THW's Ducks News

THW's Ducks news for 03/20/2021

March 20, 2021

The latest Ducks stories from The Hockey Writers.

 

03/20/2021 edition:

By Greg Boysen on Mar 19, 2021 03:36 pm

Today’s “Prospects News & Rumors” column takes us on a trip through the National Hockey League’s West Division. An Anaheim Ducks top prospect made his NHL debut and fit right in last night. A high draft pick of the Vegas Golden Knights is back in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and performing well. Plus, a San Jose Sharks hopeful is tearing it up in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).Trevor Zegras & Jamie Drysdale Score First NHL GoalsThe Ducks have two young stars that won’t be considered prospects for much longer in Zegras and Drysdale. After very successful and short stints with the San Diego Gulls in the American Hockey League (AHL), both young stars are playing in the NHL. Drysdale, the sixth-overall pick of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, made his league debut on Thursday night. He sparked a comeback after the Ducks were down 2-0 to the Arizona Coyotes as his first NHL got them on the board.The 18-year-old took the puck off the right wall and skated down the blue line until he got the room he wanted to fire off a shot. His wrister banked off defenseman Alex Goligoski and got in behind Adin Hill for his first NHL goal.Just over two minutes later, Drysdale was credited with the secondary assist on Zegras’ first NHL goal to tie the game.Those silky-smooth hands are going to cause NHL goaltenders to have nightmares for years to come. Zegras now has a goal and four points through his first 11 games with the Ducks.“I was joking with [Zegras] on the way here, just saying, ‘You know, if I don’t fall on my solo lap, then it’s a win,’ so it was a lot of fun to get that [goal] under my belt,” Drysdale said after the game. “Coming out with the win on top of it made it that much better.”Drysdale is the 13th player 18-years-old or younger to have multiple points in his NHL debut. He joined Ray Bourque and Petr Svoboda as the only defensemen to do so.Peyton Krebs Keeps Streak AliveKrebs is back in the WHL and captaining the Winnipeg Ice after starting the season in the AHL. The 17th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft had a goal and five points in his five games with the Henderson Silver Knights.After being held off the scoresheet in the Ice’s season-opener, Krebs has got his offensive game going. He had an assist on the eventual game-winning goal shortly after scoring this goal in Thursday night’s 5-2 win over the Moose Jaw Warriors.Zloty draws the assist! 12:21 left in the second. pic.twitter.com/dISjTWWiXR— Winnipeg ICE (@WHLWpgICE) March 18, 2021Krebs has now scored goals in three straight games, including the game-winning goal in overtime against the Saskatoon Blades on Wednesday night. He has two assists to give him five points in his first four games in the WHL this season.Vlad Kotkov is Red HotWhile Golden Knights currently one of the best teams out west and the Ducks seem to be on the rise, the Sharks appear to be heading in the opposite direction. They currently have just 25 points; only four teams in the entire NHL have fewer.As the franchise looks to transition, they will need as many talented young players as they can get their hands on. They may have one in Kotkov, who is having a nice run with the Saint John Sea Dogs in the QMJHL.He made his debut with the Sea Dogs on March 9 and put up a goal and three assists in a 5-3 win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. He followed that up with two goals and an assist on March 13 during a 5-4 victory against the Moncton Wildcats. He has three goals and eight points in his first four games.8 points = 8 points in 3 games = What a week for #SJSharks prospect Vlad Kotkov! | Vision Essentials by @kpthrive pic.twitter.com/phW6MHfuD7— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) March 19, 2021The Sharks signed Kotsov, an undrafted free agent, to an entry-level deal back in July of 2018. Before joining the Sea Dogs, he played with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens for three seasons, scoring 77 goals and 156 points in 177 games. He played in one AHL game for the San Jose Barracuda back in 2019 and scored a goal. At 21, he will likely be playing in the AHL full-time next season.Sign up for our regular 'Prospects Newsletter' for all the latest.Email *Submit 

NHL Rumors: Ducks, Maple Leafs, Golden Knights, Sabres, Jets, MoreBy Jim Parsons on Mar 18, 2021 01:45 pmIn today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Anaheim Ducks have apparently set their ask for forward Rickard Rakell. Not every team is keen to pay the price. The Toronto Maple Leafs are still favored to be active players before the deadline and New York Islanders’ GM Lou Lamoriello essentially admitted his plan is to use his newly found cap space to add a player. The Buffalo Sabres may talk to Taylor Hall about his no-move clause and could the Winnipeg Jets take another swing at the rental market?Ducks Want Huge Haul for RakellThe Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reports that if the Ducks are going to trade Rakell, the current ask is a young, experienced NHL player and a first-round pick. While Rakell is not a rental and he’s having a productive season (19 points through 30 games), that’s a hefty price. Rickard Rakell, Anaheim Ducks (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman notes that the Calgary Flames inquired on Rakell, but balked at that price. Friedman also believes that price may be too rich for the Maple Leafs, even though GM Kyle Dubas has said he’s willing to trade a top prospect to land the player he needs. It is expected that the market will favor buyers and if the Ducks want to move Rakell, they’ll need to lower their ask. At the same time, reports suggest the Ducks aren’t shopping the forward, merely taking calls. He could absolutely stay put and Anaheim is fine with that. Lehner Clears Up RumorsLehner is back with the Golden Knights but there was a bit of a shadow hanging over his return, many wondering what had taken so long. Some speculation was that Lehner’s previous struggles with substance abuse and mental health issues was keeping him out longer than expected. Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner on the rumors surrounding his absence and why he revealed he sustained a concussion last month. #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/0hXHxtZOtu— David Schoen (@DavidSchoenLVRJ) March 17, 2021Lehner spoke with the media and revealed that this was not the case and that he was not only was rehabbing his lower-body injury, but had also suffered a concussion. The goaltender added that he typically wouldn’t have explained why he was out or spoken much about his injury but he felt the need to clear his name. He was disappointed he felt the need to defend himself. Sabres to Ask Hall to Waive No-Move Clause?When asked about his feeling towards re-signing Taylor Hall, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun notes that Sabres GM Kevyn Adams was open-minded on the idea. He said he has a good relationship with Hall’s agent Darren Ferris and they would be talking. Then LeBrun noted: “Translation: Would be shocked if Adams doesn’t talk to Hall/Ferris about a potential move. Hall has full NMC so ball is in his court.” LeBrun later said on That’s Hockey!: “To me the idea that they had earlier in the year where Taylor Hall would sign an extension to stay in Buffalo, to me that’s out the door now in my opinion, even though the Sabres won’t confirm that.”The Sabres season has been a disaster and if the team can get something out of moving Hall to a contender, they might try. There’s been some talk about Hall to the New York Islanders and Sportsnet’s Luke Fox also listed Hall among his top-seven pure rental targets for the Maple Leafs. Other Leafs TargetsBeyond Hall, Fox also suggests that Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf, Buffalo’s Eric Staal, Columbus’ Nick Foligno, New Jersey’s Kyle Palmieri, Minnesota’s Mikael Granlund and Los Angeles’ Alex Iafallo could be targets for Dubas. The Sportsnet Staff reports that a mid-season slump raises speculation that the Toronto Maple Leafs may just go all-in this trade deadline.New Jersey Devils Kyle Palmieri (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)There is a bit more talk lately that Palmieri might be on Dubas’ radar and there’s still plenty of chatter Toronto and Nashville might do business. Islanders to Use Cap SpaceGM Lou Lamoriello admits he’ll use his $5.5 million of LTIR space to find a replacement for sidelined winger Anders Lee and The Athletic’s Arthur Staple believes the Isles’ first-rounder in this year’s draft is most likely in play. Staples writes:Spending assets for a forward or two who come off the books after the season just seems the simplest course for Lamoriello to take, and there are seemingly enough impact options already on the market to make that a worthwhile play.source – ‘Five things to know as the Islanders aggressively try to fill the Anders Lee injury void’ – Arthur Staple – The Athletic – 03/17/2021Jets to Take Another Swing Before Deadline?While it hasn’t always worked out for them in the past, Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet writes that the Jets might try again to add at the deadline. Who and what they go for really comes to price and fit. Noting that adding a rental versus a player with term changes what he’ll need to spend, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff said:But as far as the UFAs, we’re hopeful that we can continue to do business as usual, whether it’s in a pandemic or not. I think the hard part is the flat cap moving forward. That makes it very uncertain how to allocate the different resources. So as far as that goes, we’ll try to make it as ‘business as usual’ as possible.”Sign up for our 'DAILY BEST Newsletter' for the latest & greatest hockey news & analysis.Email *Submit Catch up on all the latest NHL RumorsContinue Reading »Recent Articles:3 Takeaways From the Ducks’ 8-4 Loss Against the AvalancheDucks Prospects: Tracey, Bowen & DrysdaleNHL Rumors: Maple Leafs, Oilers, Ducks, Coyotes, Islanders, More3 Takeaways From the Ducks’ Series Against the SharksNHL Rumors: Canadiens, Avalanche, Ducks, Senators, More 

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