Anaheim Ducks Mid-Season Awards: Who has been the most valuable?
With the second half of the 2016-17 campaign in full swing, we hand out awards to Anaheim Ducks players for what they done so far.
Having played 54 games, we are technically passed the halfway point but I digress.
By using the NHL award format, I will be selecting a player who meets the standards of the award.
The NHL award format every hockey fan is aware of will be the one of use today.
Keep in mind, I have narrowed down which awards I will go over, for there are some categories not worth going over for the sake of there not being a good candidate.
Now on with the feature presentation.
Norris:
In my mind, there should be no dispute over this. Cam Fowler has been the Anaheim Ducks best blue liner.
He could have chosen to be distracted by the trade rumors surrounding him, but he didn’t. And he had to deal with this since last season.
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The best way to combat chatter is to let your actions speak louder than words.
Fowler leads all Anaheim defenseman in goals, assists and power play points.
He has already set a new career high in goals (11) and is on pace to produce the most points in one season in his career.
And you know you’re a vital part of the team when you lead the d-corps for time on ice in every situation.
He has played 266 minutes more than the next person in line, Sami Vatanen.
Also in his seventh NHL season as a 25-year-old, he’s a decent possession player with a 49.52 Corsi For %.
This is a testament to his maturity as a professional hockey player.
Lady Byng:
This is probably the award I have the most beef with.
Per the Hockey Hall of Fame, this distinction is given to the player who best exemplifies “gentlemanly conduct with a high standard of playing ability”.
Basically meaning, who is the little big giant in a violent sport that puts up a lot of points and avoids the penalty box.
The person who best fit this criteria is none other than Rickard Rakell.
From what we have seen so far, he has never been one to take a lot of mistakes that got him penalized.
He has just eight penalty minutes this season, his highest total in a season was 19, made last year.
Rakell leads the team in goals (21) with a 21.2 shooting % after missing 11 games due to a contract holdout and an abdomen injury.
Vezina:
Granted there are only two players to choose from for this award, so the work is already cut for you.
And though it is quite clear now that John Gibson is the nominee, I was quite skeptical of his abilities to deliver as a number one goaltender in the beginning of the season.
I thought that if the Anaheim Ducks fail to make the play-offs this season, it would be because the Gibson experiment didn’t go as planned.
And for a while that’s what it looked like.
His back-up Jonathan Bernier was outperforming him in the first two months posting a .932 save % to Gibson’s below league average .912.
Fast forward to now where he is top-15 in wins, save percentage and GAA.
Thanks to a great January where he stopped .946 % of the shots he faced and posted two shutouts.
Selke:
Some people might automatically penciled in Ryan Kesler after he had his foot in the door as a finalist last season.
This category has been dominated by centers in years past, with the last winger to earn the nod was Jere Lehtinen in 2003.
But Andrew Cogliano has been an integral part of the team since his arrival in 2011, and his value is at an all-time high.
He is our best forechecking forward and is the main reason why our penalty killing has been top notch.
On top of that, he has been Mr. Reliable by not missing a single game in his career. 758 consecutive games and counting.
In addition, Cogliano has 12 shorthanded goals during his Anaheim Ducks tenure, including two from this season.
Hart:
As fans we always set the bar high as far as our expectations goes for how well the team does every year.
After a down year by his standards in 2016, many thought Corey Perry was going to terrorize the league the way he did en route to a Hart award in 2011.
However, this is where Ryan Kesler swoops you off your feet.
Given the physical game he plays, his contract that lasts until 2023 concerns me.
As happy I was when we first got him, it never crossed my mind that he would be our best player let alone lead the team in points.
After all, we specifically got him to be the second line center.
So how this will pan out down the line remains to be seen, but until then I like our chances of winning a cup in 2-3 years.
Kesler, you have earned the right to tell Getzy that you’re the captain now.