Anaheim Ducks: Should They Make Way For the Ducklings?

The Anaheim Ducks 2018-19 incarnation was supposed to blend the old guard with the new. They seem to have figured out what ailed them for much of November and have put themselves back in a playoff spot. Is it the right call for the immediate future and looking down the line?

Your Anaheim Ducks are 16-11-5 at the moment of writing this and in 2nd place in the Pacific Division. They are in striking distance of the first place Calgary Flames and somehow rose from the dead after just a brutal stretch of hockey from late October to mid-November. And with their recent string of overall good play, the adage goes if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. But what is the plan going forward?

This season is starting to look eerily similar to last year. Injury raved to start, they stay afloat, get healthy, and make a run to the post-season. Then it all ended with a screeching halt. Why? Because their style of play and roster composition doesn’t translate to the post-season. The post-season rosters that have done the most damage are the ones with a perfect blend of veterans who know what it takes and skilled kids that can do damage.

The plan going into this year was that the Ducklings up front were finally ready to make the jump. And with the veterans still in the line-up, they were going to have the opportunity to learn and make their mistakes so that when the games ramped up they were ready to go. But where are they now?

Playing on the Small Pond

Max Comtois has been sent back to juniors despite staying here long enough to burn a year of his contract. Sam Steel, Troy Terry, Max Jones, and even Isac Lundestrom are all sitting down in San Diego. Much has been made of the Ducks scoring woes (Yes weird to bring up the night after they score 6 but it’s not the norm). And yet the kids are still down there.

Now yes Steel and Terry were up here to start the year and had their moments. But they were being asked to lead the team at that time. Something neither was ready for nor should have been expected to do. And the two of them have been putting up great numbers in the AHL. Terry is over a point per game player for the Gulls. Steel has 9 points in 14 games.

Max Jones after returning from his own injury has been posting good numbers, a 5-5-10 line in 18 games and still hasn’t been given a shot in the NHL. But things are different than earlier in the year. Ryan Getzlaf is back, Ryan Kesler is back, Ondrej Kase is back. The veteran forwards have returned and the kids should be added to the mix. So why haven’t they?

Well in some cases there is a logjam. Pontus Aberg has been a revelation leading the Ducks in goals to this point. Jakob Silfverberg is third on the team in points. Ondrej Kase already has a 5-6-11 line in 14 games. Ryan Getzlaf has been dynamite and the likes of Ryan Kesler, Rickard Rakell and Adam Henrique are sound and producing. And you also have the likes of Andrew Cogliano and Nick Ritchie chipping in here and there and the eventual return of Corey Perry.  So where do the kids go? Where they should be if Randy Carlyle keeps things rolling the way he has all season. A kid 4th line

What’s The Worst That Happens?

As it currently stands the Ducks fourth line typically rotates around Kiefer Sherwood, Carter Rowney, Ben Street, and Brian Gibbons. Those four combined are not superior to a line that would consist of Terry-Steel-Jones. Let the kids come up and play meaningful minutes. If the Ducks were only rolling 2-3 lines I wouldn’t suggest this because I’d rather they get playing time in SD then ride the pine in Anaheim. But the Ducks have been rolling four and I would rather see all the kids out there than the likes of Street or Gibbons ever see the ice again as Ducks.

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They can build chemistry together and finally learn the NHL game from the veterans above them. They would be following in line with the leaders not trying to lead before they know the way.

That line could be lethal with Steel’s 2-way game already seen as NHL ready, Terry’s shot, and Jones power forward make-up. They would also go up against other teams fourth lines more often making their time easier and when they aren’t Steel and Terry already proved they can hang on the biggest stage.

It’s clear Gibbons and Street haven’t worked out so losing them via waivers wouldn’t be a huge loss. Rowney has some value as an extra forward and with the way this team is hit by the injury bug, he could be used.

No disrespect to Sherwood, because I think he’s a great story and will be a solid 3rd-4th liner for the Ducks. But getting some time in SD wouldn’t be the worst for him. Let him hone his game and see where he can take it from there.

The Ducks are at a crossroads. They need to plan for the future while also making a run at a Cup now with the veteran core they have. But as it stands they have a veteran core brought down by their mediocre bottom line. The adage also goes you’re only as strong as your weakest link, and I don’t think anyone in Anaheim or Ducks fans abroad want a repeat of last spring. If the kids came up now, there is a far less chance of that happening.

These kids don’t need a year in the AHL to find their legs. They have them. And you have to ask if not now, when?