Pucks of a Feather
Fansided

Bench Boss Benny’s First Interview

By Ben Thomasian

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 10: Carter Rowney #24, Ryan Getzlaf #15, and Jacob Larsson #32 congratulate Nicolas Deslauriers #20 of the Anaheim Ducks after his goal during the first period of a game against the Ottawa Senators Honda Center on March 10, 2020 in Anaheim, California. Deslauriers scored a hat trick in the first period. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 10: Carter Rowney #24, Ryan Getzlaf #15, and Jacob Larsson #32 congratulate Nicolas Deslauriers #20 of the Anaheim Ducks after his goal during the first period of a game against the Ottawa Senators Honda Center on March 10, 2020 in Anaheim, California. Deslauriers scored a hat trick in the first period. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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Anaheim Ducks
Cam Fowler #4 of the Anaheim Ducks (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

The Defensive Unit

CD: While I’m sure you have a lot more to say about the forward group, can you tell us a little bit about your thoughts on the defensive end?

BL: Yeah no problem at all. There is a lot to say about the offense as they simply have so far to come after last year. Still, there’s no reason for me to second guess why the previous coaching staff put scoring on the back burner. There may have been a development plan in place that we’re not aware of.

With that said, I think Bob (Murray) did a wonderful job since the trade deadline last season and during free agency, re-tooling their defense. Bringing in Kev-Dawg (Kevin Shattenkirk), really helped make that unit a strength of the team. Our biggest challenge is not overthinking things, and perhaps organically letting everything fall into place.

I think most fans would be aware of the Hampy-Josh (Hampus Lindholm and Josh Manson) connection, and at least for the short term, we’re likely to keep those two together. They have history and a relatively strong history at that. They also provide us with a pairing that is going to be stronger at shutting down the opposing offense when they get on a run.

That leaves Cam Fowler and Kev-Dawg to man that other top 4 unit. Both are strong skaters and perhaps stronger offensively than defensively, but we think they’re a pairing that can push the pace for us. If things don’t quite click we’ve explored the option of Cam and Josh playing together and Hampy and Kev.

That maybe creates a little more balance with a stronger mobile skater and a solid defensive partner. Frankly, it would have been my go-to coming into the team if I had known nothing about the team’s history, but it’ll always be there in the back pocket.

CD: You’re right, at face value that’s a really strong and versatile group.

BL: We think it’s a case of the rich getting richer. It maybe puts a little pressure on our younger players to secure that final roster spot, but they’re old enough that they need to be commanding playing time with their play and practice.

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