Welcome back to another Gulls season! I won’t do the full recap for this one since I gather a lot of you were able to see it and if you did not, you can watch the entire thing below.
So I am just going to leave some comments and notes for the game here.
The New Guys
Zegras is as advertised. The real deal, looks the part, all swagger. Like Jake Rudolph of our sister site CrashThePond.com tweeted.
Fuck you Jake, we are gonna hold onto him for as long as we can.
But seriously, not only did he have two assists on the night and several high danger chances. He also noticeably made those around him so much better and the Gulls Power Play will be pretty much unstoppable with him on it playing the quarterback position. What else can you say about him? The kid is amazing.
Agozinno, although not new to the Ducks – this was his first action with the Gulls and he looks to be a much better veteran replacement for the departed Justin Kloos. He has speed, much better hands and deftly slips into scoring areas.
BO Groulx (note: GREW, not GROOL) got the second Gulls goal with his willingness to go to the net and create a screen (taking the Poturalski shot off his butt essentially). If he consistently goes hard to the net he will create space for his wingers, the Gulls will miss Corey Tropp this year but Groulx could begin to fill that mold. Random annoyance for me was his wearing number 24 really put me off all night as it hasn’t been long enough since Megna left but I am sure I will get used to it.
Brouillard (note: BREW-YETTE) is a completely unknown commodity to me. I had guessed at the connection to David Urquhart by way of McGill University but I was surprised to see him being paired with Jamie Drysdale on the second Power Play Unit, assuming he would be more defensively minded. He did not look out of place on the unit and seemed comfortable with walking the point to find lanes Also showed some good speed taking the puck in transition and on the breakout.
Jamie Drysdale impressed me the most of all the new additions. The youngest on the squad; he showed just why he deserved the Ducks 6th overall selection at the most recent NHL entry draft. Cool, calm and confident with the puck, I also really loved the power behind his shot from the point.
Lukas Dostal (note: DOH-STAAL – at least according to my Czech friend it is said like that). Showed great speed and athleticism as well as quick reflexes on a lot of his saves but also is going to take time to adjust to the North American ice – he got caught out of position coming out too aggressively on some plays. I did like that essentially any shot he saw, he stoppped. The only one that got by him was through traffic.
Keegan Lowe provides the much needed veteran depth on the blue-line. Doesn’t make mistakes and provides good mentor-ship for the young Drysdale while he gets an early taste of the pro game. San Diego have developed a few veterans of their own now as Benoit and Mahura enter their third years but not having Hakanpaa and losing Wideman in the off-season creates an experience hole that Lowe fills nicely.
Jacob Perrault didn’t exhibit a heck of a lot of the tools that preceded him being selected with the 27th overall selection at the most recent NHL entry draft. He is only 18 so it is unfair to critique his showing in this game, but it was a relatively quiet pro debut for him. Quick note – he did show his speed and tenacity on one play early in third period when he chased down a loose puck off the face-off and almost turned it over in the offensive zone.
Brayden Tracey wasn’t exactly the same player I was most impressed by at the Rookie tournament in Irvine last year. He definitely had his chances and was very much involved in the offense but he also didn’t bury any of them, despite having some Grade A opportunities. Will watch his progress with interest.
The Old Gang
Sam Carrick clearly enjoyed playing with Trevor Zegras and the youngster is likely to serve up several multiple goal games for the Gulls captain for as long as the Ducks deem it needed that he should stay in the AHL.
Chase De Leo also displayed great chemistry with the Captain, picking up where he left off at the end of last season. He will be relied upon as the main penalty killing forward this season with no Keifer Sherwood or Justin Kloos.
Speaking of the penalty kill, Antoine Morand looked great. I still steadfastly believe he is the most underrated forward on the Gulls (well he is now that Keifer Sherwood is gone) but with the departure of Sherwood comes a massive opportunity for the second year Center to step up. I don’t have the boxscore but I am pretty sure he picked up two assists on the night playing on the “fourth line”. As previously stated – the San Diego Power Play is going to be lethal with Trevor Zegras and I don’t have the numbers to back it up but I am fairly sure Morand is one of the team leaders in drawing penalties.
Joining Morand on the fourth line was Jack Kopacka, the third year pro capped off a good night with a goal that required final overhead video confirmation due to his shot being that good. He is in the final year of his entry level deal and will need to make the jump this year if he wants to eventually get a sniff of the Ducks roster which he has yet to do. I have a soft spot for Kopacka though, and he has all the tools, just needs to show up consistently.
Rounding out that “fourth line” was Alex Dostie. Dostie is at Gulls camp on a PTO having had his entry level deal finish at the end of last year (along with Deven Sideroff – who has 24 points in 32 games in Austria). I think it was the right call to bring him back as he was definitely showing huge progress last year and San Diego will definitely need him with the separate Tulsa/San Diego bubbles this season.
Josh Mahura impressed me a lot. He has clearly added more muscle and was noticeably more confident jumping in on the offense. I am expecting a breakout year from the third year defender. He will be relied upon heavily on the first power play unit – with Trevor Zegras on the other point.
Simon Benoit was his usual steady self. No real noticeable changes to his game, solid defensively, moved the puck quickly and picked his spots to jump into the offense. He also did a good job of covering for his very green partner Brouillard when needed. He has steadily climbed the depth chart over the last few years and looks likely to be one of the next call ups for the Ducks.
Hunter Drew showed vast improvement. I still don’t like his foot speed but he is leaps and bounds much better than he looked last year. He showed some good gap control and controlled offensive instincts as well as a much needed physical presence. He will be called upon to drop the gloves with any would be enforcer in the absence of Luke Gazdic or if Keegan Kanzig isn’t in the line-up.
We didn’t see much of Andrew Poturalski last year because of an unlucky stretch of injuries but the former Calder Cup champion looked good. His goal (that went to BO Groulx) was that of a snipers, knifing into the high slot to give himself space and timing a shot to coincide with his center screening the goaltender. He needs to stay healthy this year as one of the few but important veterans on the squad.
Finally – there is Max Jones. The Ontario native is entering the third and final year of his entry level deal and was a late addition to the Gulls after recovering from an early camp injury. This game looked very much like the first action he had seen in months, so here is hoping he can shake off that rust quick. I would be happy to see him with the Gulls for an extended period as I still believe he has a lot of untapped potential but believe the Ducks would like to see him up with the big club as soon as he is ready.
2024-2025 Game 25: San Diego Gulls at Tucson Roadrunners
Tucson, Arizona. After seeing their point streak ended at the hands of a 2-0 shut-out the …