A-Ducks future PP Defenceman

[Daydream Nation]

I’m confident it’s not going to be Mintyukov

Why do you think so?

[rataylor22]

Why do you think so?

Because Drysdale is the incumbent and Zellweger is significantly more offensively talented. 80 in 55 in the W is significantly higher production than 88 in 69 in the O. Zellweger might have been drafted one year earlier than Mintyukov but they’re 2 months apart, they’re the same age. Either Drysdale is not going to give up the role or Zellweger is going to take it.

[hawkdog]

Hard to rule out OZ to get the top PP spot - not right away of course - in my opinion after the season he just put up. 80 points in the regular season and another 29 in 14 playoff games.


/Cam Robinson/
@Hockey_Robinson
·
May 10
Olen Zellweger's WHL season:

• Regular Season (55GP): 32G, 80PTS
• Playoffs (14GP): 11G, 29PTS

• WJC Gold
• WHL Defenseman of the Year (2nd consecutive win)

And the Memorial Cup still awaits.

[Belexus75]

The truth is nobody really knows...we do know that only one that had some PP time there is Drysdale. Rest is all speculation.

I would be very surprised if every of them didnt get a fair shot at it. Also with the Talent or lack of up front maybe they will run 2 D for a while...who knows. We also dont know when other 2 kids land in NHL...im assuming both will get a shot to make it out of training camp but again, just speculations.

[PoolPartyPuljeejarvi]

I feel like drysdale has more to give. There were a ton of comparisons to Jake Sanderson and of the two he was supposed to be the uber skilled and productive one! When you look at how good Sanderson did even being somewhat buried on the depth chart- it certainly bodes well for (both of their) futures!

I will say projecting minty higher feels sort of like a "hipster pick" to me but that doesn't make it wrong. If you remember STL when they had Pierrangelo and Shattenkirk- a lot of people thought ap was struggling to put up offense cause shattenkirk was the defacto pp and offensive minutes guy and tbh he sort of did (a little bit anyways). If anything I could see that- maybe twn points less than he otherwise might as he defers a little bit to Minty. Long term I feel like Zellweger will be fine and is worth an investment in dynasties.

I don't agree with the statement that Zellweger is "significantly" more talented and their respective PNHLe doesn't imply that either as they are within 10 spots and 20 points of each other- but I do believe Zellweger is what id call a "great player" and to me those players find a way to get it done. Today that blip on APs career where he might have put up 10 less points a time or two is almost onco sequential in the grand scheme of things. Overthink this one at your own risk- lol!

Its sort of at an anything can happen phase at this point though. Heck maybe Drysdale is the one that craps out? Im not in that camp (at all) but this is a mucky area and probably not the best place to build your foundation. I get the allure of wanting the guy whose running the pp for fantilli, zegras, Terry and the lucky dog who gets the last spot- but you could make a (very good) case for why anyone of them is the best candidate AND depending on what day of the week it is I might be inclined to believe all three arguments- lol!

Drysdale first then Zellweger then minty for me but its close with all three and its damn close with the last two...

[tweetdrivr]

Naturally - you paid a lot to get Drysdale. So I’d expect you put him first.

This next season will tell us a lot and I certainly would’nt overcommit to any of them yet. If you can get Drysdale or OZ for a reasonable price it’d be worth the investment but otherwise I’d wait and see.

[Pengwin7]

Agree w/others.
Drysdale has shown absolute no reason to doubt he'll be the PP1.

[zambronies]

Agree w/others.
Drysdale has shown absolute no reason to doubt he'll be the PP1.

Agreed. I hate the Ducks, but they can’t be bottom feeders forever, and think Drysdale should reap the benefits.

[deantime419]

I just read an article that said Ducks are the first team in history to have a D prospect win Defenseman of the year in all 3 Canadian leagues (Zellweger: WHL, Luneau: QMJHL, Minty: OHL). They also have LaCombe who I believe finished top 5 in scoring among Dmen in the NCAA. I would rank everyone like this:

Drysdale

Minty/Zellweger
Luneau/LaCombe

They also have Hinds who had a damn good junior season as well.

I think Drysdale will be given every chance to run with it before the other 2 arrive so its his to lose.

I would refrain from overpaying for Zell at the moment given the hype on him and the internal competition he has with Drysdale and Mintyukov.

[fungchen3]

Zellweger. The kid is way too good with an elite IQ. He's going to be fantasy gold soon. I drafted him two years ago and stashed him. The only reason I traded him last week was because I was offered a deal I couldn't refuse which included me getting the 3rd overall pick to select one of Carlsson or Michkov.

[jman]

Zellweger. The kid is way too good with an elite IQ. He's going to be fantasy gold soon. I drafted him two years ago and stashed him. The only reason I traded him last week was because I was offered a deal I couldn't refuse which included me getting the 3rd overall pick to select one of Carlsson or Michkov.

Wow, good for you. That’s a great trade getting that third!

[Belexus75]

Wow, good for you. That’s a great trade getting that third!

yeah agreed...i probably wouldn't trade that pick for all 3 of those D discussed here...and personally i think that Zellweger is the weakest of all 3 so even more impressive on that trade..

[metaldude26]

You gotta hand it to the Ducks. We just always seem to be debating this question with them.

Remember when they stole Cam Fowler at 12 in the 2010 draft and he was instantly a hit but they also had Luby Visnovsky leading the league in defenseman scoring.

Then by 2013 they'd moved on from Visnovsky and you figured Fowler would have full reins but instead Francois Beauchemin had this weird Norris votes season.

The next year Fowler bounces back and Beauchemin returns to normal but now Sami Vatanen AND Hampus Lindholm are on the scene to confound things for the next few years.

Those three battle it out for years and we think Fowler has a hold on things by 2016, but now Shea Theodore are arriving on the scene.

Theodore gets sacrificed to Vegas in the 2017 expansion draft, and Vatanen is traded mid-way through that season but by then Brandon Montour has already started to matriculate.

Montour gets dealt at the 2019 trade deadline, and Lindholm is now battling injuries so we're back in the saddle with Fowler.

That lasts a year, and then they draft Jamie Drysdale and sign Kevin Shattenkirk who both began confounding things for Fowler until this day.

*

I suppose that's a long story about how Fowler never really was that guy, but he did finally score a career high 48 points this season! Will be fascinating to see which of the young options the Ducks have ends up winning out. If this history is any indication, it could be confounding.

[fungchen3]

yeah agreed...i probably wouldn't trade that pick for all 3 of those D discussed here...and personally i think that Zellweger is the weakest of all 3 so even more impressive on that trade..

Thank you, but not in my league where F points = 2G, 1A and D points = 3G, 2A. Basically, a 95 point forward is equivalent to a 60 point defenseman, before you factor in the D scarcity. I fully expect Zellweger to be a 60 point D, if not more. Will Carlson score 95 regularly? Will Michkov? Since goals are worth more in my league, Michkov is a sweet pick but I would need to wait 3 years minimum.

[Belexus75]

Thank you, but not in my league where F points = 2G, 1A and D points = 3G, 2A. Basically, a 95 point forward is equivalent to a 60 point defenseman, before you factor in the D scarcity. I fully expect Zellweger to be a 60 point D, if not more. Will Carlson score 95 regularly? Will Michkov? Since goals are worth more in my league, Michkov is a sweet pick but I would need to wait 3 years minimum.

i respect your point but this thread is not about your league...for OP, i would be hard pressed to do that trade