Defensemen- Ruslan Salei and Oleg Tverdovsky
Ruslan Salei and Oleg Tverdosky were great Duck blueliners. Of the 114 defensemen that have suited up for the Ducks over their 25-year history, these two rank in the top 10. Salei compiled 26-79-105 in his 594 games with the Ducks. His games played is the most by any Ducks defenseman and his points rank him 10th all time.
He didn’t join the Ducks until 1996 but he had some big moments in his tenure. The Belarussian was a big defenseman for the time standing over 6 feet and 212 pounds. He used every bit of it as he was a hard-hitting defenseman as well as being a quality puck mover.
His assist total is a tribute to his skill at getting pucks from the point through and on the net. Salei was a great Ducks player and like Hebert above laid the groundwork for the defenseman of the future. Salei was tragically killed in a plane accident in 2011 but he is never forgotten by hockey fans and Ducks fans alike.
Oleg Tverdovsky
Tverdovsky joined the Ducks in 1994 at the ripe old age of 18. He was the second overall pick of the 1994 draft and for good reason. “O.T” burst on to the scene as a fast Russian defenseman for the then year-old Ducks. He posted 34 points in his first 87 games with the team.
It was his high-end play that allowed the Ducks to trade Tverdovsky for another player that will appear on this list, Ducks legend Teemu Selanne. Tverdovsky would find his way back to the Ducks and put up even more points than before. 45-125-170 in 324 total games with the team.
These point totals have him sitting fourth in goals, assists, and points, eighth in games played and fifth in power play goals. Tverdovsky was one of the first “offensive defenseman” the Ducks would have in their history.
This was at a time where “offensive defensemen” weren’t as highly valued in the league as they are today. Now the Ducks have many offensive-minded defensemen trying to chase down Tverdovsky’s numbers. With any luck, they will get there one day.
Tverdovsky brought the Ducks some added punch on the back-end and his talent brought them a franchise cornerstone as well. That’s pretty good for a young kid out of Russia coming to play hockey in SoCal.