Young Ducks Making Early Impact in Debut Seasons

The key to any promising rebuild lies with the youth.

And for a few years now, Anaheim has ushered the eldest of its youthful core to the NHL, headlined by Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale and Mason McTavish.

But that group has grown in population this fall, and despite a lack of early results against a daunting opening schedule, the young Ducks are already making their impacts felt under new head coach Greg Cronin.

"They're what we've talked about," winger Frank Vatrano said after last week's win over Carolina. "For our future, you need as many young guys as you can that can play in the NHL. We have guys on our team that are 18, 19, 20 years old. It's not easy to play in this league. This is a man's league. We're only a few games into this, but they're holding their own and they give us a breath of fresh air out there."

Many of the headlines will go to Carlsson, the heralded second overall pick in this summer’s draft. The 18-year-old Swede hardly looked out of place jumping right into the middle on Anaheim’s top line, centering a Zegras and Troy Terry grouping that had tons of scoring chances in its first two games together.

"I told him I expect him to be the best player on the ice," Cronin said frankly before Carlsson's debut. "He's a good hockey player. He's a quiet guy, but he's got a lot of self-confidence."

"He's strong on the puck," Terry added. "I was following the draft and everything and knew about those top three guys. I don't feel like his skating was talked about much, but his speed is phenomenal for how big he is. His hands, his brain and he makes life easy for me, as a winger...He looked like he played freely. He's a special player."

After a long year-plus of hockey spanning 2022 and 2023, which included stops in the Swedish pro league, the IIHF World Championships, the NHL Draft and then Anaheim’s development camp, Ducks coaches and management alike felt the young center benefited some time to recharge this summer and, as seen in Sunday’s game vs. Boston, have implemented a development plan aimed at maximizing his minutes late in the season.

“I played in this league as a 19-year-old,” Ducks GM Pat Verbeek told The Athletic's Eric Stephens. “I kind of know at game 40, 42 somewhere in there, I hit a wall. It took me a while to kind of get through that wall, and I don’t want him to go through that. I want him to be a horse in the second half of the season. So, we’re going to manage his games for the next couple of months anyways.”

A few nights prior, Carlsson scored his first NHL goal with his parents in the building at Honda Center, converting a 2-on-1 rush with Terry and celebrating with Ducks fans on the glass afterwards.

Beyond Carlsson though are several more young Ducks on their way to carving out a bigger role. Rookie defenseman Pavel Mintyukov has made the transition from junior hockey to the NHL look more like a skip than a hurdle - earning a promotion to the Ducks top power-play unit over the weekend.

"He's a big, solid kid, a 210-pound defenseman who can skate," Cronin said. "He's fearless. He's got good offensive instincts, that was clearly reflected in his statistics last year in the OHL. And he's a very mature kid.

"Minty is an athlete. The big thing with him will be using his athleticism efficiently. Sometimes he gets a little bit too aggressive, so he'll have to learn when to go, both offensively and defensively."

Mintyukov recorded points in his second and third NHL games, his first NHL goal a brilliant pass by fellow first-year blue liner Jackson LaCombe at 4-on-4.

"Four-on-four, you're looking for guys who can skate and those are two of our best skaters," Cronin said when asked about icing the two rookies together. "I don't care if they're 18, 19 or 20, they're athletes and they're confident players, so I wanted them on the ice.

"It's a good window into the future of this organization."

LaCombe may not flash offensively as often as Mintyukov, but the smooth-skating University of Minnesota alum has quickly found a home next to physical veteran Radko Gudas on Anaheim’s second pair.

"He's been so helpful, really to all of us young guys," LaCombe said of his partner. "He's always giving up tips and showing us little areas we can improve on. He knows the ins-and-outs and he's easy to learn from."

LaCombe has played in each of the Ducks first five games and has only been on the ice for one even-strength goal against while averaging 19 minutes per night.

"We're learning to defend in new ways," LaCombe said. "Teams are going to be coming fast so it's about getting our gaps tight, being physical and keeping them to the outside. Those are big keys for us."

Also on defense, in the absence of Jamie Drysdale to a lower-body injury, 19-year-old Tristan Luneau has earned the opportunity for a look alongside the longest tenured Duck, Cam Fowler. The reigning Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Defenseman of the Year, Luneau has shown the physical tools that once made him the top pick in the junior league’s entry draft, but has also impressed Cronin with his ability to defend off the puck.

"He's like a stallion, he seriously looks like a wild horse," Cronin said. "He's full of explosiveness, fast-twitch, courage and confidence. He wants the puck. I think that style is what made him Defenseman of the Year in the QMJHL.

"I thought he defended well [in his debut game vs. Dallas]. I was more worried about what he was going to do away from the puck defensively, but I thought he did a great job."

Added Fowler, "Tristan's eager to learn, eager to take in as much information as he can and try to bounce some things off the older guys. That's always encouraging when you see someone whose got a passion to learn and to figure out a way to become a pro player. And then he's got the skills and tools to round that all into form. He skates really well and sees the ice really well, so we're all really looking forward to what his career turns into."

Meanwhile up front, Bo Groulx finds himself centering Anaheim’s third line, usually with Jakob Silfverberg aligned to his right. Groulx figures to be an integral part of the Ducks penalty kill, but also may have more offensive upside than in past NHL showings. The son of Syracuse Crunch (AHL) head coach Benoit Groulx, Bo led the San Diego Gulls last season in goals and points.

In net, Lukas Dostal has stepped in as John Gibson’s backup and impressed in each of his first two starts. The always calm Dostal has stopped 57-of-62 shots overall and backstopped the Ducks to the home opener victory over Carolina .

And of course, a competitive Ducks training camp meant not every recent draftee could find their way on to the NHL roster. Noah Warren, who Cronin recently described as the "prototypical 2023-24 defenseman”, was sent back to Victoriaville for another year of junior hockey. Down in San Diego, Olen Zellweger already owns four points in three AHL games, while winger Pavol Regenda leads the club with four goals. San Diego’s roster also includes top prospects Tyson Hinds, Nathan Gaucher and goaltender Calle Clang.

For more on the Ducks prospect pool, click here.