Anaheim Ducks Announce 2019-20 Training Camp Roster
The Anaheim Ducks have released their official roster for 2019-20 training camp. With the changes made over the summer, this is going to be a very important camp for the entire team.
Hockey season is finally upon us! Forget about pumpkin spice. The beginning of fall comes in the form of fresh ice, sharpened skates, and training camp for hockey fans. After one of the longest summers we’ve had to endure in years, the Anaheim Ducks are finally back in Orange County and preparing for the 2019-20 season.
Training camp is going to be a lot harder for the team this year than it has been in previous years. With the addition of Dallas Eakins and his coaching staff behind the bench, it’s going to be a process for everyone to get on the same page and see eye to eye. Eakins has already spent his summer connecting with the veterans, but it may take a little time for that connection to translate on the ice.
In fact, with the official training camp roster being released, the team also announced that training camp will be closed to the public. It was a surprise to everyone, but if we can take anything good away from this news, it is that the team is taking the next few days to focus on the bigger picture. There won’t be the added distraction of having to put on a show for the fans. They can focus on what lies ahead and what needs to improve without any added stressors.
60 players will attend training camp this year. A majority of them won’t make the team, but this gives them the opportunity to improve their skills as the future of the Anaheim Ducks. To view the entire roster, visit the Anaheim Ducks official NHL website.
Forwards
The Anaheim Ducks have invited 34 forwards to training camp this year. At the conclusion of camp about 2/3 of the forwards invited will be sent to the AHL, back to juniors, or across the pond and back to their respective teams in Europe. However, these next few days are still going to be extremely important for several of the players.
There aren’t a lot of open spots on the roster going into the season. Nevertheless, the Anaheim Ducks still have a few very important spots left to fill. Training camp may not give the team all the answers they are looking for, but it will give them a better idea of what direction they should go in.
With Ryan Kesler spending the entirety of the season on LTIR due to hip surgery, Sam Steel more than likely already has a spot secured with the team. The relationship he already has with Dallas Eakins will make the transition of a full-time NHL spot a lot easier for the Ducks 2016 1st round draft pick. Training camp will give Steel, and the coaching staff, a better idea of what kind of responsibility the young center can handle.
There is no doubt that Sam Steel will spend his tenure with the Ducks as their second-line center, but, is he ready for that during his first full season? Probably not. However, training camp will give him the chance to work closely with the coaches and players like Ryan Getzlaf and Adam Henrique to work out a game plan, improve his skills, and show everyone where he’s improved over the summer and what he can offer the team.
Who Takes Over for Corey Perry?
Corey Perry‘s contract buyout gives the team another spot that they can fill with their young and driven talent. It is unlikely that one of the young players like Troy Terry or Max Comtois will be rewarded with the first line right-wing spot alongside Getzlaf. However, the two likely candidates are Jakob Silfverberg and Ondrej Kase.
Silfverberg showed another side of himself last season, proving that he is better utilized in an offensive role. Leading the team in goals scored, he also showed that he can take on increased responsibility in stride. In a recent interview with Anaheim Ducks staff writer Kyle Shohara, Silfverberg said:
“I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing on and off the ice. If you start overthinking stuff, that’s when you get in trouble with being yourself. The biggest part with me is just being myself. We have a lot of young players, and they’re going to learn from us, the older players.”
Going into a new season, with all of the changes made over the summer, the Ducks need a leader like JS33 in their top six. After his performance last season, he deserves to be rewarded. Nevertheless, on the flip side of the coin, the team really needs to work on spreading their talent evenly throughout the roster.
Enter Ondrej Kase, a spark plug on the ice. Despite his injury history and recent trade rumors, the young forward is due for a break out season. In his three seasons with the Ducks, he’s definitely shown the most chemistry with Adam Henrique and Nick Ritchie. Still, he hasn’t struggled with having linemates he doesn’t mesh with. Wherever he’s placed, he succeeds.
Playing alongside a playmaker like Ryan Getzlaf and another goal scorer like Rickard Rakell could do wonders for his continued development and give him the extra edge he needs to prove to the Ducks, and the rest of the NHL, that he’s a force to be reckoned with. With both Silfverberg and Kase at training camp, Eakins can test out who has better chemistry with the Rakell-Getzlaf duo.
Although I am a tad bias, I believe Kase is the right player for the job. Silfverberg would be a great option, but if Kase takes Perry’s spot on the first line, this opens up a spot for Troy Terry alongside Adam Henrique. The two of them had tremendous chemistry last season and Henrique would be a wonderful mentor for Terry as he navigates his first full season in the NHL.
How Do These Players Fit Into the Puzzle?
This is also going to be a very important training camp for Max Jones, Maxime Comtois, and Kiefer Sherwood. The three of them put on an incredible show for us during the Rookie Tournament. The trio doesn’t want to start their season in San Diego and they made that clear. If they can impress the coaching staff during training camp, it may give one of them the extra edge to push someone else out and start their season in Anaheim.
The Ducks do need to be careful though. Sherwood only has a few games left to play with the big club before he will have to be placed on waivers to go back to San Diego. So, if they want him on the team, they have to make a permanent spot for him, risk losing him, and have him spend the season in San Diego.
Training camp will also give Eakins and co. better insight into where players like Daniel Sprong, Carter Rowney, Derek Grant, and Devin Shore fit in the lineup. Will one of the centers have to move to the wing? Will one of them be moved to the AHL? Is a trade imminent?
Defensemen
19 defensemen will make an appearance at training camp this year. Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm, and Josh Manson are already a lock for the 2019-20 season. From there, the blueline is one big question mark. Over the summer, the Ducks re-signed Korbinian Holzer and brought back Stanley Cup Champion, Michael Del Zotto. They also brought in Jani Hakanpaa, a big-bodied right-handed defenseman Bob Murray was intent on bringing over from Europe.
Nevertheless, despite the additions, there is no guarantee that the three of them will make it onto the roster this year. It is likely that one of them will more than likely take a permanent spot on the third pairing. Korbinian Holzer will likely act as the Ducks 7th defenseman, as he knows the team and does what he is told.
Brendan Guhle is the defenseman that has the most to gain going into training camp though. After he was acquired by the Anaheim Ducks after they traded Brandon Montour to the Buffalo Sabres, Guhle played on the left side alongside Cam Fowler. The two of them looked decent, but the sample size is so small due to an injury that saw Guhle sidelined for a majority of his season with the Ducks.
However, if he continues to impress as he did when he played with the team last season, Guhle could find himself playing on the second or third pairing come opening day against the Arizona Coyotes. It is likely that BG2 will be one of the three rookies Bob Murray mentioned would make the team this year.
Jacob Larsson also has a lot riding on this training camp. He is in a contract year and quite frankly, he still has to prove that he can make it at an NHL level. Larsson showed some chemistry with Manson last year, but other than that, he didn’t really start a fire on the blueline. Larsson didn’t really stand out at the rookie tournament either, and as one of the oldest players on the roster, he didn’t seem like he wanted to be there. He needs to prove himself at training camp because if he doesn’t snag a roster spot this year he will likely be reduced to an AHL player or shipped out next season when his contract expires.
Although I feel another season in the AHL would do Josh Mahura a lot of good, he is one of the only other rookie defensemen on the list that I think could handle the responsibility that comes with being in the NHL. Prospects such as Hunter Drew and Mathew Hill are still young and need a little more development at the junior level before they are considered for NHL duty. Although considered to be an AHL pickup, the Ducks could also take a look at Chris Wideman, but I foresee him spending a majority of the season with the Gulls unless he blows the socks off of Eakins and his staff during camp.
Goaltenders
Goaltending for the Ducks is already locked up. The duo of John Gibson and Ryan Miller will lead the team for another season! The pair is one of the best goaltending tandems currently in the league, and we are absolutely spoiled to have both players represent the Anaheim Ducks in the net.
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However, the Ducks have a good crop of goaltenders attending training camp this year. Kevin Boyle, Lukas Dostal, Roman Durny, Olle Eriksson-Ek, and Anthony Stolarz will attend training camp. Boyle and Stolarz will more than likely run things down in San Diego and will fill in should Gibson or Miller fall to injury at any point.
While none of the above-mentioned goaltenders will make the team this year, this will be a great opportunity for the young prospects to learn from John Gibson and Ryan Miller. Miller has been a great mentor for Gibson, as he will be for the other younglings, and it’s time for Gibby to take what he’s learned and share that wisdom.
The young Ducklings can then take the skills they’ve learned from Gibby and Miller and apply that to their time in net for their respective teams this year. It will not only make them better goaltenders this year, but it will also help them take steps in the right direction for when they do get a chance with the Anaheim Ducks or San Diego Gulls in the future.
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