DUCKS AT LARGE OUTLOOK The Ducks improved on their previous season’s success by advancing beyond the second round of the playoffs, to within one win of the Stanley Cup finals. Once again, bowing out to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, this time to the Chicago Blackhawks. Last season’s acquisition of Ryan Kesler payed dividends in the post season, and the 31- year old veteran was re-signed to a six-year contract extension, that carries an AAV of $6,875,000. GM Bob Murray has done a magnificent job managing his teams cap, but it remains to be seen if Kesler will continue to a relevant factor until he turns 37. The emergence of Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen on the blueline was a revelation, and along with Cam Fowler, the trio will anchor the Ducks back end for the foreseeable future. The loss of Veteran Francois Beauchemin will be mitigated with the addition of Kevin Bieksa. Murray added more depth up front as well, acquiring speedster Carl Hagelin from the Rangers, and signing free agent power forward Chris Stewart and depth centre Shawn Horcoff. Along with the veteran acquisitions, Anaheim will be looking for continued development from young players such as Jakob Silfverberg, Patrick Maroon and Rickard Rakell. 2014 first-round selection Nick Ritchie will look to make the jump from junior to the pro ranks and will challenge for a roster spot on the big team. ANAHEIM DUCKS ANAHEIM In goal, John Gibson and Frederik Anderson both performed admirably and have bright futures, but were also injured for a stretch, leaving the Ducks vulnerable as they were forced to turn to Ilya Bryzgalov out of desperation. In an effort to avoid a repeat Murray added goalie Anton Khudobin to insulate the crease. Anaheim continues to trend in the right direction, and is poised to join the elite ranks along with Chicago and Los Angeles, who dispatched the Ducks the last two playoffs in a row. With a strong mix of veterans and youth, expect the Ducks to pass the 100 point level, and be in the hunt for another Stanley Cup. PLAYER TO WATCH Jakob Silfverberg - Builds off torrid 2nd half that fuelled by a sizzling postseason Rickard Rackell - Former OHL star scored close to a 2nd line pace in transitional phase HAMPUSRRYANyan KKESLEResler LINDHOLM.jpg NEW ARRIVALS Kevin Bieksa-D (Van) .. Matthew Hackett-G (Buf) .. Carl Hagelin-F (NYR) .. Shawn Horcoff-F 2015-16 PREDICTIONS (Dal) .. Anton Khudobin-G (Car) .. Brian McGrattan-F (Cgy) .. Chris Mueller-F (NYR) .. Shane RK PACIFIC W L OTL GF GA PTS O’Brien-D (Fla) .. Joe Piskula-D (Nsh) .. Mike Santorelli-F (Nsh) .. Chris Stewart-F (Min) .. Harry Zolnierczyk-F (NYI) 1 Anaheim 52 25 5 239 217 109 2 Los Angeles 43 27 12 232 211 98 DEPARTURES 3 Calgary 41 31 10 236 234 92 Francois Beauchemin-D (Col) .. Matt Beleskey-F (Bos) .. Igor Bobkov-G .. Ilja Bryzgalov-G 4 Vancouver 41 34 7 222 226 89 .. Mathieu Carle-D .. Emerson Etem-F (NYR) .. Ryan Faragher-G .. Mark Fistric-D .. Tomas Fleischmann-F .. John Kurtz-F .. Jason LaBarbera-G (Phi) .. Antoine Laganiere-F .. Louis Leblanc-F 5 Edmonton 39 36 7 215 240 85 (NYI) .. Kyle Palmieri-F (NJ) .. Colby Robak-D .. Sheldon Souray-D .. James Wisniewski-D (Car) 6 San Jose 38 36 8 233 227 84 7 Arizona 28 42 12 181 237 68 RANK NAME, TM AGE P GP G A PTS 1 Corey Perry, Ana 30 RW 81 40 35 75 2 Ryan Getzlaf, Ana 30 C 77 22 52 74 3 Jakob Silfverberg, Ana 24 RW 82 24 30 54 4 Ryan Kesler, Ana 31 C 75 22 28 50 5 Patrick Maroon, Ana 27 LW 74 16 24 40 6 Carl Hagelin, Ana 27 LW 82 18 20 38 7 Sami Vatanen, Ana 24 D 77 9 29 38 8 Hampus Lindholm, Ana 21 D 77 7 31 38 9 Cam Fowler, Ana 23 D 81 10 27 37 10 Chris Stewart, Ana 27 RW 74 15 19 34 11 Rickard Rakell, Ana 22 C 74 12 20 32 12 Andrew Cogliano, Ana 28 LW 82 13 18 31 13 Mike Santorelli, Ana 29 C 68 9 15 24 14 Shawn Horcoff, Ana 36 LW 70 7 17 24 15 Kevin Bieksa, Ana 34 D 71 5 18 23 16 Simon Despres, Ana 24 D 80 4 19 23 Rob Vollman’s Analysis: Superstars Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry were not quite as 17 Jiri Sekac, Ana 23 RW 52 6 10 16 dominant as usual, relative to the rest of the team. Either the team around them has really improved, or the two long-time Ducks are simply slowing down as they enter their 30s – or TEAM STATS REPORT a bit of both. CATEGORY RECORD RANK CATEGORY STAT RANK Few teams can boast a blue line as young and affordable as Anaheim’s last year. Hampus Lindholm, Sami Vatanen, Cam Fowler, Simon Despres, and Josh Manson were all between RECORD 51-24-7 3T GOALS FOR 228 11 21 and 23 years old, and carried a combined cap hit of just over $7.5 million. Fowler took a HOME 26-12-3 6 GOALS AGAINST 221 20 step back this year, but Lindholm and Vatanen both had breakout seasons. ROAD 25-12-4 2 POWER PLAY 15.7 28 Among the team’s abundance of young, secondary forwards, Jakob Silfverberg really SHOOTOUT 8-5 6T PENALTY KILL 81.0 15 stands out. Like the better known shutdown center Ryan Kesler, Silfverberg is a complete, 200-foot player who can contribute in all game situations, and one of the team’s most underrated and notable young talents. 22 MCKEENSHOCKEY.COM ANAHEIM DUCKS ANAHEIM board (16-10-8-18 – 15.6% sh%) .. former London Knight is board, due to a hot 3rd (20-5-5-10 – 13.51% sh%) and 4th FORWARDS a big, slippery winger with a tricky wristshot .. manufactures quarter (20-4-9-13) that spearheaded a voracious playoffs openings with his unusually-long arms and exceptional alongside Ryan Kesler scoring 5 or more points in each round stickhandling ability .. gangly, short-stride skater lacks a (16-4-14-18) .. smart two-way forward - his 1.73 Pts/60 is 15 Ryan GETZLAF C breakaway top gear and strong edge control .. a veteran now, right on the baseline benchmark for a second line player AGE: 30 H/W: 6-3/210 NHL: 10 SALARY: $9,000,000 CONTRACT: 2021 grown stronger and thicker, and sometimes wiser - better able .. played most minutes alongside Andrew Cogliano in the YR TEAM GP G A PTS PIM MIN PPG to stand his ground now and more determined to absorb cruel regular season (57.1 GF% & 52.7 CF%) .. scored six of nine levels of abuse .. success hinges on a large net-front presence, goals and 13 of 20 points in games close situations .. a 12-3 Anaheim (NHL) 44 15 34 49 41 20.1 1.11 battling to establish positions in front of the crease .. elevates shoot-out sniper leading the NHL with 9 goals and 69.2% 13-4 Anaheim (NHL) 77 31 56 87 31 21.2 1.13 his urgency at key times – wants to be the difference- shooting percentage – adept .. skilled – protects the puck 14-5 Anaheim (NHL) 77 25 45 70 62 20.1 0.91 maker .. still suffers gaps in discipline and composure .. well, exploiting broad shoulders and a sizeable wingspan Career 710 208 470 678 626 0.95 yields his stick recklessly at times which draws the ire of .. persistent, displays a feisty side, gets involved physically opponents and plenty of aggression-related penalties – .. top weapon is a quick, seeing-eye wristshot .. adept Prediction 77 22 52 74 0.96 an elite-level pest .. if even strength scoring remains the at stickhandling into space and firing in one continuous Notes .. Captain led the team in scoring for the third same, there’s an upside with better power play numbers. motion.. dynamic release – gets surprising trajectory .. adept straight season and to the conference final with some mixed all-around skater – propelled by wide, vigorous strides .. performances along the way .. registering sixty percent 17 Ryan KESLER C sustains a steady tempo .. creates separation with a strong of his points in the first half with 42 points in 38 games, diagonal crossover step .. conscientious defender – knows AGE: 31 H/W: 6-2/205 NHL: 10 SALARY: $5,000,000 CONTRACT: 2022 how to eliminate space as a checker .. a good bet to inherit bolstered by a brilliant second quarter (21-8-19-27) - versus YR TEAM GP G A PTS PIM MIN PPG 28 in 39 games to end the season .. finished sixth in playoff some time created by Beleskey’s exit and evident chemistry scoring and posted the best points per game (past the first 12-3 Vancouver (NHL) 17 4 9 13 12 19.0 0.76 with Kesler – should be an interesting match with Carl Hage round), yet failed to score a goal in the final 11 playoff 13-4 Vancouver (NHL) 77 25 18 43 81 21.5 0.56 lin, with equal speed and defensive acumen .. average d a games - accumulating a dozen assists (11-0-12-12) – with a 52-point pro-rated pace over the last three months of the 14-5 Anaheim (NHL) 81 20 27 47 75 19.3 0.58 season – followed by the playoff breakout .. good little career low shooting percentage of 4.2% .. failed to register Career 736 202 238 440 669 0.60 a shot on goal in five of the final 25 games – missing two sleeper here entering his fourth season at 24-years old.