Anaheim Ducks: Rickard Rakell is key to Stanley Cup Victory
The Anaheim Ducks are ready to take some forward steps. To do so, All-Star left wing Rickard Rakell needs to lead his team by example.
Much has been written about the 2017-18 Anaheim Ducks. Stars hurt, behind the eight ball from the get-go, playing an old style, goaltending saved them, and so on and so forth. With all the “Johnny rain-cloud” mentality, in addition to the despair their early start to summer had, optimism seems to be coming back to Katella Ave.
There have been some interesting free agent signings this summer, but those players look to be insurance policies for injury only. The roster looks to be getting an injection of youth. Impact players like Brandon Montour, Adam Henrique, and John Gibson have been locked up going forward.
Finally, the team looks to be healthy headed into this season. (Take Ryan Kesler’s most recent Twitter trolling as more good news.) And yet even with all of this the most important player on the Ducks roster may be one that was there all along last season.
Swedish has Finish
Rickard Rakell was in an interesting place last October. The then 24-year-old was entering into his fourth full pro season, coming off a 51 point performance the prior year. While 51 points is hardly a bad season, you want your top offensive player to be scoring more than that. Injuries to stars like Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, and Patrick Eaves, along with a decline in Corey Perry’s play, Rakell found himself as the go-to offensive weapon.
The hockey world knew about Rakell and that he was a good offensive player. At that time, he didn’t instill fear in his opponents. Ricky Rak changed his narrative in 2018.
Though the play of John Gibson was also a huge reason the Ducks stayed afloat in the early going, they still may have sunk had it not been for Rakell. He went off for 29 points (14g,15a) in the Ducks first 35 games. Rakell proved he can be an almost point per game player when he doesn’t have a ton of help around him.
The calendar flipped to 2018, and the star payers were back on the ice. In the Ducks final 47 regular season games Rakell went 20g, 20a, for 40 points to close out the regular season with 69 points. That was an 18 point increase from the season before.
Ricky Rak always looked dangerous, with and without the other offensive stars. As much as I’m a Rakell fan and love his point progression last season, the Anaheim Ducks need more from him.
Greatness can’t Rest
I like to think I’m tough but fair. I want to hold Rakell and the Anaheim Ducks to a higher standard where making the playoffs isn’t a good enough accomplishment. Throwing a parade for just getting in the post-season shouldn’t be acceptable.
I am a Ducks fan living just south of Boston, its ingrained in my DNA to not be satisfied just being good, I want greatness. Only 26, I didn’t suffer as much as others with the Red Sox but was never happy just making it to the playoffs. So I won’t be satisfied until the Ducks are threatening to win the Stanley Cup year in and year out.
For that to become a reality, it may fall to Rakell. 69 points were good, but he’s capable of potting 80-90. The Ducks need Rakell to take that step and be that guy.
Yes, Getzlaf is still a top-flight center, I think Perry will be better this year and seems like Eaves and Kesler will be there for the start of the season. But as Reggie Jackson said in 1977, Rakell needs to be the “straw that stirs the drink”.
Rakell has the “Getzlaf gene,” which is the ability to take over a game. He needs to put the league on notice this year. 69 points and his first All-Star appearance last season were a good first step but his one goal and minus four performance in the playoffs doesn’t cut it. Hockey is a team sport so the post-season failure isn’t all on him, but Rakell needs to raise up the rest of the offense around him.
Rakell can make guys like Perry better. He can be a lethal option on the power play and give teams more to worry about every time he’s on the ice. It may be unfair to ask but Rakell needs to be even better than he’s been.
Present and Future
Rakell is 25, he is going to be on this team for the next decade at least. Sooner rather than later, he will be “the guy” and the Honda Center, “his pond.”
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I don’t want to rush the likes of Getzlaf and Kesler out the door since I believe they can still be pivotal in bringing a Cup to Anaheim. Rakell needs to take the reins and become a leader alongside those vets. Learning from their leadership structure and using what he learns to develop his style.
The venerable veterans won’t be here forever. It is going to be Rakell that ushers in the next wave of Ducks hockey. He’ll be a mentor to the likes of Sam Steel, Max Jones, Maxime Comtois, Antonie Morand and so on. It’s most likely Cam Fowler that will wear the captain’s “C” when Getzlaf retires, and he should for a multitude of reasons. However, Rakell will have the “A” and be the leader of the offense.
The young guns coming up whether it be forwards or defensman will look to Rakell for guidance and that process needs to start sooner rather than later. Rakell has been in Anaheim long enough. He’s been part of deep playoff runs and knows what it takes to win and be successful in this league.
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Rakell needs to put the league on notice that he is a star and here to stay. He is the next star skater to keep the Ducks relevant and competing for titles year in and year out. As Yan taught us all in D3, “You don’t need a letter to lead.” Rakell’s time to start leading this team is now.