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| The Anaheim Duck Report |
| Prospect Watch |
| From the farm and prospect pool, Martin Hanzal, Thomas Pock, James Wisneiwski, Ondrej Pavelec, Mkhail Grabovski, Drew Miller, Erik Christensen, and Shane O' Brien, are all seeing regular action in the NHL this season. Oskars Bartulis, Marc-Andre Gragnani, Michael Sauer, and several others (including the graduated prospect list) are seeing regular action in the AHL this season. Angelo Esposito, Lars Eller, Kevin Shattenkirk, Denis Parshin, and Jamie McBain all all strong prospects at their respective positions with Esposito taking over as the team's #1 prospect. |
| Graduated Prospects |
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| The Anaheim Ducks come into the 2007-08 season in a bit of transition. Sandis Ozolinsh, the longtime fixture on the blueline, was traded in the offseason to Detroit. Daniel Briere, who did not quite play up to potential in Anaheim last season, was shipped to the New York Rangers in lieu of two first round draft picks. Jason Wiemer, who anchored the crash line, unexpectedly retired from the Ducks in a move that left a leadership void in the lockeroom. Ryan Getzlaf, who has made tremendous strides as a complete player, anchors the team's top line along with veteran winger Vaclav Prospal and perennial All-Star, Alexei Kovalev to the right. Dustin Penner, the team's hulking left winger, made tremendous strides last season looks to fill the void that Wiemer left on Anaheim's third line. Defensively, things have changed for the Ducks. Enter Ryan Whitney and Kyle McLaren to anchor the blueline in place of the departed Sandis Ozolinsh, Sergei Gonchar, and Jason Wooley. Remaining on the blueline are Roman Hamrlik, Vitali Vishnevski, Chris Chelios, and Christian Ehrhoff. James Wisniewski looks to step in as the team's 7th and depth defensemen. In net, Ilya Bryzgalov looks to take a much more active role in the goaltending duties this year after having a tremendous year in relief of David Aebischer. Coach Glen Sather is challenged by the changes, however, is very encouraged by some of the offseason pickups. "Adding players like Jeremy Roenick, Jarkko Ruutu, and Randy Robitaille are going to give us a lot of flexibility this season. The leadership that these players bring to the lockeroom should be a real asset to the team," Sather told reporters. |
| A Team in Transition |
| The Ducks entered the 2007 draft with 5 picks in the top 31 selections. However, after making two trades, the team ended up with four (in the top 31). First, the #1 overall pick was sent to Buffalo in exchange for offensive defensemen, Ryan Whitney and a 4th rounder. Anaheim then acquired the third overall pick from Calgary in exchange for the 11th and the 29th pick and took phenom winger, Angelo Esposito. Danish LWer Lars Eller was taken at 16, offensive d-man, Kevin Shattenkirk was popped at 23, and coveted defensive defensemen, Tommy Cross was selected at 31. "We had a brilliant first day," beamed President/GM, Mark Kopsack. Offensive center, Vladamir Ruzicka, Mitch Fadden, Mattias Modig, and Blake Kessel rounded out the team's draft. "We filled some holes in our prospect pool with a very impressive array of talent," Kopsack told reporters. "It will be a lot of fun watching these players mature." |
| 2007 Draft Report |
| Farm Report |
| The Louisville Thunder look to take their team to the next level this season after being bumped out of the playoffs in the first round last season. "We fought all season long. The team played well defensively and put it in the net when we needed to," said head coach, Brad Shaw. "This season we hope to be more aggressive on the scoring end to take some of the pressure off of our defense and goaltenders." The top line looks to be Erik Christensen at pivot, with Peter Olvecky on the left side, and AsHL veteran, Barry Tallackson on the right. "We are going to count on Barry being up in Anaheim for a significant portion of the season," said coach Shaw. "He's ready for it." On the blueline will be veteran Thomas Pock and Dmitri Bykov. The team's second scoring line will be pivoted by veteran AsHL, Michael Holmqvist. On the wings will be Joel Stepp and Marek Kvapil. On the blueline will be Kent Huskins and Brandon Rogers. The team's third line will be pivoted by vet AsHL player, Benoit Gratton. On the wings will be Curtis Glencross and Shane Hynes. The defensive pairing will be Nathan Saunders and Juha Alen. The team's 4th line will be pivoted by newcomer Petteri Wirtanen. On the wings will be a couple of promising rookies in Ryan Garlock and Ryan Maki. The defensive pairing will be Thomas Pock and Brandon Rogers with Shane O'Brien seeing some time as a depth defensemen. |