Anaheim Ducks: Catching Up With the Winged Wheels

It’s been a few months since the Anaheim Ducks and the Detroit Red Wings met in the faceoff circle. In an effort to catch up with our oldest rivals, I caught up with my good friend, Bob Heyrman.

All of the hype surrounding October’s home opener against the Detroit Red Wings that I dubbed “a rematch 25 years in the making” has long since died down. Nevertheless, it’s always an exciting occurrence when the Anaheim Ducks meet their oldest rivals in the faceoff circle.

The Anaheim Ducks skate out onto the ice at Little Caesars Arena tonight with an 11 game losing streak in their rearview mirror. The chance to break their horrendous streak starts tonight. However, if things continue in the way they have been, there’s a big chance that a longer losing streak is looming on the horizon.

Tonight, the Red Wings are hoping to prolong the Anaheim Ducks losing streak. Fresh off a phenomenal 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild, there is plenty of motivation prompting them to win tonight. Despite their recent win, however, this season hasn’t been smooth sailing for the Wings by any means.

In fact, the Red Wings are in a very similar situation to the Anaheim Ducks. Currently 17-23-7, they are 7th in the Atlantic Division. The injury bug has made its rounds through Hockeytown this year too, targeting their veterans.

However, while a chance at the playoffs is already in their rearview mirror, that doesn’t mean they’ll be putting their foot on the breaks tonight. The Anaheim Ducks are going to try and regain some momentum, but the Red Wings aren’t going to make it easy.

In order to catch up with the Winged Wheels, I had the esteemed opportunity to talk hockey with my good friend, Bob Heyrman, site expert at Octopus Thrower. We discussed players to watch, challenges ahead, the draft, and had a little fun. He even offered some encouragement for Ducks Nation to take to heart as we work through our frustration.

The emotions of Ducks Nation are heightened in the midst of an 11 game losing streak. Bob offers some advice on how to work through the frustration.

Ciara Durant: The Anaheim Ducks are in the midst of an eleven game losing streak. You’ve been a Red Wings fan your whole life, I’m sure you’ve gone through seasons like this before. Is there any encouragement you can offer to Ducks Nation while they’re in the heat of their frustration?

Bob Heyrman: You know something funny? The Wings haven’t been much better as of late. They’ve struggled mightily since December 1st. They have a record of 6-12-4 during that span.

Prior to last season, the Detroit Red Wings had that lengthy 25-year playoff streak. So, although they’ve surely had slumps, they were always able to work their way out of them.

The most important thing I would tell Ducks fans is to be patient. I expect Rickard Rakell to build on his stellar performances from the past three years. He showed continued growth over that span; yet, he’s just having a down year. Although he’s been hampered with an ankle injury, he wasn’t performing up to par before the injury.

Ondrej Kase and Pontus Aberg look like solid prospects moving forward. The Ducks depth up front is nothing to write him about. I love Ryan Getzlaf, but he isn’t the same player he once was. He’s a terrific leader, but imagine how good they could be if he were skating as the second center.

Ryan Kesler owns the untradable contract; I wouldn’t be surprised to see him eventually being bought out. I feel like the Ducks need to continue to clean out some of the veteran players with the gas tank empty before they can turn the corner and make a run again.

My words of encouragement are simple. Be patient. It seems to be the hardest thing to do in society these days. We want results now, forget the process. We expect to contend now. It just doesn’t work that way anymore with the parity of the NHL.

You need to build through the draft, and you need depth down the middle of your line up. Getzlaf, Henrique Kesler… They should be slated 2/3/4. There is one crucial piece missing, the number one center.

If you can’t focus on the playoffs, focus on the draft. Who should the Red Wings target with their first-round draft pick?

Ciara Durant: The Red Wings are currently 7th in their Division. While a push to the playoffs isn’t impossible, it’s highly unlikely. So, let’s talk draft. Who, in your opinion, should the Wings target for their first pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft?

Bob Heyrman: No, the Detroit Red Wings are not a playoff team. I expect them to be sellers prior to the NHL’s trade deadline. Jimmy Howard, who has a carbon copy stat line to John Gibson, should be a player that playoff teams look to for depth, insurance, or an upgrade in goal.

Thomas Vanek and Gustav Nyquist should be on the move as well, plus a defender or two. Maybe Nick Jensen or Trevor Daley.

As far as the draft goes, the prized possession in this year’s draft looks to be center, Jack Hughes. He is expected to be a franchise changing talent. Some folks have labeled him a mix between Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner.

The next two options are solid forwards as well. The Finnish winger, Kaapo Kakko is a solid prospect; he provides a lot of on-ice “flash.” The last target is currently projected in the top five, but he’s a big power forward who can play either wing or center.

Dylan Cozens is a team-first player who loves to bang the body on the forecheck; he’s having a terrific season in the WHL. Expect him to be a top 10 selection in this year’s draft.

It wouldn’t be proper for us to end this without having a little fun. I gave Bob the chance to daydream about having dinner with a few of his NHL idols.

Ciara Durant: Let’s have a little fun and take a slight detour from the Anaheim Ducks and the Detroit Red Wings! If you could have dinner with three players from NHL history, who would you invite and why?

Bob Heyrman: The first player I would love to hang out with is my idol, Steve Yzerman. I mean, he’s a pro’s pro. He seemed to always do things the “right” way. He started his career with adversity and ended it like a champion.

More from Ducks News

• Who could the Anaheim Ducks consider presenting offer sheets to?
• Is Pierre-Luc Dubois on the cards for the rebuilding Anaheim Ducks?
• Making the case for the Anaheim Ducks to trade with the Edmonton Oilers
• Anaheim Ducks might benefit tremendously by trading John Gibson
• How close are the Anaheim Ducks to becoming contenders again?

He was still deemed to be a tremendous leader and role model. In addition to the numerous stories from his playing days, I would be interested in asking him about the business side of things.

He built this winning machine in Tampa Bay as their General Manager before stepping down to a senior advisory role, allowing him to move back with his family to the Detroit area. His contract is up with the Lightning at seasons end. Detroit should be calling this summer, offering him a General Manager position.

The second person I would love to talk hockey with is Scotty Bowman. I mean, the guy is the definition of a champion. He’s the most winningest coach in NHL history. He led the Detroit Red Wings to three Stanley Cup Championships.

I would love to hear his coaching tips, learning how to deal with professional athletes, how he challenged pro players to be better. It isn’t an easy thing to do, but Mr. Bowman did it for a lifetime.

The third I would say, Sergei Fedorov. I will never forget when he took the ice with those white Nike skates. He had those Nike straps over his skates, and every Detroit Red Wings fan wanted them.

He has a once in a lifetime story to tell. The whole defecting from Russia, how he ended up in Detroit, etc. He was an unbelievable talent and an even bigger personality. I think he would be very entertaining to have a beer with. I mean, my first question would be, “what was it like dating Anna Kournikova?”

As always, it has been a pleasure catching up with Bob! Thank you, my friend, for taking time out of your busy schedule to provide Ducks Nation with some great insight into the world of the Detroit Red Wings.