The Kids Are Out There Part 2- 2019 NHL Entry Draft

Note: This article has been updated as of April 2022.

This is part two of a multi-part series exploring the Ducks four most recent NHL entry drafts to give an overall view of how far away certain prospects are and when we might expect to see them with the Gulls/Ducks.

Part 1 featuring the 2018 draft is here.

Part 3 featuring the 2020 draft is here.

This entry looks at the 2019 draft. Now removed from an almost full three years – meaning some of these players should either be already making an impact, or starting to.

2019 – NHL Entry Draft

If you have not heard of or seen Trevor Zegras I would like to ask you how the weather is currently in Mozambique at the moment. The Duck’s newly minted franchise cornerstone made his debut last season after spending just one year at Boston University where he put up a very impressive 36 points in 33 games as a freshman. He also grabbed headlines with some head-turning passes and *chefs kiss* very tight angle goals during the US World Junior Championship winning run. He saw 17 games with the Gulls either side of a 24 game stint with the Ducks and we won’t be seeing him again in a Gulls sweater ever again because with the recent announcement of Ryan Getzlaf, he is officially the new face of the Ducks.

Update: Trevor Zegras has single-handedly put the Ducks back in the spotlight this season with his creative show-stopping talent. It feels like every other week now there is a new highlight of something impossible he has done which then spurs on countless copies for the next few days until he tops that again with something even more insane. He is unquestionably the franchise cornerstone and although the Ducks coaching staff still don’t seem to entirely trust him on the ice late in a game when the Ducks are trying to defend a lead – there really isn’t much else he needs to do to prove that he is a genuine NHL star. He was a hot favorite to win the Calder Trophy up until the midway point of the season as the NHLs top rookie but the Ducks swan dive to near the bottom of the standings may have hurt his case.

Estimated Date of Arrival:

Already Arrived

Selected using the conditional first round pick (the lower of either the San Jose or St Louis pick that Buffalo held at the time) in the trade for Brandon Montour – Tracey saw a short 12 game stint with the Gulls last year when the WHL initially could not start due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. He looked good in the early goings, finding himself on the end of a scoring rush more often than not or seemingly always in the right spot at the right time – he just couldn’t finish. When the WHL season started back up he was sent back to his Junior team in Victoria where he put up a respectable 21 points in 22 games but nowhere close to the 81 points in 66 games he scored in his draft year.

In somewhat of a breakout first full year in the AHL Tracey has looked nowhere near like the player I thought might need ECHL time during his short stint last season. He started out slow but once he found his scoring touch, you could see the confidence in his game multiply exponentially as he transformed from a timid seemingly undersized forward, to a pocket-rocket mini-power-forward with swagger. His turn-around did not go unnoticed as he earned his first call-up and made his NHL debut in January. At one point he lead the Gulls in scoring but has had his stellar season disjointed by an unfortunate wrist/hand injury and has not really looked the same since. He frequently finds himself on the Gulls bottom six while also seeing time on their second Power Play unit as the bumper/net front presence. Here is hoping that he can return to the swagger and confidence he showed during his initial scoring run at the midway point of the season.

Estimated Date of Arrival:

Already Arrived

Taken just one pick after Rahael Lavoie and one before Nils Hoglander in the second round – LaCombe was widely regarded as a “high project pick” at the time of his draft, given he was a converted forward coming off a dominant 89 points in 54 games season but that he put up those numbers in a High School league. None the less – it felt like the right risk for the Ducks to take given they had already selected the “cant-miss” Zegras and then backed that up with the potential safe-late-round bet in Tracey. The modern NHL defenseman hype train was already well on its way to full noise and the Ducks appeared to be late in hitching onto it before selecting LaCombe. One might argue that Montour and Theodore fit that mold at the time and yes the current incarnations you see today most certainly do, but during their time in the Ducks system – they really didn’t. Not their fault – more a Randy Carlyle thing. But I digress. LaCombe has proved he was worth the risk while steadily progressing in his development, starting with his first post-draft year at the University of Minnesota putting up 13 points in 37 games as a freshman. He followed that with a 21 points in 27 games sophomore effort and was one of many veteran weapons on the Golden Gophers blueline as a Junior this year – doubling up on his two year total of assists with another 27 this season while pitching in 3 goals for a combined 30 points in 39 games. Good for 14th in scoring by defenseman and best on the Gophers from the blueline as well as fourth on the team overall in scoring.

He has opted to return to the University of Minnesota for his fourth and final year – much like McLaughlin did this past season; perhaps feeling there is some unfinished business there and also possibly relishing the opportunity to be a leader on a team that will see an influx of new talent. Given the Ducks are still at least two years away from being a playoff team – he can afford to wait.

Estimated Date of Arrival:

End Of Next Year

I had completely forgotten that the Ducks did not have a third round pick in 2019 and it is because of the very promising development of Thrun that it was very easy to have the minor fact escape my memory. Thrun has had a steady hum surrounding his game and NHL potential ever since his first post draft season where he started his College career with 21 points in 31 games for Harvard University. In a draft where the USNTDP had seven players taken with the first fifteen picks overall it wasn’t all that surprising that the quiet, steady and reliable Thrun fell through the cracks and into the fourth round. Were it not for the Covid19 Pandemic we might already be proclaiming him the Ducks best draft steal since Josh Manson; with his College season shutdown he spent some time with the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the USHL where he scored 8 goals and 22 points in 24 games – sneaking him into the top forty in points per game in the league.

This past season – in what was technically his Junior year but in actuality was just the second year he had suited up for Harvard he continued his upward trajectory in development, finishing the year with 32 points in 35 games – good for seventh in scoring from the blueline in the NCAA and eighth in points per game by defenders.

He was projected as a second pair all-rounder defender at the time of his draft with a style comparison to Jeff Petry and this has not changed – he looks ready to transition to the professional game but he has already lost one year of College and for that reason I would assume – he has opted to return to Harvard next season for his fourth and final year. His decision was meant with much consternation from Ducks fans who fear another Justin Schultz situation but I don’t see this being a concern given how many former USNTDP team-mates he now has within the organization. We will be seeing Thrun at the conclusion of next season.

Estimated Date of Arrival:

End Of Next Year

Although not a member of that dominant 2019 USNTDP team, Janicke was in the program the year before. He spent his draft year with the Central Illinois Flying Aces in the USHL, totalling 48 points in 58 games. As a University of Notre Dame commit he has now played two full and one partial seaon with the Fighting Irish – his freshman year saw him score 13 points in 37 games while last year he had just ten points in 29 games. Although last year was not great for his development, he did surprise many by getting invited to camp and then almost making the final roster for the Team USA World Juniors squad.

He followed that up with career year this season, finishing with 24 points in 40 games – reaching new career highs in all categories while doubling his points per game production on his previous two years. Described as a small center with a high compete level and powerful shot, Janicke deploys his game around applying a non-flashy skillset that allows them to be slotted into any role in a line-up. He could be another late round steal but I am assuming he will see out the remainder of his Collegiate time at Notre Dame before turning pro – we will see him at the conclusion of next season.

Estimated Date of Arrival:

End Of Next Year

If you thought you had a terrible 2020 – spare a thought for Will Francis. The then-19-year-old was rehabbing a knee-injury and preparing for his first year at the University of Minnesota Duluth when he was given the devastating news that he had been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a cancer of the blood. He underwent Chemotherapy as the first wave of the Pandemic hit, while we all struggled to deal with being suddenly cut off from the world and physical contact with friends and family – Francis had that – and a fight with Cancer. He was declared Cancer-free in July of 2020 and began the process of regaining the strength and conditioning required to make a return to Hockey and get his career back on track. He took part in the annual offseason Da Beauty League playing on a team with K’Andre Miller and Alex Goligoski in preparation for his much overdue Freshman season at UMD.

This past season – in his long-awaited freshmen year at the University of Minnesota-Duluth he only managed to see just five games of action failing to get on the scoresheet in that time. Francis initially read as “a big mean throwback defender” where “throwback” refers to the now almost bygone era of hulking defenders whose sole role was to batter and bloody all would be net enthusiasts. There are some of those still around in the NHL today but they are quickly becoming extinct unless they have the footspeed or another dynamic element to their game. Francis has a story that you can only hope to root for but in terms of how far away he is or if we will ever see him with the Gulls; it would have to be at least another two years if not three.

Estimated Date of Arrival:

Probably Not Coming

The Ducks used the sixth round pick acquired from St Louis in the 2019 Trade Deadline deal for Michael Del Zotto to select stay-at-home defenseman Mathew Hill. He has spent the last three seasons with the Barrie Colts and spent the previous year in the Denmark U20 league – getting in just three games of action and scoring 5 points in the process. This season he returned to the OHL and put up 11 points in 64 games as a 20 year old.

His signing rights expired in June of this year and thus he re-entered the 2021 draft but was not selected. At this point he appears to be going the “Matthew Berkovitz” route to relative former Ducks selection obscurity.

Hill was taken with the very last pick in the sixth round and out of curiosity I checked for any vaguely recognisable names in the seventh round after that. The only ones that stuck out to me are both goaltenders (Trent Miner – who the Ducks faced in the Rookie tournament at the beginning of this season and Dustin Wolf – who is a legitimate prospect in the Flames organisation) so no big loss that this selection didn’t really pan out.

Estimated Date of Arrival:

Probably Not Coming

Conclusion

Now a full three years removed from this draft and much like the 2020 draft it is pretty clear that the Ducks hit well with their early picks but won’t be seeing anything come of their final two selections. Zegras is obviously the stand-out franchise cornerstone that ultimately redeems this draft even if none of the other selections see NHL time – but we know that won’t be the case. Tracey finally showed what he is capable of but only needs to develop some consistency and get some confidence back – I am sure he will breakout next season. LaCombe could develop into an important Power Play quarterback that the Ducks will desperately need to take the pressure off of Trevor Zegras and particularly without Ryan Getzlaf as of next season. Thrun fills the token late find gem grab for this draft while also ensuring the Ducks once depressingly depleted pipeline is now flowing with some quality depth. Janicke brings up the rear as the only other real possibility but at this point is looking more of a depth AHL forward.