Player Discussion With the 9th pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Ducks select Trevor Zegras
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I honestly thought he was our best player, but I will also say we don't have anyone really good so that bar is extremely low. He looks extremely quick to me. He is phenomenal with the puck. There are a ton of situations where just about everyone else on our team wouldve lost the puck but he can control it and get the pass off ( part of why he is so great on the pp). He does take chances at times but im fine with that as long as the chance has potential to create something if it works. He is 100% our best player in the neutral zone amd with zone entries. He is our most dangerous passer. Yes I agree he loses some battles because he isn't strong enough yet but overall I thought he was our best player last game.
bsu
"I have no idea what I am doing" -Pat VerBleak
- Sep 27, 2017
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He looks exactly like Jack Hughes did last season.
Ducks in a row
Go Ducks Quack Quack
First of many hopefully. I actually don't think he will 'blow up' this season if he stays up with Anaheim. Would improve over the course of the rest of the season for sure, but strength is clearly the limiting factor right now. The good news is that that's easily addressed, it's much tougher to improve vision, hockey IQ, stickhandling ability etc, each of which he has plenty of and ultimately why I think he will become a first line forward.
He clearly have to work on his strength, but he is using his body very wisely. On the PP he shrug off ROR and maintained the puck. With his vision he can attract the players on him, then just needs a split second to give it to a player who has more room, that is a nice combination.
I wouldnt mind sending him back down to build some confidence. Ducks are a dumpster fire without lindholm.
Hockey Duckie
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He isn't lacking confidence, but does need to improve overall play. Hazy did mention that young prospects have to realize they can't get away with what they did against their peers against NHL level play. Many noticed this at the AHL level. Zegras produces in spurts, but the game requires playing well all the time. In tonight's game against the Avs, it was Zegras' hubris in transition that gave way to a Ducks' penalty and eventual Avs' goal. This is what Zegras needed to figure out at the AHL level, not the NHL level... unless it's another pushing youth year like last year. Zegras put "I" before team. That little mistake was all the Avs needed to capitalize.
Zegras has 9 points in 8 AHL games, but 1 point in 6 NHL games. Not really a great debut. If Zegras plays tomorrow night with the NHL club, then we burn his ELC. We might as well just keep him up with the NHL club as we're continuing to push the youth movement at the NHL level. I don't like it, but Shatty is a top pairing mainstay and Steel is still at the NHL level. So what's one more player garnering NHL time when they don't deserve it? He was called up because we were desperate.
Past 3 games. 3-0 lead blown to a loss. 3-0 lead blown to a loss. 2-0 lead blown to a loss. We need more sound team players to prevent blowing multi-goal leads. We have a little more mature version of Zegras on the NHL club named Terry. ::: raising shoulders :::
bsu
"I have no idea what I am doing" -Pat VerBleak
- Sep 27, 2017
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Developing players in a loser environment.... I hope we don't end up like the Sabres..or oilers because McDavid and drai arent walking through that Anaheim door.
I highly doubt they send zegras down which is a mistake imo he needs to be in san diego.. I guess it's going to be sink and swim time for zegras in the NHL.
I highly doubt they send zegras down which is a mistake imo he needs to be in san diego.. I guess it's going to be sink and swim time for zegras in the NHL.
I would hope they send him down. He has clearly shown he is not ready for the NHL this season and that's okay. He is super young and should be learning how to dominate the AHL right now. BM needs to think long term here.
Hazy said zegras has bad habits like thinking he can burn players with moves that he does on lesser players
You think sending him down to the ahl would improve that? It wont. He will continue to make those poor habit moves in the ahl. He needs to learn to figure out the pro game
Personally I think he has lost some of his confidence and swagger. Goal scorers amd play makers need to score goals and create some nice plays or they start freaking out. A stint in the ahl would allow him to get his production up and allow him to slow everything down and reflect on how he did, what worked and what he can change next time up. It will also allow him to have some fun. Right now he is drinking from a firehose.
I think he is doing great. There was always going to be an adjustment period where he has to feel out the game and figure out how to make his game work in the nhl.
Its like that for every rookie. Just wait until the light bulb pops. The game will slow down for him immediately.
It wont pop playing in ahl
100% agreed and I'd say most rookies would benefit stints in the ahl playing against easier competition periodically.
Think Zegras should just stay up. It hasn’t hurt Comtois or Lundestrom playing on this kind of team. Yeah had a rough game last night but his previous two were very good and even warranted him more ice time and his first NHL point. Will learn to play on the NHL level while being on the NHL level. He is able to draw penalties with his skating and he will get stronger and better on the boards in time. Again, better to learn and develop that way on the NHL level.
The Midnight Burrito
True Fan
It's really generous to say he's doing great. He's actually struggling, which is expected for a prospect his age and size. So it's not concerning that he's struggling, but it's not great.
AngelDuck
Rak 'em up
- Jun 16, 2012
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I would send him down. Either way, he has a lot to work on this summer in the gym and on the ice. Needs to work on his acceleration and obviously spend time in the weight room
McDonald19
Registered User
Seems like the Ducks have already decided to let the contract kick in by taking him to Colorado. He should have played for the Gulls last night.
WhatTheDuck
9 - 20 - 8
He looks like a very talented rookie. Can look very impressive and very green within the same shift.
Hockey Duckie
Registered User
He wasn't dominating the game at the AHL, though. He was great in small spurts and made the other team pay for it, but he was also playing with players (Sam Carrick and De Leo) who are playing the 200-ft game as well as doing all the little things that get praised often by the commentator, Zilch, and fans watching them.
In the AHL, he can continue to build on that all-around game while maintaining his offensive creativity.
Hazy's been on a truth tear about the team, calling out what's or why it's not working.
Lundy and Comtois have had previous playing instances with the NHL club for the past two seasons. Comtois looked good two seasons ago, playing 10 games - but his play tailed off of that 10-game stint. Lundy was good defensively as an 18-year old, but that stagnated his progression as a player and sent him down to the AHL. That still wasn't enough, so they sent him back to Europe and Lundy found his scoring game. Last year, Comtois and Lundy struggled at the NHL level as both where splitting time between the AHL and NHL program. This year, their bodies have had to previous seasons of playing against NHL'ers. This is Zegras' first year at the AHL/NHL level.
What you are excluding are talents like Steel and Terry, who have yet to find their game and are struggling. I'm okay with Jones being a speedy bruiser because he does fill a necessary role, which would make Dirk sated.
I think Drysdale would fit better on NHL ice than Zegras, but I still don't want Drysdale on NHL ice. Talent movie comp: Top Gun. Zegras' mind is like Maverick and thinks outside the box, but needs more maturation. Drysdale is like Iceman, ever the tactician. Both are tops in flight school, but still in flight school; not the Top Gun competition. Why are we treating the NHL club like it's the AHL? Coach Eakins said in the NHL you have to produce. That's why he benched Terry the first time. We went with the development program last year and were sorely disappointed (and many of us were opposed to pushing the youth movement).
Paul4587
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He should go down. He clearly has things to work on and he’s better off playing 23 minutes a night in all situations in the AHL IMO. We used to be a franchise that had young guys force their way onto the roster, I want to see that attitude with this franchise again. Am sick of seeing mediocrity being rewarded.
Really hope that they send him down. He had his cup of coffee, but no real reason to keep him up anymore.
Just hoping that Bob doesn't give him the Nick Ritchie treatment.
PaddyMcStackin
Goalier Than Thou
- Apr 18, 2018
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I'm digging the analogy here.. I'm getting vibes that Zegras is Cougar and Eakins is the Russian 'MiG 28'.
The Mighty Duck Man
R-E-L-A-X
That's a good point. I'm not sure where I stand but Eakins did say that they weren't going to gift anyone spots and they had to actually win them. You definitely see the flashes with Zegras but I don't know if he's truly earned that spot just yet, so by that logic he should go back down.
KaseMeOutside
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- Oct 18, 2011
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So now are we going to start scratching him because he's approaching of burning a year off of his ELC? Everyone can see he's not ready, there's flashes of brilliance, but also flashes of a 19 year old kid. Also do we still want him to be a center? if so shouldn't he be playing that position with the Gulls?
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