2024-25 Preview: Anaheim Ducks ANAHEIM DUCKS 27-50-5, 59 Pts. 7th Pacific, 30th Overall 2.48 GF/GP (30th), 3.57 GA/GP (30th), 17.9 PP% (25th), 72.4 PK% (31st) Top scorer: Frank Vatrano. 82 GP. 37-23-60, 85 PIM, 13 PPG, 272 Shots, 18:21 TOI/GP 2024-25 BetMGM Stanley Cup Odds: Opening: +30000 Current: +40000 (as of August 22, 2024) Ticket: 1%. Handle: 0.5% (as of August 22, 2024) 2023-24 FANTASY RECAP It was such a tantalizing start. The Ducks surprised everyone out of the gate, finishing October on a four-game winning streak and a 5-4-0 record. They would extend that streak for two more games in November, but like the birds that disappear south during the winter, that was the last we saw of the Ducks. The players who caught the most attention of the fantasy community early, including Pavel Mintyukov (6 points in 9 games) and Ryan Strome (11 points in 9 games), faded the rest of the way. The Ducks would not string together more than two wins for the rest of the season, which included a seven-game and eight-game losing streak. The lone bright spot was Frank Vatrano, who was not on the fantasy radar at the beginning of the season but played all 82 games and finished with a career season thanks to sky-high usage. Vatrano was particularly valuable in banger leagues with 156 hits. Top rookie Leo Carlsson flashed brilliance, but the Ducks copied a page from the NBA and put him under a load management program – ugh – and they were far better with Carlsson in the lineup than without. Carlsson was the only Ducks center to possess Corsi numbers better than the opposition at 5-on-5, per naturalstattrick.com. Without him, the Ducks’ fantasy options lost a little luster and it robbed fantasy managers of the ability to roster Carlsson for an entire season. At the end of the season, no Duck was rostered in more than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues. Vatrano came closest at 49 percent. Frank Vatrano [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA4ODk5NjQ4NTI0Mzk1Njg5/usatsi_22667396.jpg] Frank Vatrano 2024-25 FANTASY OUTLOOK The Ducks will once again be an afterthought in fantasy. With a healthy Trevor Zegras and Mason McTavish, and the addition of Cutter Gauthier, the Ducks offense should be more potent, but this is a young team still trying to forge its identity. There’s plenty of talent, but youth + talent = high-risk, high-reward upside, and I’m not convinced the high-reward upside will be realized. It’s just not their time yet. If Vatrano gets the same type of usage as he did last season – and there’s little reason to think he wouldn’t – he may be their most reliable fantasy option again. McTavish comes closest for his ability to provide 60-70 points, up to 100 hits and perhaps over 600 faceoff wins taking over from Adam Henrique. The rest of their young players are unlikely to score at a pace that will attract much attention in fantasy. Radko Gudas should again be highly sought after in banger leagues for his hits and blocked shots. However, the silver lining for the Ducks is their favorable schedule in fantasy. They play more than half of their games on off-nights, the only team to do so in the league. That means they can provide plenty of streaming options on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Should one of their young players get on a hot streak, be ready to pounce on the waiver wire. 2024-25 PROJECTED LINEUP (updated Oct. 6, 2024) Even Strength Cutter Gauthier – Leo Carlsson – Alex Killorn Frank Vatrano – Ryan Strome – Troy Terry Robby Fabbri – Mason McTavish – Trevor Zegras Brock McGinn – Isac Lundestrom – Brett Leason Cam Fowler - Tristan Luneau Jacksom LaCombe - Radko Gudas Pavel Mintyukov - Brian Dumoulin Lukas Dostal - Calle Clang ex: Ross Johnston, Olen Zellweger, Urho Vaakanainen Injured: John Gibson (appendectomy on Sep. 25, out 3-6 weeks) Power Play Gauthier - Carlsson - Terry - Zegras - Fowler Fabbri - McTavish - Vatrano - Strome - LaCombe SLEEPER: MASON MCTAVISH, C Based on Yahoo’s pre-season rankings (see below), it has to be McTavish. He has an equally good chance to lead the team in scoring as Vatrano or Zegras – Alex Killorn being the top-ranked Duck was most egregious – but I also like McTavish’s ability to provide faceoff wins and hits. Shot volume may be a bit of a problem, averaging a pedestrian two per game, and I’d certainly like to see him get more ice time, but I think both of those things will improve in 2024-25. Gauthier gets a lot of hype but he’s a risky reach in redraft leagues. There are plenty of better rookies available (Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Matvei Michkov, among others) and there’s a chance Gauthier does not stick on L1 with Carlsson and Killorn or play PP1. I’ve seen projections for Gauthier to reach 50 points – it’s possible – but I have him finishing outside the top 5 in scoring on the Ducks. BREAKOUT: OLEN ZELLWEGER, D Gauthier and Carlsson on everyone’s radar but I’m going off the board a little bit and pick Zellweger. I think he’s going to be a regular player, and when he played last season his usage on the power play was quite high. Only Cam Fowler and Mintyukov, who’s another breakout candidate but more well-known than Zellweger (and therefore more prone to being overrated), played more on the power play per game than Zellweger. I’m not convinced Fowler will feature on the power play as much as he did last season and be used more in matchup roles. THN Ducks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/] editor Derek Lee [https://twitter.com/Derek_Lee27] on when we might see Carlsson's breakout season: > "Maybe 2025-26. 2024-25 will be his first time playing an entire NHL season > without restrictions and he may still be adjusting to the workload." - Trevor Zegras [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA4ODk5NjEzNjI3Nzg2NDA5/usatsi_22987552.jpg] Trevor Zegras BOUNCE-BACK: TREVOR ZEGRAS, C Zegras is the obvious pick with the caveat that he’s such a double-edged sword. It often feels like Zegras is already on his way out with Carlsson and McTavish as the Ducks’ 1-2 centers down the middle, and while Zegras is immensely talented, it’s hard to predict if he’ll be a top-line center or get banished to the wing on a secondary scoring line or even traded (to the Rangers?). If Zegras shoots the puck more and becomes a more consistent player, then it’s a different story. A healthy season will at least put him back on the fantasy radar, and gaining LW eligibility would provide some extra value. There will be moments where he is rostered because he’s got the hot hand. BUST: ALEX KILLORN, C/LW Even with good deployment, I still find it hard to believe that Killorn will be an effective fantasy asset. He turns 35 in September and despite ample ice time doesn’t shoot the puck or score a whole lot. On a team with so much potential upside, Killorn has the lowest ceiling. GOALIES Shame on you if you’re still drafting John Gibson, even as a zero-G enthusiast. Over the past five seasons, no goalie has lost more games (129) or allowed more goals (773). He has not had a winning season since 2018-19 and the Ducks are likely headed back to the lottery again in 2024-25. Until Gibson changes addresses, he’s just not worth rostering (or even streaming on most nights, for that matter). Even if you’re looking for volume, don’t be surprised if Gibson and Lukas Dostal end up splitting the games evenly. Dostal’s their goalie of the future and vastly outperformed Gibson last season in both 5-on-5 save percentage (.913 vs. 906) and goals saved above average (3.30 vs. -3.30), per naturalstattrick.com. THN Ducks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/] editor Derek Lee [https://twitter.com/Derek_Lee27] on the goalie rotation: > "Would expect the workload to be close to a 50-50 split this season depending > on who plays better on a game-to-game basis." - JASON’S TOP 5 POINT PROJECTIONS (based on 82 games) Trevor Zegras, C – 20-41-61 Mason McTavish, C – 23-33-56 Frank Vatrano, LW – 29-27-56 Troy Terry, RW – 20-31-51 Leo Carlsson, C – 18-32-50 YAHOO PRE-SEASON RANKINGS 111. Alex Killorn, C/LW 123. Frank Vatrano, C/LW 165. Trevor Zegras, C 176. Mason McTavish, C 211. Troy Terry, C/RW 215. Leo Carlsson, C 233. Ryan Strome, C/LW 250. Cutter Gauthier, LW 271. John Gibson, G 295. Pavel Mintyukov, D 335. Radko Gudas, D 463. Lukas Dostal, G 534. Cam Fowler, D 787. Olen Zellweger, D Click here to join the new THN Fantasy roundtable to discuss! 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