An optional practice took place at Honda Center on Saturday as several Ducks players greeted season ticket holders at the “Ducks Migration” event nearby.
Among the attendees for practice were trade acquisition Oliver Kylington and goaltender John Gibson, who missed Friday’s game with a lower-body injury. With Ville Husso being reassigned to AHL San Diego, it appears that Gibson will dress for Sunday’s game against the New York Islanders.
Kylington, who was acquired from the New York Islanders on Thursday moments after he was acquired from the Colorado Avalanche, expressed excitement about being in Anaheim and the new opportunity in front of him.
Though most of the organization is new to him, he has fellow countrymen Isac Lundeström and Leo Carlsson to offer him just a bit of familiarity. Kylington said that he knows former Ducks Rickard Rakell and Hampus Lindholm pretty well.
A left-handed defenseman who is capable of playing his natural side and his off-side, Kylington said that the message from the coaching staff is to just play his game.
“That’s what they expect. Just stick to that and stick to what I’m good at and try to apply that and help this team. Seems like a good group of guys in here, I think it’s going to be easy to just be myself with the group.”
“Puck mover, fast skater. I like to jump up in the offensive zone. Reliable in both ends. A skater that that can be both defensive and offensive.- Oliver Kylington on his play style
Kylington missed the entire 2022-23 season and half of the 2023-24 season while working through mental health problems and issues with his family. He returned with a renewed focus and has found his rhythm, although an upper-body injury limited him to just 13 games played so far this season.
“I had to do what I had to do for myself regarding what happened with my family and stuff like that. It was important for me. It was tough at the moment, but I had to focus on getting right again and focus on getting my health back. That was the main thing. But, when I felt that I was past that journey, I was just excited to come back and play hockey again.
“I feel like I've came back to a certain rhythm, but this year with the injury and stuff like that, you can't control everything. Now, I just want to find that rhythm again and play and show that I could play good, high-end hockey.”
Dumoulin left a lasting impact
The Ducks traded veteran defenseman Brian Dumoulin to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, opening up a regular lineup spot for Olen Zellweger, who had been a healthy scratch for the previous five games. Dumoulin was a dependable player for Cronin, who utilized him heavily on the penalty kill and in high-leverage defensive situations.
Pavel Mintyukov and Drew Helleson took the brunt of the penalty kill work in the Ducks’ first game without Dumoulin on Friday, but it was Zellweger who was partnered with Jacob Trouba down the stretch in the third period as the Ducks pushed for offense.
“You won't find anyone (who) says a bad thing about him,” Troy Terry said. “He was just a true pro. Someone that was great for our young guys, was great for me and just someone that did all the little things. He was an example. You can see why he's won Stanley Cups. He works so hard.
“Besides that, just a good family man and someone that we all grew really close with, so that was hard. Unfortunately, it's just part of the business. I don't think it changes our outlook at the moment, but we all wish him the best. He was a real pleasure to play with.”
“Such a tremendous teammate and he was such a good pro,” Jackson LaCombe said. “He was just so special to all of us. He meant a lot to me personally and a lot of the young guys too. Sad to see him go, but that's just how it goes and we wish him luck (in New Jersey).
“We were really close friends, taking me to few dinners on the road and just showing me the ropes and a lot of stuff, which was awesome. Got to mess around with him every day, so it was really special that way. He was tremendous. “