Corey Pronman’s annual prospect rankings have been released, and the Anaheim Ducks rank rather low.
It’s the time of year that Corey Pronman releases his annual rankings of each team’s prospects aged 22-years old and under. This season, the Anaheim Ducks came in at 21st among the 31 NHL teams. A slide of seven spots from last season.
While this is troubling, it’s not entirely unexpected for fans who have watched the team in the past few years. A combination of drafting late, due to consecutive playoff appearances, players exiting the list due to the age cut-off, and the declining play of certain players, all culminates to the ranking.
Looking at the positive side of things first, Pronman does suggest that the Anaheim Ducks have a very nice piece to work with, with former top 10 draft selection, Trevor Zegras. This should be no surprise to many as he’s been rated as one of the top prospects outside the NHL by numerous publications and sources.
"“This organization has some good pieces after Zegras — high picks like Sam Steel and Max Jones. Plus Maxime Comtois looks like an excellent second-round pick.”"
Pronman also discusses first-round picks who may still have an upside in Sam Steel and Max Jones, as well as Max Comtois. Some fans may potentially look down upon these players, as they’ve struggled mightily in the past season. However, it’s worth noting that the majority of the younger players struggled in Dallas Eakins‘ first season in charge of the Anaheim Ducks.
He leaned heavily upon the veterans of the group and they responded positively. Unfortunately, the byproduct of that, was that the youth movement suffered, and mostly took steps backward, offensively. This could give the team some hope moving forward that these players could potentially see some uptick, either in the first few months of the next season under Eakins, or whoever replaces him after he’s let go for not living up to his development coach reputation.
For the record, Pronman ranked the Ducks’ best prospects as 1. Trevor Zegras; 2. Sam Steel; 3. Maxime Comtois; 4. Max Jones; and 5. Josh Mahura.