The 2025-26 Anaheim Ducks have lofty goals of ending their elongated seven-year playoff drought. General manager Pat Verbeek spent the offseason performing significant surgery on the roster, specifically with the forward and goaltending groups.

The Ducks moved on from Trevor Zegras, Isac Lundestrom, and John Gibson but brought in Mikael Granlund, Chris Kreider, Ryan Poehling, and Petr Mrazek. Despite all the impactful moves made to the roster, the blueline was left untouched.

Like with the entire roster, the Ducks will be relying heavily on a combination of aspects to achieve the expectations they’ve set for themselves: 1. Internal growth from their youngest and most talented players, and 2. Older veterans keeping Father Time at bay for a little longer.

The Ducks' blueline is projected to feature four U25 defensemen (Jackson LaCombe, Olen Zellweger, Pavel Mintyukov, Drew Helleson) and two over-30 right-shot veterans (Radko Gudas, Jacob Trouba) night in and night out. They’ll likely roster a “7th defenseman” as well to earn ice time sparingly (Ian Moore, Tristan Luneau, Tyson Hinds).

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An underrated key to unlocking the potential of the blueline may come in the unassuming form of sophomore Drew Helleson.

With a new coaching staff at the helm in Anaheim, led by Joel Quenneville, talented and dynamic youngsters Olen Zellweger and Pavel Mintyukov are expected, and will be relied upon, to take significant developmental steps in 2025-26.

Radko Gudas had a down year last season after getting off to a good start to his Anaheim tenure in 2023-24, a season that earned him a captaincy. Jacob Trouba spent the second half of 2024-25 acclimating to a new environment following a trade from the New York Rangers. Both players are defensive specialists at this point in their careers who are likely better suited for roles removed from the top pair.

That leaves a lot on Helleson’s shoulders. He’s to embark on his second season in the NHL and has been paired with long-time friend Jackson LaCombe early in Ducks training camp. LaCombe was the Ducks' breakout star in 2024-25, solidifying himself as the team’s current #1 defenseman, rendering whomever he’s paired with a “top-pair defenseman,” by default.

“I mean, we’ve known each other since we were like six (or) seven years old and lived together, played together through the ranks,” Helleson said when the pair was first put together. “So, we’ve got an unreal bond, and it’s pretty fun playing with him.

“He’s a hell of a player, and it’s pretty fun to get him the puck and watch him go end-to-end. We have a lot of fun out there, playing together, and if we’re lucky enough to stick with that, we’ll be really excited about it.”

LaCombe led the Ducks in TOI a year ago, was the Ducks' most utilized defenseman on the power play, and the second-most utilized on the penalty kill. He and his partner are likely the first in line to assume matchup minutes, a daunting task, as the Western Conference features talented forwards like Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Jack Eichel, and Kirill Kaprizov, among others.

“They’re together a lot. They’ve got a lot of synergy. They’re both Minnesotans, they hang out together, they’re best friends, they have the same agent, they’re a left and right pair, and it fits nice,” Quenneville said after their first game together before invoking a legendary pair from his past. “They’re as close as a pair as I've seen since I had (Brent) Seabrook and ‘Dunks’ (Duncan Kieth). It’s tough to compare them to that pair, but at the same time, they were friends and happened to be teammates for a while, and the next thing you know, they had some success together.”

Possibly one of the biggest on-ice storylines to follow this season will be the Ducks’ switch from a man-to-man defensive zone coverage to a pressure-zone. Though he’s yet to play in that system during his professional career, it seems well-catered to Helleson’s skillset.

“A lot of us, all we know is man-on-man because that’s all we’ve ever played in pro hockey,” Helleson said. “I think it’s going to take a little bit, but from what we’ve learned in video and on the ice so far, it’s been a good change for us, and it’s kind of nice knowing that you’ve got a buddy coming into he corner behind you right away, no hesitation.

“It’s just easier to end plays and be a little more aggressive knowing you've got someone behind you. I think it’s going to be very beneficial for us not playing as much in our D-zone with the forward group we have. Let them play in the O-zone.”

Rather than having to make quick-twitch reactions to mirror his assignment while off-puck, Helleson, a patient, cerebral defender, can rely on his instincts and length to deny seams or shooting lanes. He rarely gets beat while defending puck carriers in the defensive zone and can now trust quick support after a turnover or battle is created.

Helleson and LaCombe have been the most-utilized defensemen on the penalty kill to this point in the preseason, and Helleson projects to be a staple on that unit, a unit that’s gone a whopping 18 for 18, under newly hired assistant coach Ryan McGill.

“I like to be a guy relied on in those situations, and I think that’s a big part of my game, being reliable on the kill,” Helleson said. “It’s been nice to get out there and get some reps in preseason so when the real games come around, we’ll all be ready for it.”

It is expected that Quenneville and McGill will do a fair amount of mixing and matching when it comes to forward lines and defensive pairs until they find recipes that work. In their last practice, LaCombe was paired with Gudas, the Ducks' most consistent pair from last season.

However, the ceiling of a LaCombe-Helleson pair, in theory, could prove the highest and most influential when concocting said recipe.

Several aspects need to go right for the Ducks in 2025-26 if they want to play meaningful games in April. Helleson breaking out to emerge as the shutdown half of a top defensive pair would not only be an unexpected and welcomed surprise (like LaCombe’s breakout last season), but might actually prove necessary if the team has designs on a well-rounded, playoff-caliber blueline.

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