Technically, Olen Zellweger is 49 games into his third NHL season after playing 62 games in 2024-25 and 26 in 2023-24. The Anaheim Ducks selected the dynamic, “undersized” defenseman with the 34th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. As one of the youngest players in that year’s draft, he was six days from eligibility for the 2022 draft.
Following his draft, Zellweger (22) went on to a decorated junior career in his final two seasons in the WHL, scoring a combined 158 points (46-112=158) in 110 regular season games, 38 points (13-25=38) in 20 playoff games, winning two World Junior Championship gold medals, two Bill Hunter trophies as the WHL’s top defenseman, and one CHL defenseman of the year award.
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In his rookie year (2023-24), Zellweger played 44 games for the San Diego Gulls in the AHL, scoring 37 points (12-25=37), earning a spot as the Gulls’ AHL All-Star representative, and he seemed well on his way to fulfilling his offensive potential.
If anyone were to convey that Zellweger would one day become a top-four defenseman in the NHL, they’d have likely guessed he’d play the role of a team’s top power play unit point man and offensive point producer, with very little defensive responsibility.
The transition into the NHL has been anything but smooth for the now 5-foot-10, 194-pound defender who oozes refined skill and is as flawless a skater as one can find. He had difficulty carving a role for himself under former Ducks head coach Greg Cronin, who favored veterans for key roles, and he, along with Pavel Mintyukov, fell victim to a logjam on the blueline in 2024-25 that caused him to serve as a healthy scratch for 20 games and play a non-conductively safe brand of hockey.
He worked tirelessly, as the last Ducks player off the ice for nearly every morning skate and practice, to refine all areas of his game and iron out any deficiencies on the defensive end, and he became a complete NHL defenseman.
Zellweger was projected as one of the players who would benefit most from the Ducks' hiring of Joel Quenneville as their new coach for the 2025-26 season. The logjam was relieved, and on paper, the wide-open, offensive, pressure system seemed perfectly catered to Zellweger’s play style.
Though his now-polished defensive prowess has earned him the third-most TOI (873:15) among Anaheim blueliners this season, following a difficult stretch for Anaheim’s power play to start the season, in which Zellweger was firmly on the team’s second unit, he’s seen his offensive responsibility evaporate completely.
“The core of strength is still, I think, our power play,” Zellweger said. “I still think I have a lot of untapped potential there (that) I need to find a way to get out. Penalty kill has been really good, a challenge for me. I hadn’t played penalty kill in the NHL until this year, so I really enjoy it. It’s super important, getting lots of kills.”
Though he’s now a bona fide top-four defenseman and is being utilized as such at 5v5, during the Ducks' 15 games since Dec. 16, Zellweger has only logged a grand total of 84 seconds on the power play and not even one second in the last four games.
On the flip side, Zellweger now holds a role on the team’s second penalty kill unit, and over the team’s last eight games, he’s averaging 2:05 TOI on the PK. The Ducks have only allowed one goal when he’s been on the ice for the PK during that stretch.
“I like that versatility in his game, that he can do both things,” Quenneville said. “I think Zelly gives us a great presence when exiting our zone, joining the attack, off the point in the offensive zone, and finding holes in spots. He’s quick to pucks as well. I think when we started him penalty killing, it was a good opportunity for him to get quality ice time as well.
“So far, in a short amount of time, he looks like he’s enjoying the opportunity, but his quickness can help him get to pucks and pressure in the right situations, and get the clear as well. Young guys on defense, that’s a big job description to get done. You gotta like the way he started.”
Zellweger’s been a point producer and point defenseman on the power play at every level he’s played at below the NHL, and is finding ways to translate that skill to his new role as a defensive stalwart.
“I’ve played power play my whole life, so I think just the subtleties when I see a guy have the puck. Maybe he’s looking down, and I can pressure him,” Zellweger continued. “Small things like that, I can kind of see the seams unfolding. I think that helps me a lot going on the PK. It makes it less of a transition to be effective. Using my quickness, and trying to read a play as it unfolds and be in the right positions.”
At 5v5, Zellweger is Anaheim’s second-best defenseman, behind only Jackson LaCombe. When he’s on the ice, the Ducks account for 53.68% of the shot attempts share, 50.87% of the shots on goal share, and 51.25% of the expected goals share. He’s driving 5v5 offense from the blueline, as when he’s on the ice, the Ducks have notched 2.99 expected goals for per 60 minutes (2nd on ANA) and 3.27 goals/60 (1st on ANA). He’s either been too unproductive or hasn’t been given enough of a chance with the man advantage.
That may leave some to wonder what his role is for the Ducks organization moving forward. Is he destined to cap out as a good top-four defenseman who kills penalties on a second unit? If that’s the case, Zellweger will have tough competition nipping at his heels in the Ducks’ pipeline, with Stian Solberg (23rd overall in ’24) and Tyson Hinds (76th in ’21) in the AHL, Lasse Boelius (60th in ’25) in Liiga, Tarin Smith (79th in ’24) in the WHL, and Drew Schock (101st in ’25) in the NCAA.
He’s been passed on the Ducks’ power play depth chart by both Mintyukov and Jacob Trouba, with LaCombe assuming top unit TOI. If he can’t find consistent time with the man-advantage, one could even wonder how the Ducks’ front office views the player and if he has a long-term spot on the roster.
Zellweger has as much puck skill and skating ability as any defenseman in the NHL. He’s worked endlessly to round out his 200-foot game, performing well defensively at 5v5 and on the kill, but his biggest impact comes on the offensive side of the puck. He has 18 points (6-12=18) in 49 games this season and 47 points (15-32=47) in 137 games in his career.
Zellweger is in the final year of his entry-level contract and will be an RFA when the Ducks’ season concludes. How general manager Pat Verbeek and the Ducks’ front office approach the trade deadline, home stretch of the season, and offseason as it pertains to Olen Zellweger will be immensely telling on how they view him within the framework of the present and future of the organization.
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