2017-18 First Annual Anaheim Ducks “Quackie” Awards – Part Three

Pucks of Feather rewards excellence. Its why we created the Anaheim Ducks Quackie awards. We wrap it up with the final three awards.

It’s time for the long-awaited main event of the Anaheim Ducks Quackie Awards. Today we give awards for Newcomer of the Year, Best Defenseman, and team MVP. In case you missed them, here are links to part one, and part two.

Newcomer of the Year

3rd Place – Marcus Pettersson. – Marcus Pettersson wasn’t an Anaheim Ducks player for very long, but he made an impact. His first game was February 15 and he went on to play 22 games. That isn’t an easy task when the coach is not known as a nurturer of young talent.

He proved himself to both head coach Randy Carlyle and the rest of the team. When Cam Fowler went down with an injury at the start of April, Pettersson, along with the rest of the defensemen stepped up. His skating, puck-handling, and defensive acumen will make him an important part of the Ducks organization going forward.

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2nd Place – Kevin Roy. The diminutive forward played only 25 games for the Anaheim Ducks this season. When he was called up in early November from San Diego, the Ducks were searching for an offensive boost. Roy responded with seven points in 25 games.

Roy’s best performance came on December 14 at St. Louis. He scored twice in the second period, including the deciding goal in a 3-1 Ducks win.

He possesses outstanding speed, despite his 5’9” frame. The Ducks are hoping he could be the next Martin St. Louis.

1st Place – Adam Henrique. How many players can you point to and say that they saved a season? Start pointing at Adam Henrique. The Anaheim Ducks were floundering until General Manager Bob Murray swung a deal with the New Jersey Devils to get Henrique in exchange for defenseman Sami Vatanen. A trade that helped both teams.

He scored 36 points in 57 games, including eight on the power play. His biggest contribution to the team was in pulling the second-and-a-half line together. Henrique centered Ondrej Kase and Nick Ritchie into relevance. Further, the Ducks will enter 2017-18 three centers deep, with him, Ryan Getzlaf, and Ryan Kesler.

Best Defenseman

3rd Place – Cam Fowler. If there were any questions in the minds of Ducks fans about Cam Fowler’s value to the team, they were answered the week of April 12. That was the start of Anaheim’s first-round series with San Jose. Ducks were lost without him on the blueline.

Fowler only played 67 games this season, but he still finished second among Ducks defensemen with 32 points. His 24:51 of ice time per night was tops on the team. If that isn’t value, what is?

2nd Place – Hampus Lindholm. Lindholm is a complete two-way player. Randy Carlyle is able to deploy the 24-year-old blueliner in any situation, even strength, the power play, or short-handed. He had a career-high 13 goals scored this season.

1st Place – Josh Manson. When the staff voted in this category, Manson was the runaway winner. He played all but two games this season, finishing second on the team in hits with 180. He was tops among Anaheim Ducks defensemen with 30 assists and 37 points, despite very limited power play time. Manson was a force at even strength, he led all NHL blueliners at +37.

MVP

3rd Place – Ryan Getzlaf. The Anaheim Ducks Captain had another outstanding season on the offensive end. He put up 50 assists for the eighth time in his career. Getzlaf was second on the team in points (61), power play points (13), faceoff wins (406), and +/- (+20). All of which was accomplished in 56 games. Additionally, he was first in the league in assists per game (0.89). Had Getzlaf played more games, he might have been higher on this list.

2nd Place – Rickard Rakell. The former first-round pick in 2011 was once again the Ducks best offensive player. He scored 69 points (34g, 35a) with 18 coming on the power play. On a team that didn’t have many offensive options, Rakell was the only consistent scorer the Ducks could rely on.

1st Place – John Gibson. He is the Ducks best player. Among goalies with 50 games played this season, Gibson was tenth in wins (31), ninth in shutouts (4), sixth in Goals Against Average (2.43), and second in Save % (.923).

There were many nights this season, the only reason the Ducks were competitive was due to Gibson. His clutch goaltending sparked the team.

Next: The Anaheim Ducks great goalie debate - 2 years after Andersen

Thanks for sticking with us through the three-part series.