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.

We discussed the Red Wings advantages and players to watch. Who should the Anaheim Ducks keep an eye on tonight?

Ciara Durant: It’s been a while since the Anaheim Ducks and the Detroit Red Wings met at the beginning of the season. Now that we’re about halfway through the season, what is the Red Wings biggest advantage over the Ducks tonight?

Bob Heyrman: The only advantage I see is the depth up front for the Wings. The results are sparse, but the Wings do have three lines that can score.

They’ve been very inconsistent but depending on who decided to show up tonight, they can cause the Anaheim Ducks a bit of a headache. The Wings have struggled on defense all years long. They’ve struggled through various injuries all year long to virtually all the veteran defenders.

They are starting to get healthy, which should help with outlet passes and the ability to avoid the forecheck and skate the puck out of trouble. It will be interesting to see how the forwards matchup tonight.

The Wings will do their best to keep Dylan Larkin away from Getzlaf, and that bodes well for Detroit.

Ciara Durant: From the perspective of a Red Wings fan, who is Detroit’s player to watch tonight? Who are you looking forward to seeing from the Anaheim Ducks?

Bob Heyrman: Dylan Larkin is always the player to watch for Detroit. He recently saw his 14 game point streak ends and responded quickly, adding points in his next two appearances. He then went pointless again and bounced back with three helpers in the Wings last contest up in Minnesota.

He’s the guy everyone wants to watch. Another one to keep your eyes on is Andreas Athanasiou. The kid has blazing world class speed. It seems he finds his way in on a breakaway at least once a game. He’s been a terrific finisher this season for the Wings. His 17 goals this season is already a career high, and he has 30 goals in his future.

I am excited to see Rickard Rakell. I know what he’s done in the past, and I’m curious to see him again. I think he can right the ship, and it would be great for the franchise if he can find his way to being the team’s number one center.

I always enjoy watching Adam Henrique and Cam Fowler. They were both Windsor Spitfires back in their junior days. Windsor is literally 10 minutes away from Detroit. You just head south of Detroit, cross the border, and you’re in downtown Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

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.