Impressive most impressive

[Ducks in a row]

Who have you found to be

I have been really impressed by Ryan Getzlaf production with Corey Perry out of the lineup. Ryan Kesler has been impressive as our 2nd line center especially considering that he hasn't been able to play with Kyle Palmieri that much because of injuries. Sami Vatanen has been more productive then I though he would be I have been impressed. Hampus Lindholm has been such a great defenseman and it is very impressive considering his age. Frederik Andersen has been impressive in net especially considering he has become a workhorse because of injury to John Gibson. Matt Beleskey has impressed me with his goal scoring never expected this. I have a hard time picking who has been most impressive.

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[Ando]

I will add to this by talking about Freddy. He has made some huge saves when the D in front of him is looking messy. In the Sharks game he let in that softy, but he made amazing saves throughout the game none the less. No goalie is perfect though. His save % was .938 in the SJ game by the way.

 

[Duck Off]

There's a ton of candidates: The top ones IMO would be: Getzlaf, Lindholm, Vatanen, and Andersen.

I'll go with Lindholm though. I think he's been our best defenseman easily this year, and he's done it while having his partners rotated more often then not. Some of them have been AHL material as well.

I'll expand on my answer though:

Most Impressive: Lindholm
Biggest surprise: Vatanen (I didn't expect him to be up these good of numbers)
Biggest disappointment: I'll go with Cogliano. That's probably because my expectations were too high though. I expected him to be better then he was last year, and IMO, he's not close to where he was. DSP would be close 2nd though.

 

[Magnus the Duck]

Kind of agree with what the others said here.
Getzlaf, Lindholm, Vatanen, Andersen and Beleskey.

I'm a bit indecisive person so can't choose my "Impressive, most impressive" guy.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

I'm going to say the blueline in total. I was very concerned coming into this year that we could end up in bad shape back there. Ignoring all the injuries, I'm impressed by many things on D. Hampus has shown no signs of a sophmore slump and looks to be improving from his excellent rookie year. Beauchemin has been playing like a warrior when not injured. I was very concerned about his age and returning from last year's injury. Sami has really improved his D and his offense has looked much more well oiled from last year. Cam has played well, even though I keep wanting more out of him. Manson's play during all the injuries was a huge positive nobody could foresee. So, all in all, I think the defense has been much better than I expected. Kudos to all of them.

I will give honorable mention to Freddie. While he has had some Hilleresque moments, I've been very impressed with his overall play. Young players make mistakes. Being put in the position he was with all the goalie injuries has hopefully helped him grow up in a hurry. There's no reason to think he can't learn from his mistakes and improve just like any other young player. It's not like he is lacking the talent to get the job done. He could be a stud in this league for many years to come.

 

[Ando]

One of the things I was worrying about was the age of Perry, Getzlaf, and Kesler, but it seems they are aging very well and look to continue to be beasts. Hopefully they keep it up for at least 5 years.

Magnus's talent seems to steem from a very high defensive IQ, the kid just knows what to do defensively most of the time.

 

[snarktacular]

A couple players not mentioned yet. Jackman has been good. Yes we've seen him play this well last year, but I honestly thought it was a fluke. Maroon was very good to start the season, he had taken it to another level. His play has dropped lately, though.

 

[Fighter]

I'm not impressed with Getzlaf, because he's doing what he is supposed to do: lead this team.

Guys who have me impressed the most are:

- Beleskey: he's scoring like a legit first line winger. Wow!
- Vatanen: expected to be good offensively, but not THIS good. And most of the times he's been reliable defensively as well, atta boy Vatman.
- Magnus: MVP of the Ducks so far. He's been our best d-man while being paired often with AHL scrubs; a stud and just in his second year.

 

[Sojourn]

Lindholm has been very good, but I don't really see an argument for him as MVP of the team. He's not playing an insane amount of minutes, or being used as Boudreau's go-to guy in every situation. Hampus is being used like a top pairing guy more than that elite #1 guy, which can probably be said about Fowler, and to a lesser extent(factoring in match ups) about Vatanen. I absolutely agree he has been our best defenseman, but not our team's MVP.

Really, I don't think there is much of an argument for anyone not named Ryan Getzlaf. 20 points in the last 12 games, and most of them with players like Bourque and DSP as his linemates. Hell, I'd be impressed if Sidney Crosby did that, and I'm definitely impressed Getzlaf has.

Perhaps you could make an argument for Andersen, given how many games he's had to play, but I don't think he's carried the team the way Getzlaf has. He's been good, but not outstanding.

 

[AngelDuck]

Kesler

Guy is an elite 2C...something we haven't had in years. Been fun to watch

 

[Paul4587]

Having Getzlaf and Kesler down the middle is ****ing awesome. I think that 1-2 punch is the biggest reason for our success.

 

[Fighter]

Lindholm has been very good, but I don't really see an argument for him as MVP of the team. He's not playing an insane amount of minutes, or being used as Boudreau's go-to guy in every situation. Hampus is being used like a top pairing guy more than that elite #1 guy, which can probably be said about Fowler, and to a lesser extent(factoring in match ups) about Vatanen. I absolutely agree he has been our best defenseman, but not our team's MVP.

Really, I don't think there is much of an argument for anyone not named Ryan Getzlaf. 20 points in the last 12 games, and most of them with players like Bourque and DSP as his linemates. Hell, I'd be impressed if Sidney Crosby did that, and I'm definitely impressed Getzlaf has.

While I understand your point, I said I'm not impressed but what Getzlaf is doing because we all know he's a terrific player and IMO he's doing what he's supposed to do. Yeah, without Perry he's doing great anyway but he's not exactly carrying the team all by himself, the Ducks are a more rounded team this year (adding Kesler has been key, Vatanen has scored quite a lot, Beleskey has been a nice surprise, etc).
More than anything we had question marks on defense but despite this and all the injuries we're still first in the league: Magnus has been solid all around and his minutes were somewhat limited because he was paired with scrubs, not because he can't handle more IMO. He's been extremely good so far, playing like a legit 1# dman and he gets my vote as MVP, even despite Getzy notable scoring pace.

Perhaps you could make an argument for Andersen, given how many games he's had to play, but I don't think he's carried the team the way Getzlaf has. He's been good, but not outstanding.

Just no. Freddy has been good, but nothing more than that. Too many times he's had brainfarts and let softies in. I'm quite worried about having him as our 1st goalie into the playoffs to be honest.

 

[IDuck]

thompson has impressed me...i feel like the first couple of weeks i was just confussed by him, but he really is a great 4C ( i know that sounds/seems like a oxymoron)... beleskey being our leading goalscorer is impressive as well (i know there are reasons for this but its still impressive)...i feel like the duo of rakell/silf are really starting to come on too

 

[Sojourn]

Lindholm has impressed me, but I still don't see how he deserves to be named as MVP. The fact that his minutes have been limited just reinforces that. Yes, he's been babysitting, but the fact is he's averaging about 21-22 minutes per game. He isn't even facing the top players on some nights. I could see him being called our most impressive player, given expectations, but MVP? No way.

And honestly, the argument you've been putting forth seems more in line with most impressive, not most valuable. If Lindholm were averaging like 24-25 minutes a game, while handling babysitting duties, sure, I could see the point. Like I said, I won't dispute he's been our best defenseman, but calling him the MVP seems a tad much. Just because you expect Getzlaf to be a stud doesn't mean he hasn't been outright the best and most valuable player.

 

[camshaft]

We should not forget about Pears and the start he got off to, wher he got 12 goals in 14 games or something like that. It looks like the effectsof the mumps takes awhile to recover from, because both Pears and Crosby were not the same for weeks after catching the disease. Let's hope Pears recovers his form this coming week.

 

[Sojourn]

Agreed. Perry's start was ridiculously good.

Hard to imagine how good Getzlaf now, and Perry then could be.

 

[Sojourn]

Kesler

Guy is an elite 2C...something we haven't had in years. Been fun to watch

As good as we hoped, I think. Have we ever really had this kind of top six center depth? Maybe better overall, with Andy Mac, Getzlaf, and Pahlsson, but Getzlaf in his prime and Kesler seems a stronger 1-2 combo.

 

[AngelDuck]

As good as we hoped, I think. Have we ever really had this kind of top six center depth? Maybe better overall, with Andy Mac, Getzlaf, and Pahlsson, but Getzlaf in his prime and Kesler seems a stronger 1-2 combo.

Agreed.

I think Getzlaf is better than 06-07 version of Andy Mac, and Kesler now is better than 06-07 Getzlaf (Although Getz was still in development, and played his best hockey in the playoffs)

 

[2faded]

Too many times he's had brainfarts and let softies in. I'm quite worried about having him as our 1st goalie into the playoffs to be honest.

I am a little concerned as well. That's exactly why Gibson needed to split games with Andersen so we can see what we have in both rolling into the playoffs. Well, that ship has sailed. Murray just went all in with Andersen by signing Bryz.

 

[Sojourn]

Gibson may still get called up at some point. It will come down to his play, and his health. Unless Andersen goes on a tear the rest of the season, or Bryz plays well, I don't see why Gibson won't have another opportunity.

 

[Theridion]

Impressive:
Getz, pers, kesler, vats, lind, anderson


I know Anderson can be knocked for not stealing games or being what we think of with Vezina candidate... but if you think about his age, experience, workload.... I feel he has been dependable and steady.

Im disapointed in Cogs, DSP, Rakell.... all the depth players. Between injuries and lineup changes, they have all had the opportunity to shine... and none of really taken a step forward into being a consistent performer that demands icetime.

Borque is horrible and so is Heatley. And Thompson is all kinds of fun.

 

[Ando]

Impressive:
Getz, pers, kesler, vats, lind, anderson


I know Anderson can be knocked for not stealing games or being what we think of with Vezina candidate... but if you think about his age, experience, workload.... I feel he has been dependable and steady.

Im disapointed in Cogs, DSP, Rakell.... all the depth players. Between injuries and lineup changes, they have all had the opportunity to shine... and none of really taken a step forward into being a consistent performer that demands icetime.

Borque is horrible and so is Heatley. And Thompson is all kinds of fun.

Rakell earlier in the season I would agree wasn't looking impressive, but these last couple games he has taken bigger strides to demonstrate his plays, and one of which resulted in a goal. Hope to see him keep on playing like that.

 

[DarthYenik]

Jackman's willingness to flop when smashed in the face, and faking injury to get a player suspended. Very impressive.

What? I find your lack of faith in Jackman's performance, disturbing.

 

[AngelDuck]

For those of you who are disappointed in DSP's performance...I'd like to know what your expectations were for him going into the season.

He's on pace for 32 points in 78 games which is fine for a utility forward..

He doesn't have very much offensive upside. Maybe a 40 point year here and there in his prime. I think people need to start realizing that Etem and Smith-pelly are what they are. They can still improve but 15-20 goals is likely their limit based on what they've shown.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

I am a little concerned as well. That's exactly why Gibson needed to split games with Andersen so we can see what we have in both rolling into the playoffs. Well, that ship has sailed. Murray just went all in with Andersen by signing Bryz.

Don't bet on it. At the very least, Gibby will be back at the deadline when rosters expand. We've seen Gabby is not afraid to play youngsters (including Gibby) in the playoffs. If Bryz looks no better than Hiller did you can bet Gibby will get his shot again.