In the 2024-25 season, the Anaheim Ducks made a remarkable jump in the NHL standings from the year prior, improving from 59 points (30th in the NHL) to 80 points (25th in the NHL). General manager Pat Verbeek and co-owner Henry Samueli, along with several veteran roster players, have stated that the goal is to make the playoffs in 2025-26, ending the organization’s seven-year playoff drought (the NHL’s third-longest).
Why Mason McTavish, Future in Anaheim Remains a Talking Point
Anaheim Ducks Fan Survey Series Results: Lofty Expectations Amid Skepticism of Pat Verbeek
Seven consecutive seasons outside of the playoff picture, selecting in the top ten of every Entry Draft from 2019 to 2025, and accumulating additional draft capital and prospects for expiring contracts has yielded one of the NHL’s most impressive pipelines with depth and high-end talent at every position.
Now that the Ducks seem to be in the latter stages of their rebuild and primed to compete for a playoff spot this season, equipped with the No. 4 U23 pipeline, according to The Athletic’s Corey Pronman, we can piece together the type of team they’ll ice when they do finally cross the threshold into the playoffs and hopefully contend for Stanley Cups in the years following.
Recreating the Panthers Core
The Florida Panthers have won back-to-back Stanley Cups and have represented the Eastern Conference for three consecutive seasons. The initial hiring of Greg Cronin as head coach in 2023, followed by the hiring of Joel Quenneville in 2025, who some could credit with igniting the Panthers' current dominance, coupled with the presence of former Panthers roster players Radko Gudas and Frank Vatrano, and the way in which Verbeek has drafted, indicates the intention to replicate aspects of what’s made Florida successful in the last half decade.
Since Verbeek took over in the Ducks' front office in Feb. 2022, he’s remolded the future of the forward core considerably. This offseason, he parted ways with Trevor Zegras and Isac Lundestrom, and in the last four years has acquired (via draft or trade) the likes of Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Beckett Sennecke, and Roger McQueen. The only remaining core piece from the Bob Murray era is Mason McTavish (3rd overall in 2021), who perfectly fits the mold of the other four.
On the whole, the five core forwards in the Ducks pipeline represent a deadly blend of elite size and high-end skill, unmatched in comparable pipelines. At 6-foot-1, McTavish is the shortest of the bunch, with McQueen being the tallest at 6-foot-5.25. McTavish is also the heaviest, weighing in at 218 pounds. These five forwards project to make up the Ducks’ forward core when they’re (hopefully) contending for Stanley Cups, and their speed, puck skills, shooting ability, tenacity, etc., is reminiscent of what Florida’s built with their core of Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, and Matthew Tkachuk.
When Sennecke was drafted, Verbeek stated part of his allure was his ability to play any brand of hockey: skill, speed, heavy, north/south, east/west, etc. The same could be said for other top talents he’ll be surrounded by.
Complementary Pieces
To supplement the stratospheric potential talent of the core five forwards, Verbeek has brought in a stable of complementary pieces to amplify, either as a linemate or from lower in the depth chart.
The pattern that can be drawn of Verbeek and the Ducks' scouting staff when it comes to forwards outside the top ten of drafts is their preference for two archetypes: north/south heavy forecheckers and detailed two-way stalwarts.
Nathan Gaucher, Jan Mysak, Nico Myatovic, Coulson Pitre, Maxim Masse, Ethan Procyszyn, and Herman Traff all represent prototypical bottom-six, high-compete forechecking types, and all have varying degrees of scoring potential. Sam Colangelo (36th in ’20) could also be considered part of this group, albeit with more natural scoring prowess.
Lucas Pettersson and Eric Nilson represent the cerebral, 200-foot side of the coin, with high floors and defensive instincts that are sure (or incredibly likely) to guarantee them NHL careers in a top nine.
There’s also a sprinkling of boom-or-bust offensive talent in the pipeline in the form of Nikita Nesterenko, Yegor Sidorov, Sasha Pastujov (another leftover from the Murray era), Alexandre Blais, and Emile Guite. If any of these players have NHL careers, it’s considered a sizable win for the scouting and development staff.
Well-Rounded Blueline
The Ducks' future blueline is a combination of dazzling offensive skill and steady, potentially suffocating, and hard-to-play-against defenders.
Jackson LaCombe was a breakout star on the Ducks’ backend in 2024-25, scoring 14 goals (the most by a Ducks defenseman since Lubomir Vishnovsky in 2010-11). He has the makings of an impactful, top-pair, two-way blueliner for a long time. With him is a trio of offensive dynamos and former CHL league defenseman of the year award winners: Pavel Mintyukov, Olen Zellweger, and Tristan Luneau, who all have varying degrees of defensive prowess as well.
Like with the forward group, there’s a stable of potential complementary defensive-oriented defensemen to supplement. Led by Stian Solberg (an easy pick for “future fan favorite”), Drew Helleson, Noah Warren, and Tyson Hinds all have NHL potential, with more on the way behind them.
With only six available starting spots on the blueline on a given night, not all of these defensemen will become NHLers, and if they do, they won’t all be with the Ducks when it comes time for them to contend. However, having that many arrows in the quiver is a good problem to have.
Dostal and Co.
Lukas Dostal is the Ducks’ goaltender of the present and future, proven to be one of the best young goaltenders in the NHL. A healthy competition for future backup (or 1B, should Dostal not live up to expectations, completely) is in the works between goalies like Calle Clang, Tomas Suchanek, Damian Clara, Vyacheslav Buteyets, and Elijah Neuenschwander.
How They Stack Up
Selecting ahead of and behind the Ducks in recent drafts has been a collection of familiar faces in the form of teams who find themselves in similar rebuilds. The San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Utah Mammoth all have similar or even more impressive pipelines than Anaheim. The Sharks and Blackhawks represent the most potent of the pipelines, while the Mammoth, Blue Jackets, and Habs are all pushing for playoffs in the immediate future.
The Blackhawks seem to be creating a horde of long, beefy defensemen with high-floor, high-ceiling puck-moving capabilities behind a group of talented and speedy forwards. The Sharks have a truly impressive collection of elite and crafty forward talent. Their blueline still needs some work in front of Yaroslav Askarov, but like the Hawks, they’ll likely be adding another top pick in 2026.
The Jackets, Habs, and Mammoth all have more complete systems, and have similar blends of size and skill as the Ducks.
Verbeek and the Ducks are banking on playoff hockey continuing to favor heavy, tenacious teams who create and capitalize on opposing mistakes with unparalleled finishing when the ice shrinks when April turns to May and June. They’ll hope to physically impose their will on smaller Sharks and Hawks forwards and provide more depth and doggedness than the Habs, Mammoth, and Jackets.
The blueprint is laid out, the pieces are in place (or close), and exit signs for the elongated rebuild are nearing. Whether the Ducks are destined for a Stanley Cup or not comes down to how the front office surrounds the potent potential pillars of the franchise and how they’ll match up with teams projected to have similar contending windows.