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Anaheim Ducks Final Grades: Sami Vatanen Evaluation

By Griffin Foster

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Professor Foster back at the desk, time to hand out more Anaheim Ducks end of year grades. Next in line for an evaluation is Sami Vatanen.

After fulfilling a part time role with the Ducks from 2012-2014, Sami Vatanen was finally given a full time roster spot for the ’14-’15 season. Selected by the Ducks in the 4th round of the 2009 draft, Sami is turning out to be quite the steal.

At 24, Vatanen is still learning how to be a good NHL defensemen. He’s 1 of 4 Anaheim blue-liners under the age of 25, the others being Lindholm, Fowler and Despres. The ’12-’13 and ’13-’14 seasons did not present the right time to fully evaluate Vatnens game due to his part time role as Ducks GM Bob Murray felt Sami’s game could still evolve with time spent in the AHL. After playing 67 games this season along with an appearance in every postseason game, Vatanen’s game is ready to be dissected and evaluated.

Highlights

Sami Vatanen is an offensive mastermind. He’s a smaller defensemen who has great skating ability and killer instincts. He showed this talent throughout the season with some incredible puck handling plays where he darted through the zone, weaving around opposing players. He created a number of scoring chances because of this aggressive play and it often lead to ‘ooohs’ and ‘ahhhs’. 12 goals, 25 assists and 37 points, great numbers for an offensive minded defensemen’s first full season. He was given quarterback responsibilities on the power play and showed that he can one day be a Kevin Shattenkirk type of power play guru. He scored 7 goals on the power play and despite his smaller size, his shot from the point is above average. He will gain more confidence on the power play over time and next season he could really start to evolve and the Ducks power play may benefit.

Here is an example of what Sami can do offensively.

Here is an example of his above average shot from the point.

Aside from his offensive talent, Sami works hard in the defensive zone. He is a good shot blocker and Bruce Boudreau used Vatanen on the penalty kill quite a bit. When he is in position, he seems to always be able to disrupt the oppositions attack. He showed fearlessness while playing on the penalty kill and it was noticeable.

Anaheim Ducks
Anaheim Ducks /

Anaheim Ducks

The advances statistics show that the Ducks are a much better possession team when Vatanen is on the ice. Anaheim generated more shots when he was on the ice as well as more scoring chances. His offensive zone start percentage was high but clearly that is due to his great offensive abilities. Sami showed this season that he can be the true offensive defensive that the Ducks will need in the future.

Room For Improvement

Vatanen is an all out offensive defensemen despite being somewhat of an above average shot blocker. Defensively he was exposed at times throughout the season and he will need to work on that. Too many times he was caught out of position or was unable to catch up to faster opposing forwards. Vatanen spent the majority or the regular season and postseason playing on the Ducks third defensive pair alongside Clayton Stoner. The two were responsible for a number of opposing breakaway opportunities. There are also times when it appears that Vatanen has forgotten what position he plays. More often than not he is looking to join the rush and he has yet to learn when it is the right or wrong time to do so. Playing next to Stoner seemed like it could benefit Vatanen as Stoner is clearly a stay at home hard hitting defensive minded blue-liner, but it appears that Vatanen could benefit from playing next to a better skating defensemen who can compensate for Sami’s over aggressive style of play at times.

Sami is a good skater but does not posses that same breakout speed that Lindholm and Fowler and Despres seem to have. That lack of acceleration may be due to his smaller stature but it should be the number one priority when it comes to what Sami must improve upon this offseason. His offensive game is there and he works hard as a tenacious defender, but adding a few more pounds of muscle to his frame and generating some breakout speed will help him progress into a better two way defender.

C+. Sami gets a C+ because he is still very young. He did not have an overly exceptional season despite what the statistics say about his offensive input. He needs to learn how to be a better defensive blue-liner and he must progress his timing of when to join the rush and when to not play so overly aggressive. While he is supposed to be the quarterback of the power play, you cannot entirely place the Ducks man advantage struggles onto Sami’s shoulders. He is still young and will learn to become an overall better defensemen over time. His offensive game could earn him a B+ while his defensive game is deserving of a C. I’ll average everything out and say that for a young offensive minded defensemen, Sami Vatanen deserves a C+ for a good but not great season.. D. Anaheim Ducks. SAMI VATANEN

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