One To Watch: Anaheim Ducks

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The once 'Mighty' Ducks of Anaheim will be once again if their impressive pool of prospects reach a modicum of their potential. Depth at all positions should help the Ducks return to the top of their division and keep them up there for the long run. 

John Gibson in net. Shea Theodore, Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen for the blue line. The likes of Nic Kerdiles, Devante Smith-Pelly, Antoine Laganiere, Rickard Rackell, Kevin Roy and Peter Holland are all poised to contribute at the top level over the next few years. And so is this year's pick for this series. 

2012 Choice: Nic Kerdiles - What a year it was for the power forward. A ridiculous ruling by the NCAA threatened Kerdiles college career until a season suspension was reduced to about a month. If not for that, we'd be talking about Kerdiles the Kelowna Rocket instead of the Wisconsin Badger who helped turn the program around after he was allowed to start playing. 

My choice as One To Watch for the Anaheim Ducks comes after the jump. 

Sorting things out in the Nic of time

Tuesday night we welcomed one of our favourite guests to the show as Chris Peters from United States of Hockey joined Guy and I to talk NCAA eligibility.

Yes it's a fascinating subject and it never seems to get old.  While it would have been great to discuss Northeastern's great start or Penn States first 2 games of division 1, the big story is whether or not Nic Kerdiles will win his appeal and be allowed to play at Wisconsin this year or not.

One To Watch: Anaheim Ducks

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The Ducks are in a weird spot right now. They have superstars on their roster but fired their coach last year and still ended up missing the playoffs. They took a kick in the junk when prize prospect Justin Schultz left school, refused to sign and eventually went the UFA route. 

The team is in some sort of transition but I don't know which direction they'll be headed this year, up or down.

Prospect wise they still have some valuable commodities in place. Certainly Emerson Etem will be expected to challenge for a roster spot after a stellar 61-goal campaign in Medicine Hat last season. 

My "One to Watch" could have been Kevin Roy as he begins a new challenge at Northeastern but I've already done that story a few times lately on Twitter and on the radio. 

Personally I think that one of the best prospects in the Ducks' system is also one of the newest. The fact that he's got storylines around him heading into the new year is what has him on my watch list. 

Roy Confirms on TPS: Brown University

Anaheim Ducks prospect Kevin Roy put an end to rumors and speculation when he confirmed on The Pipeline Show Saturday that he will play at Brown University in 2012-13. 

The 19-year-old native of Lac Beauport, Quebec shattered USHL scoring records this past season as a member of the Lincoln Stars. He was selected by the Ducks in the 4th round of the NHL Draft last month and recently participated in Anaheim's summer development camp. 

Roy was a guest on The Pipeline Show this past Saturday and discussed the year in Lincoln, the draft, heading to Russia in August with Canada's U20 team and his summer training schedule. He also set the record straight on where he will play next season.

12th - Anaheim Ducks draft preview

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I haven't been much of a fan of the various Ducks uniforms since their inception but in my opinion, the best one they unveiled was the purple/black/grey version. It's the only one that didn't have some sort of Duck motif; no webbed foot, no duck bill but it looked like a hockey sweater as opposed to the current jersey.

29th - Anaheim Ducks Draft Preview

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They might not be "Mighty" anymore but since they dropped the Disney moniker the team has won the Stanley Cup so I don't think fans really mind. I was never a fan of the logo that was worn on the chest but oddly enough, I found these old shoulder patches to be sort of appealing. Not a fan of the colour but I like these better than the current "D" logos.

Hamonic and McMillan Signed

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Yesterday we posted a list of 2008 draftees who would see their rights return to the NHL Draft if they were not signed to entry level contract by June 1st. You can scratch two names off that list now as the New York Islanders have reached that agreement with defenceman Travis Hamonic and Anaheim inked forward Brandon McMillan.

Ducks Prospect Snap Shot

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The Ducks have seen both sides of the spectrum when it comes to getting and giving away the future. They dealt picks and defenceman prospect Ladislav Smid to get Chris Pronger from Edmonton, then won a Stanley Cup. They also received picks ‘o’ plenty when the Oilers signed Dustin Penner to an offer sheet. In the last couple of years they’ve also traded away budding power forward Eric Tangradi, and traded for Swiss star Luca Sbisa when they shipped Pronger to Philadelphia. Anaheim has drafted in the top 5 six times, most recently taking Bobby Ryan 2nd overall in 2005. Ryan is starting to hit his stride.

Now here’s a look at the rest of the Ducks future.