The Ducks have a lot to be excited about when it comes to this season and beyond. Despite the departure of fan favorite Trevor Zegras via trade, they added a couple of veterans with plenty of playoff experience in Chris Kreider and Mikael Granlund. They also revamped their coaching staff, giving Greg Cronin, Rich Clune and Brent Thompson the boot in favor of Joel Quenneville, Jay Woodcroft, Ryan McGill and Andrew Brewer.
There has been plenty of discussion about what Anaheim's core of young forwards, namely Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, and Cutter Gauthier, could produce heading into the 2025-26 season. But, perhaps the more intriguing group to watch will be their crop of young blueliners, led by sophomore standout Jackson LaCombe.
LaCombe broke out in his second full NHL season, collecting 43 points in 75 games. He also notched the highest goals total for a Ducks defenseman (14) since Ľubomír Višňovský scored 18 goals for the Ducks during the 2010-11 season. LaCombe assumed a spot on the Ducks' top power play unit as the lone defenseman and also spent plenty of time as one of the Ducks' top penalty killers. His average time on ice (22:18) was the most among all Ducks skaters in 2024-25.
"Confidence has been building for me, which has been great for me," LaCombe said. "Just being able to believe in myself to do the things I like to do and be the player that I am. It's been huge for me."
"When you get used to something, you kind of just get more confident with it. You see more plays and you get more comfortable with the groups. I think just a combination of (familiarity with everything and strong play from the team) has helped me a lot."
LaCombe built off his breakout season with a strong display at the 2025 IIHF World Championship for Team USA, taking on the role of No. 1 defenseman and leading the team in time on ice for the first three games. When Zach Werenski joined up with the team, LaCombe didn't take a backseat. Instead, he was entrusted by Team USA head coach Ryan Warsofsky to play alongside Werenski on his off-hand as the U.S.'s top defensive pair. At the end of the tournament, Werenski was the only American skater with a higher average time on ice than LaCombe.
LaCombe will be one of 44 players who will attend the U.S. Men's Olympic Orientation Camp from Aug. 26-27 in Plymouth, Mich. Though the left side of the American defense is extremely strong, LaCombe's ability to play his off-hand could give him a leg up on some of the other players who could be in contention for a spot on the 2026 Winter Olympics team. With restricted free agency also upcoming at the end of this season, LaCombe has a big opportunity at hand.
Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger had their ups and downs during the 2024-25 season. Because of a defensive logjam, both found themselves included as part of a rotation throughout the season and struggled to find their footing. While young players are not entitled to regular playing time by any means, the process by which the rotation operated was puzzling at times.
Zellweger, in particular, was a healthy scratch for several stints throughout the season, with the need to have three left-right pairs being one of the main reasons given by Cronin when queried about the defensive rotation. However, the final few games of the season involved throwing right-hander Ian Moore into the mix alongside fellow right-hander Jacob Trouba, with the latter playing his off-hand.
"It's frustrating, a bit (when you don't know if you're going to play or not)," Zellweger said. "You gotta be ready to play when they call on you and you gotta be able to bring your best to stay in the lineup and try to stay in the lineup, right? To regain that trust and to play more minutes."
"I kind of just jump right back into it (after being out of the lineup for an extended amount of time). I try to stay prepared off the ice by practicing and (doing) some weight room stuff. So all that keeps me ready physically and then the rest of it's all mental, being ready to have that high compete level and that intensity to make a difference."
Zellweger says there isn't anything specific that he feels he needs to work on to become a more constant fixture in the lineup and that he prides himself on poring over video and trying to pick up areas he can improve on. With so many young defensemen on the team, he's fuelled by holding himself to his own standard rather than the competition that spawns from having so few spots up for grabs
"We're competing against each other, but I'm not measuring myself against anyone on the backend. kind of just hold myself to my standard. What I'm gonna do every day might be more than the next guy and I think that can give me the edge."
Arguably the most offensively inclined player among the Ducks' young blueliners, Zellweger now has a clean slate under Quenneville. While LaCombe likely has the No. 1 power play spot locked down, there could be a battle for power play time on the second unit between Zellweger and Mintyukov.
Speaking of Mintyukov, the 21-year-old Russian took a step back offensively in his second full season as an NHLer. After holding the role of No. 2 defenseman on the power play during his rookie season, his power play ice time evaporated in favor of LaCombe. In fact, Mintyukov barely had any sort of special teams ice time at all during the 2024-25 season. Rarely used on the penalty kill in either of his two seasons, the ice time he lost from not being on the power play either went to LaCombe or was taken by fellow youngster Drew Helleson.
Essentially, Mintyukov was relegated to a bottom pair. The mystical defensive rotation did him no favors in attempting to gain traction and find consistency whenever he was re-inserted into the lineup. Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek also revealed this past March on Ducks Stream that Mintyukov had offseason knee surgery for a bone bruise that he suffered toward the end of the 2023-24 season.
"I didn't have much practice time (after the surgery)," Mintyukov said. "I was out for a long time, so that why it was kind of hard to come back right away and start playing games."
"I think for Pavel, he's kind of had an up and down season," Verbeek said. "I think going out of the lineup's kind of hurt his confidence a little bit. He was recovering from an injury last year when he took a shot from (Jakob Silfverberg) and it kind of damaged his knee, so he ended up having surgery later in the summer. He never quite healed fully from that injury and I think that's kind of really hurt his play. From my perspective, it's been hard for him to trust his legs, get back for pucks and have that extra half a second to make a play. I think he's found it difficult at times where men get behind him in the defensive zone and he allows it.
"The focus for him is to make sure that those little details, the blocking out and not allowing guys to get to the net. Gaining that position is important not only for his defensive zone (performance), but I think it's going to spur his offensive ability, too. We're trying to let him go offensively. I've had talks with Pavel in the sense that, 'Pavel, we want you to be a great player. But we want you to be a player that we can put out in the last minute of a game to defend the lead, but also provide offense. You're going through these hard lessons right now and it's important for you to go through them. But we want you to make sure that you're looking for the details in your game.'"
While Mintyukov and Zellweger appeared to take a step back this past season, Helleson managed to carve out an everyday role during the second half of the season. He solidified himself as part of the bottom pairing alongside fellow Boston College alum Brian Dumoulin and continued to play regularly after Dumoulin was shipped to New Jersey at the trade deadline.
"I love the responsibility," Helleson said. "For me, the more I play and the more involved I am, I think the better I get and the more comfortable I am. So I'm excited for the opportunities on the (penalty kill). It's something I've always done in the past and to try to get an opportunity here and try to prove myself, it means a lot and I'm hoping to take good advantage of it."
There will be plenty of competition when training camp rolls around as Tristan Luneau will be looking to make the jump to full-time NHLer and will be competing with Helleson––who signed a two-year extension this summer––for a spot on the right side of the Ducks' blue line.
Norwegian Stian Solberg could also be potentially competing for a spot on the left side of the Ducks' blue line, though he could use more seasoning in the AHL before making the transition to the NHL. It's possible that he could make his NHL debut at some point this season if his first full season playing in North America goes well. The aforementioned Ian Moore could also be an option on the right side after impressing in his short stint at the end of last season.
Ducks captain Radko Gudas and former Rangers captain Trouba are still around and will likely continue to have big roles as leaders on and off the ice. But the youngsters will be relied on to provide most of the offensive production from the blue line. Receiving strong seasons from either of Mintyukov or Zellweger plus a repeated success from LaCombe could be the difference in helping push the Ducks toward a playoff spot, their stated goal for the 2025-26 season.
"The points are one thing, but I think that's just half of it," Zellweger said. "We don't want just the older guys trying to take the lead coming down the stretch. We need everyone, especially the younger guys, to find another level, to play with confidence and that high intensity. I think that can win a lot of games."
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