{"id":132040,"date":"2022-09-09T08:58:03","date_gmt":"2022-09-09T12:58:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=132040"},"modified":"2022-09-09T14:28:55","modified_gmt":"2022-09-09T18:28:55","slug":"puck-drop-preview-2022-23-anaheim-ducks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2022\/09\/09\/puck-drop-preview-2022-23-anaheim-ducks\/","title":{"rendered":"Puck Drop Preview: 2022-23 Anaheim Ducks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Word on Hockey\u2019s Puck Drop Previews are back for the 2022-23 season! As the regular season approaches, Last Word will preview each team\u2019s current outlook and stories to watch for the upcoming year. We\u2019ll also do our best to project how things will go for each team over the course of the campaign. Today, we\u2019re previewing the 2022-23 Anaheim Ducks<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

2022-2023 Anaheim Ducks<\/h2>\n

2021-2022 Season<\/h3>\n

The Ducks went into the season in a mid-rebuild mindset. Essentially, they let the rookies develop, and let the veterans play out their final years. The latter being the case, as they said goodbye to long-time captain Ryan Getzlaf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some major rookies also took steps this season, with Jamie Drysdale<\/a> and Trevor Zegras<\/a> being named to the 2022 all-rookie team. Zegras and fellow Duck Troy Terry<\/a> surprised many by pulling off goals that were deemed impossible, blowing the minds of practically everybody.<\/p>\n

Mason McTavish also got some NHL experience, playing nine games with the team. Although, he was quickly sent back to the OHL where he led the Hamilton Bulldogs to an OHL Cup championship and a Memorial Cup final appearance.<\/p>\n

2021-2022 Offense<\/h4>\n

Zegras made a massive step up, recording 61 points and being the second highest on the team with only Troy Terry<\/a> being higher than him. Other than that, the rest of the team hovered around the 25-40 point mark. Terry and Zegras kind of became the one-two punch for the Ducks.<\/p>\n

Although McTavish had little to no impact in the NHL this season, he was a force to be reckoned with everywhere else. he notched 40 points in 24 games, and 29 points in 19 games in the playoffs. He also was on the gold medal-winning Canadian World Junior team, where he had 17 (!) points in seven games. Drysdale put up solid points in his first full NHL season, recording 32 points in 81 games.\u00a0 Everywhere else though, the offense slowed a ton. So far, the Ducks have laid their offensive foundation with Zegras, Terry, and McTavish, although there still seems to be some growing pains.<\/p>\n

2021-2022 Goaltending<\/h4>\n

The Ducks have been in a bit of a mess in the net. With the fallout between John Gibson<\/a> and the Ducks taking centerfold this year, it becomes apparent that he may not be spending too much longer in the net, especially considering he spent the majority of this year trying to keep an otherwise bad Ducks team afloat.<\/p>\n

As for the backups, Anthony Stolarz<\/a> started in 28 games this year, recording a 12-8-3 record, a 2.67 GAA, and a .917 sv%. for being a backup, he bounced around from the San Diego Gulls to the Ducks in the past few years, and finally spent the entire season in the NHL. The Ducks also had EBUG Thomas Hodges<\/a> and Lukas Dostal<\/a>, although they started only five combined games. Gibson was pretty average this year, recording a worse GAA than usual with a 3.19 GAA, but only recorded a .904 SV% which has been on par with his past few seasons.<\/p>\n

2021-2022 Rookies\/Youngsters<\/h4>\n

The rookies were off and on this year. The top three rookies performed somewhat well, with Zegras being second in points. Drysdale was solid for a rookie, notching solid numbers for a defenseman, and McTavish carried Hamilton on a deep playoff run. After that, however, it gets kind of rough. Sonny Milano<\/a> hadn’t played up to the level that he should, and it wasn’t surprising when the Ducks didn’t re-sign him at season’s end. Other rookies have had the same fate as well, with Brendan Guhle<\/a> spending another season bouncing from the AHL to the NHL before signing in Germany this offseason.<\/p>\n

2022 Offseason<\/h3>\n

Additions<\/h4>\n

The Ducks made a fair amount of traction this summer. They signed Frank Vatrano<\/a> to a three-year deal, signed Isac Lundestrom<\/a> to a two-year deal, signed goalie prospect Calle Clang, and traded for Dmitry Kulikov<\/a>. Signing Vatrano is smart, giving the Ducks a solid top-six forward. Lundestrom has been solid for the Gulls the past few years, and it’s good to finally get to see him get a true shot at the top level. Kulikov has been a solid player for the majority of his career, so it’s a solid upgrade for the Ducks considering they paid nothing for him. The cherry on top, though, was getting former Ranger Ryan Strome<\/a>, giving them a bona fide second-line center behind Zegras.<\/p>\n

Losses<\/h4>\n

The main losses for this season weren’t that extreme. The Ducks did lose Ryan Getzlaf<\/a> to retirement, but at this point, it was pretty much a given. They did however lose Sonny Milano<\/a>, which was kind of a surprising move, but also it was somewhat expected considering that he has been underwhelming.<\/p>\n

Major Stories<\/h4>\n

The major stories this year for the Ducks were all over the place. Firstly, there is the retirement of longtime Duck Ryan Getzlaf. It’s the first time since he joined the team in 2005 that the Ducks will play a season without him. There’s also the madness of Trevor Zegras<\/a> and Troy Terry pulling off goals that no one thought were possible, making the team arguably more fun to watch since the Teemu Selanne<\/a> and Paul Kariya<\/a> era Ducks.
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>