Anaheim Ducks: October Player Grades, Forwards Part 1

The calendar has flipped to November meaning we are a month through the NHL season. And we here at Pucks of a Feather are putting on our professor hats. We will be grading the various Ducks players through the first month of the season. Be on the lookout for the forwards part 2 as well as the defensemen, goalies, and coaches.

The Anaheim Ducks finished October with a record of 5-6-3. This is a disappointing record in every imaginable way but even more disappointing since the Ducks once sat at 5-1-1. There are different opinions on what exactly is the cause for the Ducks quite extensive losing streak. But that is a different article for a different day. Today we’re handing out grades to one set of forwards with the next set and the rest of the team on the way. The players graded in this installment will be Ryan Getzlaf, Adam Henrique, Pontus Aberg, Brian Gibbons, Joe Blandisi, and Carter Rowney. So without further delay here we go:

Ryan Getzlaf: (A)

Ryan Getzlaf missed five games due to a groin injury early in the season but has come back with a vengeance. Getzlaf had 8 points in the month of October including a three-game point streak in which two of them were multi-point efforts. If you count the first game of November against the Rangers it’s a 4 game point streak where 3 of 4 were multi-point efforts from the Captain. Getzlaf looks noticeably agitated and fed up on the ice. I don’t mean in a bad way as he wants out of Anaheim but in a way that he is fed up losing and how the team has looked. And who could blame him, the Ducks who looked like gang-busters to start the year suddenly look like a disjointed and disinterested group. If they have any hope of turning it around Getzlaf will lead the charge, on the ice and in the locker room.

He is excelling on both ends of the spectrum. It can be assumed he at least had a hand in the players-only meeting the other day and he is leading by example on the ice. Getzlaf is tied for the team lead in points, second on the team in power-play points, 57% on the face-off dots, and has been imposing his will on the opposition especially as of late. Getzlaf has been the emotional and statistical center for the Ducks for some time now. Typically as he goes the Ducks go. Hopefully, that remains the same because it’s clear he isn’t getting any younger and you wonder if he is realizing his Stanley Cup window is closing.

Getzlaf will be the pivot that gets this Ducks turnaround going. He is doing all he can right now, he just needs his teammates to follow suit.

Pontus Aberg: (B-)

I gave both Pontus Aberg and Carter Rowney B range grades for very different reasons but perhaps equally important. Aberg was claimed off waivers and after appearing in the Ducks opening night tilt in San Jose was promptly sent to San Diego. Not surprising as he looked out of place, wasn’t making an impact, and overall lost. He was recalled in mid-late October and would suit up for the Ducks in seven games in October. Through those seven games, he has gone from lost liability to scoring dynamo and everywhere in between.

He has found the scoring touch potting 4 goals over the last three games and given the Ducks one of the few bright spots the last little while. And while he has been great the last few games it doesn’t make up for the other five games. His only points are two two-goal games against the Sharks and Flyers respectively. But he has been a minus 3 times on the season already.

If the Aberg of the last few games is what we get all season his grade will move up. But he has been inconsistent at best.

Carter Rowney: (B)

Carter Rowney was an interesting signing. At the time I didn’t see the need or reason for it but after watching the opening few games it was clear this was a shrewd depth sign. Rowney started the year on the 4th line with Brian Gibbons and Ben Street as his wings and gave the Ducks something they haven’t had in recent memory, an effective 4th line. These three were fast, smart with the puck, effective in their own zone, and relentless on the fore-check. They were not going to take the world by storm but they knew their job and were performing it to a tee. 4th lines are not looked at to score, they are looked at to not get scored on. As a 4th liner, your goal is to break even and give the big guns a rest. And if they contribute offensively its a bonus.

Rowney played in only five games before being injured and not suiting up for the rest of the month. But he was noticeable for all the right reasons when he was out there and was able to score a goal in the Ducks opening night win over the Sharks. He hasn’t been cleared to play since leaving the Stars game on October 13th. But when he comes back he is a great smart depth player for the Ducks to have. Nothing flashy here but he shows up and gets the job done. All your asking for from someone like Rowney.

Adam Henrique (C)

A C is an average grade. And right now Adam Henrique is an average player. Henrique came to the Ducks around this time last year. He was just the shot of life the Ducks needed and kept them afloat while the likes of Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler were out with injuries. He played his way right into a contract this summer that saw #14 sign a five-year extension after this season that will pay him 5.825 million per until 2023-24′. Right now he isn’t earning any of that contract. He has played in all 14 of the Ducks games (13 in October) and has a 3-3-6 line in that time. His 6 points on the year rank him 6th on the team but the Ducks haven’t been putting points up as a team. He does lead the team in power-play goals with 2 but that doesn’t say much on a middling to bottom 10 power-play unit.

Henrique who is also seen as a great two-way player finds himself as a minus 2 on the season and is hovering around 44% in the face-off circle. One of the Ducks biggest positives is their center depth but Henrique needs that face-off percentage at least 10% higher. He is been a non-factor in too many games so far and that along with many other things for the Ducks need to change. He has rotating linemates night in and night out which isn’t easy but so has Getzlaf and Kesler for that matter.

Henrique needs to find his game along with many other Ducks and find it fast. He hasn’t been bad but he has been far from good.

Brian Gibbons: (D)

The saying goes if you have two goalies, then you have no goalies. While for Brian Gibbons it’s more like if you have 5 speedy wingers you have no speedy wingers. Gibbons signed this off-season according to Bob Murray to better mesh with the new fast style the Ducks would be playing. We won’t get it into that complete bull stuff comment here but it made some sense at the time. However, the Ducks now have Max Comtois, Isac Lundestrom, Kiefer Sherwood and the likes of Patrick Eaves and Pontus Aberg in the fold that make him expendable.  His grade is a D and not an F due in part to the chemistry he had with Ben Street and Carter Rowney but that line may never be reunited again.

On top of it, Gibbons has played in 10 games for the Ducks going pointless and is a -3. As I said above about Carter Rowney your 4th line players need to at the very least break even. Right now he is three under and this isn’t golf. Gibbons brings speed to the table and not much else. The kids are showing they can do exactly what he can and then some. Comtois and Sherwood especially have more points and a better +/- as well as are more skilled and are just as fast if not faster. Gibbons needs to step up or come November he may not even have a chance to get a grade.