Anaheim Ducks Veterans vs. Prospects: Who Dominates the Team In 2019-2020?
The Veterans On Defense
Last but not least, we have the defense department. The defense is the oldest part of the Ducks, with five players being 28 or older. So, it’s six veterans on two prospects. Starting with the veterans from youngest to oldest, we have Hampus Lindholm, Cam Fowler, Josh Manson, Michael Del Zotto, Chris Wideman, and Korbinian Holzer. Lindholm, Fowler, and Manson are the Ducks that fans know the best.
Hampus Lindholm has been playing for the Ducks for six seasons now, and his total points have stayed consistent, always somewhere between 28 and 30. His PIM numbers are somewhat middle ground, and he definitely has helped more than he’s harmed. Lindholm is a reliable player, and it’s safe to say that he’ll have another good year with the Ducks. But, this year, he might just have a great season again, such as he did in 2014-2015 with 34 points and 32 PIM in 78 games.
Even though Fowler really dropped off last season after only playing 59 games and tallying 23 points, he’s made some great comebacks before. After only playing 69 games with 28 points in 2015-2016, Cam Fowler really shined in 2016-2017 with 80 games and 39 points. And aside from that, Fowler stays out of the penalty box relatively well with low PIM numbers across the board.
Josh Manson is in the same boat, coming off a disappointing season in 2018-2019 with only 74 games played and 16 points. However, he’s really worked to keep his PIM and TP consistent, so he’ll be a nice piece to have around in any case.
Michael Del Zotto and Korbinian Holzer both share very similar stories in their times around Anaheim. Del Zotto only played 12 games with the Ducks before moving on to the eventual Cup champions in St. Louis, and he had three assists. Del Zotto is looking to stick around for the year unlike his last time around, and he hopes to keep up the great defense he provided last season.
Holzer played 22 games with the Ducks before being finally sent down to San Diego, and he had four points. He’s played very few games for the Ducks during his tenure, but he’s been getting more chances from Bob Murray to try and breakthrough with some spectacular numbers. Considering that this is his last season before free agency, the pressure is on for him to put up the numbers that Murray wants to see, and Holzer just might shine under such pressures. Watch for what he does, as this might be his best season with the club.
Chris Wideman is the wildest card there is for the defense, and there are two ways his tenure could go. Either he reverts to 2016-2017 form and plays well through at least 80 games while producing close to 17 points and laying on the body spectacularly, or he’ll stay the same as last year when he only had seven points after bouncing around from three different teams. The other bad bit of information is that even in his best season, his PIM was somewhat high, so he could also lead to some untimely penalties, those of which Anaheim needs much less of.
The Prospects and Young Defenseman
Ending off with the two prospects on the defense, we have Brendan Guhle and Jani Hakanpaa. Both Guhle and Hakanpaa are still unproven, but they might be the most interesting players Anahim will have this year.
Brendan Guhle was acquired in one of the more controversial trades in the Bob Murray era, the one that saw a fan favorite in Brandon Montour leave for Buffalo. And to make a bad wound worse, Guhle was injured and missed out on the end of the season.
Before that, he recorded his first assist in Anaheim during his first six games with the club, and only recorded two penalty minutes. He’s still young, but he’s incredibly fast and shows plenty of promise for the Ducks like he did for the Sabres, just so long as he can stay healthy this time around. Those who are superstitious, please feel free to knock on wood now.
Jani Hakanpaa is the one thing that every Ducks fan loves to see, a promising Finnish player. He’s coming off two amazing career years in a row, scoring 47 points in 110 games. He had incredibly high penalty minutes last year, with 94 minutes in the box, but seeing as his regular PIM number is somewhere around 60, it was simply an off-year.
Hakanpaa is also a big man, and he can put people to the boards, which will add some much-needed grit to the Ducks. As Elite Prospects Scout Ulf Andersson suggests, the main area he needs to improve in is his skating. Considering that Dallas Eakins is fantastic at working with his athletes and developing them, there’s a lot of promise for Hakanpaa. He might be the main one-year contract to get prioritized after this season with his potential.
Final Results
With the defense finally done, it’s finally time to unveil which side takes home the right to run the team for this upcoming season.