Why I’m Okay The Anaheim Ducks Season is Almost Over.
The Anaheim Ducks’ Season is Winding Down… So, why am I not sad?
A question was recently asked on our Twitter account. We asked fans if anyone else was kind of sad that, with only seven games remaining, the Anaheim Ducks season is almost over. My answer was no, not really.
Don’t get me wrong, once the season is over I’m going to feel upset waking up each morning and not having a huge reason to consistently be checking Twitter or religiously checking the NHL website to see who is trending up and down.
I may be slightly upset that I won’t find myself staying up until 1:00 AM on a work night to watch the Ducks play, but ultimately this season has been a massive roller-coaster ride and I’m starting to feel the deep-fried fair food stirring in my stomach. So, it might be a good time to hop off.
There are 3 main reasons for that and I’m gonna lay them out for you today so you can understand my thinking, and maybe feel more excited than depressed that hockey season is drawing to a close once again.
Reason 1: The Draft!
The Anaheim Ducks franchise as we know it is quite a successful franchise. The current core of the team was started in 2005, in my eyes. That was the start of the transition from the Paul Kariya led “Mighty Ducks of Anaheim” to the “Anaheim Ducks” with the development of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and the soon to be re-arrival of Teemu Selanne and arrival of Scott Niedermayer. The franchise had a new trajectory.
Since that “Changing of the Guard” the Ducks have only had 3 top 10 picks in the NHL Entry Draft, only two of which were originally theirs. With those picks, the Ducks selected, in chronological order: Bobby Ryan, Hampus Lindholm, and Nick Ritchie. Not a bad crop of players. The most underwhelming of the three being Nick Ritchie. He has been impressive this season, and while he may not be an elite player, he is an NHL player and one who can fill many roles.
The other 2 are highly praised players, Bobby Ryan scoring 30 goals in 4 straight seasons with the Ducks before being traded and Hampus Lindholm seen as the best defenseman on the Ducks and a cornerstone piece of the franchise as they move forward. Acquiring a player of that caliber is always exciting and the prospect of drafting in the top 10 this season is something to salivate over.
There’s a ton of talent in this draft, and while the narrative has been “Hughes vs Kakko” all season, you shouldn’t sleep on the prospect of drafting a Dylan Cozens, Kirby Dach, Peyton Krebs, Cole Caufield, Ryan Suzuki, and Alex Turcotte, among others. The Anaheim Ducks are going to get a blue-chip prospect, which is something they’ve sorely, sorely missed in recent years due to always drafting in the 20-30 range.
That’s not taking into account the second 1st round pick the Ducks acquired, and Bob Murray‘s (with a ton of credit also going to Martin Madden) ability to make players like Rickard Rakell, John Gibson, Sami Vatanen, Brandon Montour, Shea Theodore, Max Jones, Josh Manson, Ondrej Kase, Troy Terry look like the steals of the draft picking them anywhere from the late 1st to 7th round.
As well as the possibility of Murray making some trades at the draft to perform some of the “major surgery” that this team required according to this team by Bob Murray. Needless to say, this will be one of the most exciting drafts in recent years for Ducks fan and I for one am incredibly excited for the Draft Lottery and subsequent draft.
Reason 2: The Kids
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not full gung-ho about the prospects in the Ducks pipe-line. I see them as NHL caliber players but I have a hard time seeing any of them massively moving the needle one way or the other in the grand scheme of things. However, the recent play of Troy Terry and Max Jones has me thinking more optimistically. I still don’t see the players in the Ducks prospect pool as blue-chip prospects or ones that I would bank on being an elite talent moving forward, but they have shown promise and at the very least appear to be players who can fit this team moving forward.
Looking at the Ducks prospect pool you have several players who could make the jump full-time next season. Up-front you have the likes of Sam Steel, Troy Terry, Max Jones, Daniel Sprong, Max Comtois, and Isac Lundestrom who will all be fighting to prove they’re ready for the big stage with the oldest being 22 years old.
While on the back end you have Jacob Larsson, Josh Mahura, Brendan Guhle, and Hunter Drew who will try to prove they belong on an already crowded defensive lineup. Adding in a potential top 10 pick, and you have a cupboard that soon is going to be overflowing.
If the Ducks can compliment their veteran players with a hefty dose of youth, then this re-tool might be one that can end quickly and relatively painlessly.
Reason 3: Some Renewed Confidence in Bob Murray
It’s absolutely no secret that I am fairly critical of Bob Murray. I’ve been displeased with his course of action over the past couple seasons and it ultimately came to a head this season. So why has he gained some of the confidence he lost from me? It’s because he confirmed my suspicions to open this season that he didn’t think he had to do anything this season, that he could just sit back and rest on his laurels and the team he assembled years ago would just cake-walk to another 100 point season.
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His admission that he didn’t improve this team due to lack of effort, rather than actually thinking he was making the team better ironically makes me feel more comfortable with him. That honesty, his willingness to admit that he was wrong and that he has had a wake-up call makes me think he will work hard to right this ship.
Now, I’m not ready to subscribe to the “Bob Murray Fanclub” just yet, but he has earned my patience through this off-season. He’s on a pretty good run at this point, between firing Randy Carlyle (Albeit much much later than he should have but better late than never) his trading of Brandon Montour, his willingness to let players like Brendan Guhle, Cam Fowler, Troy Terry, Max Jones, and Daniel Sprong to play in positions that they aren’t accustomed to, to make some magic happen. Murray has made a mark since February and if he can follow that up with some key moves in this off-season I’ll give him the credit he is ultimately due.
This off-season will be make-or-break for Bob Murray and I am very excited to see the direction he decides to take this team seeing as for the first time in a couple of years it appears he has a vision for this team.
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