Anaheim Ducks Round Table: Advice for the 2019-20 Roster
By Ciara Durant
Which player are you most looking forward to watching in 2019-20?
Jonathan Morris: I feel like, along with the pressure being taken off of Ryan Getzlaf, Rickard Rakell will be the main beneficiary of a resurgent season. The Ducks need more than a couple of 20 goal scorers. Rakell will be one of them and the rookies will add a different dimension to this team.
TJ Watson: Rickard Rakell or Troy Terry. They may be the face of the future leaders of the franchise.
Ed Stein: John Gibson. This is the year #36 pulls it all together, including a long stretch of good health. It’s time everyone knows how good Gibson really is and I’m going to enjoy watching it.
Ben Thomasian: Given the question doesn’t specify the Ducks, I really want to say Kaapo Kakko. I won’t lie, I have a serious man-crush on him (I have stickers, t-shirts, jersey’s, etc.), that may only be surpassed by 2022 Ducks draftee and generational talent, Brad Lambert.
However, recognizing this is all about the Ducks, I have to say, John Gibson. Gibson is the only current Duck I have a jersey for. So, with that in mind, Gibson is bae and my sole reason for watching. My eyes cannot be tempted by another… I mean, have you seen that flow? That hair is gorgeous.
Jordan German: It’s an odd choice, but the player I’m most excited to watch in this upcoming season is Adam Henrique. When he first came to Anaheim, it was truly the first time in a while that I felt like the Ducks traded for star-presence, and that feeling wasn’t totally wrong. Henrique has been solid for the Ducks, putting up seventy-eight points and only thirty-eight penalty minutes in the 139 games he’s played for Anaheim for the past two seasons. He also showed his loyalty to the Ducks by signing a five-year contract in 2018, when most people thought he’d head back to the Devils sooner rather than later. It’ll really be awesome to watch him get back out there and do his thing.
The other player I’m equally excited for is Devin Shore. Originally acquired in a trade for fan-favorite Andrew Cogliano, he didn’t get to play too long for Anaheim before he took a nasty knee on knee collision that shook him up. Still, Shore is young and shows a lot of promise. He ended up with twelve points in his thirty-four games with the Ducks. This year, he’ll have the rest of the season to prove himself further, and considering that his two full previous years in Dallas were career years, he might even be coming into his prime for the Ducks.
Khalid Hart: All eyes should be on Rickard Rakell. With Perry out of the picture, he will have to be the go-to guy for goals. On top of that, he is also playing with one of the leagues best passers so he should have no problem scoring goals.
Jake Robles: Jakob Silfverberg. By far, Silverberg was one of, if not our best forward last season. I think I’m excited to see what he does, mostly because I think he can hit 50 points this season. He was 6 points away from tying his career-high of 49 in a year where the Ducks as a whole didn’t do a whole lot of good things on the ice. It definetly wasn’t a fluke and I’m confident he could do it again, especially if he gets those top-line minutes again with Getzlaf.
Ciara Durant: Again, a player that has yet to be mentioned is Ondrej Kase. I’m not just excited to watch him play because he is my favorite Ducks currently on the roster, but he shows so much promise to have a break out year. If he can manage to stay healthy and is given the chance to play in the Top 6 (preferably alongside Getzlaf) I think he’s going to be an absolute force that other teams are going to be terrified to play against.
There is one other player I am kind of excited to watch too, and that is Nick Ritchie. Before you pick up the rocks and start throwing them at me, hear me out. Despite the penalties he took last season, he still managed to end the season 5th in points. With the healthy consistency he will be offered under Dallas Eakins, I think this is the season we could see Ritchie’s true potential.