and gets put in a lot of tough situations on a nightly basis. I think overall we're trending in the right direction. I look at Jackson LaCombe [and the young defensemen], a lot of more games that need to get under their belt to learn and to get better.

On LaCombe
The tough part is he's been kind of playing his offside. He did it at Minnesota last year. I prefer the defensemen to play on the regular side, their regular forehand side. I think the game is a lot easier for him, and I think it allows him to more naturally feel better and be more confident when he can get up the ice from his natural side versus coming from his offside. So that'll be stuff that could change down the road, but with Luneau in the lineup tonight, we will have three right-hand shots and we'll have three left hand shots. So you'll see Jackson probably on the left hand side tonight and we're looking to see how that will go.

On Luneau
Well, he's played fairly well. For a guy who hasn't seen a lot of action, it's tough to kind of come in and play one game a week, which he kind of has. Then we were able to get him down to San Diego where he got to play six games in a two-week span, which was really good for him. I think it got him jump started. It's a big adjustment. Tristan likes to carry the puck a little bit too much, and we've been working with him on that to move it quicker and he's adjusting.

On the team's goaltending duo
Well, I think at this part, certainly I can't predict the future. Obviously, Lulas is a really good prospect. He's kind of had a rough patch over the last couple games, but we see him as a guy that has a chance to be a really good goaltender for our organization. And John's done very well, played very well for us. He's done a very good job. We haven't been able to give him the run support in some of the games that he's played well enough for us to win. So I've been pleased with our goaltending and how they've played together.

On penalties
Well, that's always a concern when we take more penalties than we're drawing, so I feel at times that things could go the opposite way too. So it's a constant battle with our group, and we're looking to kind of have them ignore all the noise and just battle through it.

You just have to ignore the stuff, control the stuff you can control and go from there.

On Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale updates
Not really. As far as being able to tell you when they're going to come back, they are on the ice skating going through our skating protocols to ramp up to where they're going to push to get back into the lineup. So I can't give you a timeline. It's too unpredictable.

On Leo Carlsson
He's done exactly what we've asked. He's exceeded some of the goals that we had set for him, so we're pleased, very pleased. Now just keep progressing to where he'll be able to play three games a week here coming up in the next week or so. We're going to progress to the next stage of this, the Leo plan.

On moving forward
I think there are certain things in our game that we have to try and eliminate, turnovers when we have full possession of pucks is a key ingredient for us to winning and turning this thing around. We're finding ways to shoot ourselves in the foot, so to speak, when it comes to that stuff. So that's probably a main focus of our group here for the next 10 games.

On the San Diego Gulls
I think that we got off to a great start win wise, started the season 2-0-0 and then it's been a real tough go from there. As I talked to [Gulls head coach Matt McIlvane], I told him not to worry about the wins and losses. We do have a very young team and you're going to go through those growing pains. I'm starting to see now in the last two to three weeks, good upside, good growth in some of our younger players there - not only on defense, but upfront as well.

On McIlvane
I think that anytime you're a coach, you've got leadership qualities. For him, when you're going through a losing stretch, being just a calm, steady voice, positive, and energetic is important. Just keep pushing for guys to do the right things and improving, I think that's the message that Matt's conveying and frankly, that's the message that I want them to receive. For the players, they're doing well and we're not getting the results, but I think at some point the results will start turning around.

On his holiday plans
Well, I'll get back to Michigan and see my kids for Christmas for a couple of days. Then we will head over to the World Junior Championships for a week and watch some hockey there.