Young Stars Leo Carlsson & Cutter Gauthier Lead Anaheim Ducks Into Pacific Division Contention

Young Stars Leo Carlsson & Cutter Gauthier Lead Anaheim Ducks Into Pacific Division Contention

The Ducks are mighty again. We’ll get into Anaheim’s hot start on the season. This weekend, it’s the Hockey Hall of Fame preview the 2025 class and our three stars of the week. You’re Locked on NHL, your daily podcast on the National Hockey League, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello and welcome inside this Wednesday, November 5th edition of the Locked On NHL podcast. I’m Ross Levitan. You can find me five days a week over at Locked On Senators. With me as always, it is the Battle of Ontario edition from Locked On Maple Leafs, Mike Dphano, and today’s episode’s brought to you by FanDuel. Download the FanDuel app now by visiting fanuel.com and win $300 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. Mikey, the Anaheim Ducks have added some green numbers to my account because they’re still plus money on many nights, but they’re off to a screeching hot start. 83 and one under new head coach Joel Quenville. Yeah, and they’ve won four in a row here, man. And it’s it’s really impressive like the I I had a feeling that they were going to take some steps, but I didn’t think it’d be that quick, you know, where this team all of a sudden is leading the division. But it’s more so the individuals that have really, you know, picked it up this year and and are taking steps that is surprising me. Like Cutter Goier as of today, November 5th, we’re almost a month into the season. We’re a day shy from being a month into the season. He is tied with the league lead in goals. Like who saw that coming from Carter Goceier? Leo Carlson is 18 points in like 11 games. Like again, who saw that coming? So, um, I I think the Anaheim Ducks deserve a lot of credit for for where they’re at, and I think Joel Quinnville specifically deserves a lot of credit. You can say what you want about the guy and and and you know, whether or not he should be in the league still coaching, but it that’s he’s a good coach, man. He’s a really really good coach. You can see it’s very indicative of what he’s been able to get from this Anaheim Duck squad that’s been kind of stuck uh stuck in the mud over the last few years. And they do have some veterans sprinkled throughout the lineup. And two of them, courtesy of the New York Rangers. How much do the Ducks have Chris Jury to thank for their start? Cuz Jacob Trouba, he’s turned back the clock, man. Eight points in 12 games, 34 hits, 25 blocks, and he’s a plus 11 all in 17 minutes a night. So maybe the problem with the Rangers is trying to make him a top pair defenseman. Looks like the minutes are down a little bit, and the production is as good as it’s been in years. Yeah. And even, you know, Chris Krider, seven goals in eight games. Such a Chris Krider statline. Seven goals, one assist. Oh, yeah. Sai Young. Sai Young worthy uh each and every year. But I mean, they’re getting a little bit from everyone. Even their their rookie, you know, Beckett Senica who who came in uh you know, it’s his first year in the NHL. He’s got four goals, seven points. So, he’s putting up some, you know, has been a bit slow. That’s kind of surprising to me. the fact that Mason McTavish only has two goals and Jackson Lome just five assists. I think a couple of those even came uh last night. So, those two having slow starts to the year, but despite that, they’re still uh leading the Pacific division um is is quite surprising to me. So, there’s a lot of guys who uh who have stepped up, I guess, for this Anaheim team from the veterans. Troy Terry got 15 points in 12 games as well. Marcus or Muel Granland’s got eight points to uh to the Young Bucks and Carlson and Goce obviously leading the way here for for the Ducks and I fully believe in Mason McTavish still. He missed part of training camp with the contract situation. So I think he’s going to be able to get on the right track. According to daily faceoff their last game it was McTavish Goce and Senica like that that’s a average age of 21 years old for that line. So, the future is extremely bright in Anaheim. Do you believe that it’s still going to stay bright this season or could we see some regression and have them fall down? I don’t think anyone expects them to finish higher than Vegas and Edmonton in the Pacific, but are these guys a playoff team from what you’ve seen so far? I it might be still a tad too early to, you know, say that for sure they’re a playoff club. I’m not sure if I’m willing to bet on it quite yet, but it’s been very encouraging. Um, even the goalending has been pretty solid. Lucas Dost with the young upand cominging goalenders like a 912 save percentage, which is above league average. He’s got a couple uh he had a couple shutouts so far on the year as well, I think possibly. Um, but he’s he’s played really really well this season. So, as long as he can keep doing what he’s doing, they’ll be okay. The problem is I I guess you could say I I’m looking on moneypuck.com. You look at goal differential above expected and they have the fourth highest goal differential above expected. So they’re getting a little lucky um so far this season. They’re they’re scoring more goals than expected but also uh allowing less goals than expected. So the underlying numbers aren’t as rosy for this team. You look at expected goal differential um based off of percentages and this team is near uh you know a little lower um uh lower on the list when you you look at the overall analytics. They’re 46% expected goal differential which is 27th in the NHL. So that number is what gives me hesitancy. Um what’s that stat? PDO. They’re on a bit of a PDO bender right now, I think, is the phrase that the that the the nerds use there. So, I could see some regression settling in here for Anaheim. But, I think it’s very positive that we’re seeing some of those young stars start to emerge. They might need, you know, another year to get there to become, you know, that uh that that top team in the in the Pacific or or become a contender in the West, but I think it’s it’s still very encouraging early on. Do you like them at plus 115 to make the playoffs at FanDuel? No, I don’t. It’s really just because I think the West has a lot more teams that are, you know, capable of making the playoffs. If they’re in the East, maybe because I I I think that the East is a bit more wide open. Um, but when I look at the West, I just like who’s coming out, you know what I mean? Like, who’s the team that they’re going to displace? Like you look in the in the central, you got Colorado, Winnipeg, and Utah. I think all three of those are going to be firmly in the playoffs. Utah’s a wagon. Uh, you know, another team, you know, Vegas, Dallas, LA. You know, I think Edmonton’s getting their act together. They’ll be in the playoff picture in no time. You know, like Vancouver, could they get themselves there? I think Minnesota’s a good enough team to get themselves back into that playoff picture. So, I I just think there’s too many teams here uh that I I see as playoff team. Is it impossible for Anaheim to sneak in? No. No. But if I had to to to bet on it, I think we’ll see some aggression. And you know, maybe next year is their year. Yeah. Heck of a start though for them. Really riding the hot streaks of Leo Carlson, Cutter Goate, and Troy Terry each with 15 plus points in the Ducks 12 games on the season. and Lucas Doyal. I’m almost ready to crown him the starter for Chucky already at the Olympics. Yeah, we talked about Yeah, and they’ve got two in goal. Peter Morazzic with an 831 save percentage. Still two and 0 on the season. Couple highscoring victories in his outings. But yeah, they’re a fun team to watch. Um, and I’m really excited to see how they grow towards the end of the year and beyond because their decor in particular, we talk about Trouba, but the youth especially, it needs to be highlighted with them because Olen Zelwagger was always a high offensive producing player and junior and he’s only got two assists in 12 games so far. And then Pavl Mikov, same deal, top 10 pick. He’s only got three assists in 12 games. I think they will produce more offense. They’re not by any means hurting the team when they’re out there, but it feels like a lot of those guys are still just kind of finding their roles in the NHL and then the real production will come in the following years. But heck of a start and if you’re a hockey fan in Anaheim, you’re fired up about the Anaheim Ducks and their beginning of the season. From the beginning of a season to the end of a career, the Hockey Hall of Fame will hold its annual induction ceremony on the weekend. will remind you who’s being inducted, why they are deserving of this honor, and then we’ll wrap up with potentially a bigger honor than the Hockey Hall of Fame. And that’s our Wednesday three stars of the week. You’re listening to Locked on NHL, your team every day. Today’s episode is brought to you by Rouette. Let’s be real, making excuses doesn’t solve anything. We’ve all heard them before. It’s just stress. I’m tired. or it happens to everyone every once in a while. But when it comes to performance, sometimes your body just needs a little extra support. And that’s where rouette comes in. Rouette.com offers fast acting doctor prescribed treatments for ED designed to help you stop making excuses and start making moves. Rouette makes it easy to get started. You get connected with a board-certified doctor 100% online. So, no awkward waiting rooms, no in-person appointments. If prescribed, your treatment ships directly and discreetly to your door. The process is fast, simple, and private. It’s about confidence, connection, and getting back to the moments that matter. Visit rouette.com/lockedon NHL for 15% off your first order. That’s rugg.com/lockton NHL. And don’t forget to use our promo code locked on NHL so they know that we sent you. Rouette, stop making excuses and start making moves. Welcome back. Locked on NHL, your team every day. We’re part of Locked on Podcast Network where we have local experts on the biggest stories 5 days a week. For more, go check out one of our local shows like locked on Senators, locked on Maple Leafs, and Locked On Anaheim Ducks. We’re going to be locked on to the Hockey Hall of Fame this weekend where some very deserving recipients will be enshrined forever. Mikey, I’ll list the names and you give me your general thoughts about the class this weekend. We’ve got Zado Charara, Duncan Keith, Joe Thornton, Alexander McGillni as the former NHL recipients of the honor and a pair of women’s hockey legends in Jennifer Bodil and Brianna Decker. In the builder category, it’s Jack Parker and Danielle Sovio. My bad. All right, your thoughts on this group. Yeah, it this seems like the well, it’s about time group, right? like it’s about time that Alex McGillney found himself in the hockey hall of fame. And it’s a shame that he’s actually not going to be here for the induction ceremony. I guess something popped up and and he won’t be able to to leave Russia to be here for the ceremony. But it feels like for years we’ve been talking about this guy. He’s, you know, being snubbed each and every season and finally he gets in. I mean, where hockey would be without this guy, like the first player to ever defect uh Russia to come over and play in the NHL really was, you know, the the trailblazer for that. Do we have a Fedorov, a Bur a avetkin if McGillni wasn’t here first? You know, it’s it’s it’s it’s a question you just wonder in the what if category. But, uh, he did defect. He came over. He was a stud in the NHL, an all world goalcorer. Um and and it’s it’s a shame it took him this long to get into the get into the Ocul. He’s very deserving of and has been for for many years. You can say the same for a lot of these guys who are uh inducted this year. I mean Seno Charara I mean that guy was just an absolute unit in the NHL for for many many years with Boston Ottawa. Um Duncan Keith obviously what he did for not only the Blackhawks but also internationally with team Canada being a big part of their blue line in in 2010 and 2014. Joe Thornton how much more can you say about Jumbo Joe. So and uh Jennifer Brow had a very good career as well on the women’s side uh internationally. So, I think that there’s uh this is a really good class, a really good class, and it’s a lot of the guys that you and I like we’re in that age group where we grew up watching these guys in their prime, you know, like it’s it’s we’ve gotten to that point. We’re we’re starting to get there, Ross. So, we’re old now and uh are getting old and the guys we watched in our, you know, formative years are aging out and getting into Hall of Fame status. And you know, seeing Charara, Duncan, Keith, Jumbo, McGillney, seeing those guys uh, you know, get into the hall is is kind of surreal at the same time, but very welld deserved for uh for all all of the uh all the players here this this weekend. Yeah. Well, I want to focus on one because you mentioned he played for Ottawa and that’s Dan Ochara and I know that we age ourselves on this show with this type of thing. You’re showing us the picture. You’re not many people have seen it. That’s how old we were with a young Zado Char in the mix. That’s little Rossy Levitan right there in the bottom. Little young Ross. What was that? That was like a season ticket holder event or something. Yeah, it was uh sends at your service dinner. Like they replace it. Some teams do like a casino night, some teams do that sort of thing. So, back in the day, they put the cover over the ice and all the servers were members of the team and then they’d auction off the aprons and all that. And Charara had just got in a fight with Eric Kairens. I don’t know if you remember that mutant. Oh, I remember that guy with Pittsburgh and he had this huge black eye. So, I don’t know if you noticed the headline of the article, a black eye affair instead of Tai. So, I like that one, dude. The worst day in Sense history. We do in the summer ring of honor of of the worst mistakes letting Charara go and resigning Wade Redden. That was just I mean that and the fact that the Sens made the Stanley Cup final the year after Char left like could you imagine if if he was in the mix there and to add insult to injury Peter Sharelli was the AGM in Ottawa and took the Boston job and then that was his first move was to go get Zado and Mark Zar the rest is history. Zado Charara, not only as an NHL superstar, really an iconic player, the tallest player in NHL history if I’m not mistaken, as well. And one of, if not the uh second European captain to win the cup right after Nick Lidstrom got it done with Detroit in 2008. And uh he represented Slovakia at the Olympics three times. He was the captain twice and actually led Slovakia to a fourth place finish in Vancouver. They were in the bronze medal game in Vancouver and Zado Char was a huge huge part of that. Huge part of my childhood growing up. Was always my favorite player. I just love like it wasn’t like he was this superstar at a young age. He was a third round pick. I had to work on his skating. Came over to the WHL and um unreal. Unreal. Well, even like I I think even you would have to agree that what he became in Boston, I don’t think anyone assumed that that’s what Sedono Char was going to become. like his time in Ottawa. He’s a great player, don’t get me wrong, great defenseman, but at that point, you’re not thinking this is a Hall of Famer in the making. I was, but I was I was in the minority, but he was my Yeah. Well, you were early. I guess you were early to it. You You got that eye. You got a good eye. How sad is this? Now, it was the salary cap, but in his hockey hall of fame bio, where you learn about the class, Yeah. quote, “Finances dictated that the Senators were unable to resign Wade Rein and Charara. So Charara left like what a slap in the face sentence right there. That just goes to show that they did not they they viewed Wade Redden more so as a future Hall of Famer than Zad Oara. That’s what that tells me. And what they they end up trading Reden I think to to New York not long after. No. Yeah. Reen’s career highly. I mean he he was in the Stanley Cup final the next year and was a key part of that but he definitely took a couple steps down uh year after year. He was a good defensive at the time, but clearly they made the wrong decision. Now, Bruins fans, I see you. Wipe that smirk on off your face. Let’s talk about Joe Thornton being a hockey hall of famer as well. Traded from Boston, shockingly, I still remember aging oursel again, listening to the radio, trying to go to bed, and all of a sudden, it was like late at night. It’s like, wait, this deal is happening. Joe Thornton is going to San Jose and number one overall pick. What? He still is the only I don’t think this will ever be broken. You tell me. The only player in North American pro sports to win the MVP and in a season where he was traded in the middle of the year. When would that ever happen? Like Luca would be I guess the closest in the NBA. Luca Don, but he wasn’t he wasn’t I mean well because if you’re if you’re putting together an MVP caliber season, odds are you you know you’re going to make the playoffs. you’re going to win a championship. Like, it’s just kind of the way that it works. Yeah. It’s it’s it’s not something you see happen. He had 33 points in 23 games with Boston. It’s not like he got traded two games into the year. Like he was lighting it up. That was like the return was so terrible. Was it Marco Sturm? Yeah, they they got their head coach. They were just a bit early. Yeah, I guess. Sure. Yeah, I think it was Wayne Primo, Mark Stewart, and uh Marco Sturm. Yeah, that’s Brad Stewart. Maybe Brad Stewart. One of the worst one of the worst trades of all time. Worked out very well for the San Jose Shark. I mean, I guess technically Boston won a cup after the trade. And uh you know, San Jose never did win the cup. They only made it to one final. Uh it was always kind of the team that that never could, right? That that always failed uh in terms of their their sky-high expectations year after year. But man, that was a good Sharks team for for a solid decade there, led by him and and Marlo and you know, Havlat was there for a bit. Heer was there for a little bit. Well, they brought an entire line back end. They brought an entire line to the 2010 Olympics. It was Thornton, Marlo, and Heatley. Yeah, I know. Yeah. So, yeah. Yeah, obviously, you know, it’s a really good class. Um, it’s it’s a really solid class. I still am shocked that Carrie Price was not a first ballot hall of famer. That that to me is an odd snub. Um I don’t know who you would take out of the guys who did get elected into the Hall of Fame. Like obviously there’s a limit. Uh but like Carrie Price to me, if I would have put money on it, I would have thought he’d have been a first ballot hall of famer. Yeah. His international resume in particular is so stellar with team Canada. everything like no matter what world juniors, Olympics, like the the NHL. I mean, he probably had some world championship success as well. I can’t remember off the top of my head how often he played at the World Championships, but I mean, internationally, this guy was a absolute stud. Uh, right from a ripe age of 20 years old all the way to uh to to the bitter end. So, he certainly will be a part of the 2026 class. If not, I will personally go to Toronto and riot on his behalf cuz look, he was the greatest goalender of our generation and he deserves to be respected as such as an early entrance into the hockey hall of fame. Yeah, if you’re looking at Carrie Price representing team Canada, if you start after the U18s, which it feels like really it’s the under 20 The World Juniors. Yeah, the World Junior Junior. Yeah. So, World Juniors, he had six games, 6-0. Olympics, five games, 5-0. World Cup, five games, 5-0. Never lost. There you go. In a professional setting or World Juniors with Team Canada. Him and Cindy Crosby. Him and Cindy Crosby never lost. Yeah. Yeah. Unbelievable those guys. And uh Carrie Price will be a Hall of Famer. I’ll go out on a limb and say that. Uh shout out to Jennifer Bal. you see her if you’re in Canada on Saturday nights. Uh my kind of my kind of girl born in Ottawa, grew up in Winnipeg, but she had a legendary career representing team Canada, was the captain of the women’s national team for a very very long time. So extremely deserving for her. And then it was uh it was great to see Brianna Decker as well. She’s had a hell of a career, Hall of Fame level career. So, um, just going to be an awesome time getting to look back on, um, on what it takes, the trials and tribulations. You hear so many great stories during the induction speeches and, uh, always a night to reflect on the history of the game in if you’ve never been to the Hockey Hall of Fame. It’s It’s awesome to go to. You have to go once. You have to go at least once. The Museum of Hockey, dude. Like, it’s it’s it’s so much fun. Such a fun time. It really is. Uh, and it’s basically like the second the plaques go up this weekend, we’ll be turning our attention to 2026 and who needs to be in that class. But who needs to be in our top three stars of the week? Hey, we said maybe I pandered a little bit with the Drake Bathson one. Well, guess what? The NHL named him the second star of the week, so I wasn’t far off. But this is our midweek check-in on the three stars. That’s next. You’re listening to Locked on NHL, your team every day. The NHL is back and there’s no better place to get in on the action than with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the Locked Network. Even if you miss the start of the game or you want to ride the hot hand, FanDuel has live bets from everything from who’s going to score the next goal to third period comebacks. Plus, you can even combine your live bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout. keeps every game exciting, especially when your team’s making that late push. Right now, FanDuel’s giving new customers $300 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. So, head to fuel.com to sign up and play your game with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the Locked Network. Welcome back. Locked on NHL, your team every day. Shout out to all of the Everydayers making us your first list. And all across the network, we have local experts on the biggest stories five days a week. And in the last seven days, we’ve had so many great stories in the National Hockey League. One that feels like we could do a stock update on this every week. Probably be a little much this far out, but like I’m looking at the top scorers in the NHL and I just I am so scared. You know where I’m going with this, right? I possibly like Team Canada is going to make so many hard decisions. Oh, I know. I know. Like McDavid, Shifley, McKinnon, Suzuki. How can you Mlin, Celibbrini, like those guys are all in the top 10. Nick, those three but those three those three guys. Yeah. Got to be there. He’s going to be and Cabbrini. But like how many of those guys can replace I think Hey, all due respect to Sam Bennett. I don’t think you can you can take him over those play. You just can’t. Yeah. Yeah. And Celli can be the fourthline center. Like you can slide Celli down easily. But I think John Cooper is going to keep him. I agree. I think that that he will as well. And even like I mean John Brandon Haggel’s a a Cooper guy, but like you got to get Shley in there and like you know I don’t know Celebrini over Haggle probably makes some sense. Even Bard’s starting to pick it up, man. Like but starting to get it going too. So Wolton’s had a heck of a start to the season. It’s going to be a very difficult difficult decision for uh for team Canada when that time comes and we’re just less than two months away from them having to to name the roster at the end of next month. So curious if there’s any uh if they still have some bets here. There are still some bets actually who can who’s going to make the team a lot. I’m so intrigued by is -700. No way. Suzuki is Yeah. Shley minus 250 and Cabbrini. Celbrini is minus 210. Everybody’s minus. What’s Hegel? Uh Brandon Hegel is and Anthony Celli. Those are the names. 450 and is minus 105. If you’re looking for plus money guys, you’re looking at yeah, pretty much what do youbody Heyman, KKnne, Robert Thomas, Baddard, Matthew Schaefer, which is a very interesting name, who has entered the chat. Yes. Um, but outside of that, outside of that, it’s it’s pretty bleak for plus money at this point. They have Sam Bennett at minus literally like minus 20,000. Like they have him as an absolute lock essentially. Well, they’ve got like 30 guys for absolute locks right now. Yeah. Yeah. Have to narrow it down. Well, I mean, like these minus 250s, like those aren’t locks, but they are, you know, good good chances. It I’ll be honest, I don’t think that this market is is worth betting a whole lot. Uh, no, stick with the same game parlays. Stick with the Please help the sends parlay. It’s one and0 in the last one day. And honestly, it was please help the Leafs, too, right? Like, we’re just looking at West teams to beat Atlantic teams right now. Well, I mean, points out west anytime goals and right now, I mean, there’s a couple players who transition to the three stars of the of the week. There a couple players you’ve been betting on them on FanDuel. You’ve been a happy camper, uh, like myself. So, uh, why don’t we get into it, pal? You want to go with the three stars? 321 or one, two, three? How you want to do this, Rossy? Let’s do it like they do in the rink. 321. I like build building to the top there. And look, I’m not going to take too much air time with this one because we already talked about the whole team, but the Ducks don’t go 3 and 0 without Lucas Doy. 929 save percentage. Only six goals allowed in three games. He was awesome. So, he’ll be my third star of the week with a 929. Yeah, I got a little duck flare, but it’s a little higher up in my standings this week. Trevor Zris is coming in as my third star, buddy. Well, former Duck Trevor Ziggress. I mean, this guy’s been he’s he’s having a terrific season, man. like Zegris has bounced back in a big way. Uh he’s got two goals, six points on the week and yeah, Philly man like they’re they’re in a playoff spot, 75 and one this year and a lot of that is cuz Trevor Ziggress has really picked it up. You know, the last week, two weeks or so, he’s starting to get back to being his confident self. You could see it. And I heard an interview actually he did postgame after I think it was after the Toronto game or maybe it was right before the Toronto game. And uh he sounded like the trade really humbled him. And I feel like that he needed it, right? I think he needed a little bit of humility and and and eat a slice of humble pie to really hunker down, lock in and allow him to get back to what makes him, you know, one of the best players on the planet. One of the most creative players at the very least and and confident players. And he’s been able to do that now that he’s in in Philadelphia. So big week for Zegris. He got my third star. Yeah, I like that. I’m going to go with Mark Shley for my second star. Five points in three games. All even strength points for him and he is just running through him and Kyle Connor. The mixtape that you can create of just those two putting up alleyoops to each other is incredible. They’ve combined for some beautiful goals this year. And with Adam Lowry out, with them really, I think it’s fair to say, still struggling to lock in at who the number two center is going to be behind Shaley, that puts a lot of pressure on him every single night. And he’s delivered in a big way, not only this week, but on the season with 20 points. Like the the next centerman on the Jets is Jonathan Taves in points with seven in 13 games. And then Vladimikov was seven. like he has tripled the production of any other centerman on his team. And I’m going to go with Mark Shley at number two. I like that pick. I’ve got Conor McDavid coming in at number two. I mean, he’s he’s back. It’s not they ever left. But you blink and all of a sudden he’s literally leading the league in points. And it was only a matter of time, I guess, before that happened. But, you know, now that that team is getting healthier, they seem to have flipped a switch here over the last couple of weeks. And a big part of that is Conor McDavid. you know, seven points over the course of the last week in just three or four games. This guy each and every night is making a highlight worthy play. And what else do you really need to say about McDavid? But, you know, he’s put up the production. The Oilers have gotten some victories, so he comes in as my second star of the week. You worried that he doesn’t like shooting the puck enough? Um, not really. I mean, like he’s got 16 less shots on goal than McKinnon in one more game. Yeah, he’s always kind of been that way though. Like I mean McKinnon McKinnon’s the most aggressive shooter in the league. I think if you look back the last like four or five years like he’s averaging over four shots a game. Like he’s that guy who’s just out there firing at will. Shley’s even less than McDavid. Shley’s only taken 34 shots. I’m just looking at the top three point scor Yeah. But McDavid’s always been more of like a playmaker facilitator than he has except for the one year where he’s like, “Hey, I’m actually going to score this year.” And then had 64. Yeah, but it’s like Crosby and like, you know, like it was kind of the same thing where he’s like, I want to prove to everyone that I can score goals. So, he went out and scored 50 and won a rocket. It’s like, all right, that’s cool. But clearly making plays and and being uh, you know, just being a play driver is more his thing than get puck, shoe puck, you know. Yeah. Yeah, that’s fair. Uh, I think we’re going to split the first star with the Ducks here, so I’ll let you pick yours. Yeah. I mean, I gave it to the duo cuz I couldn’t choose. Okay, there you go. Go ahead. I can get someone else. Like I I gave it to Well, you could take you could take I’ll take one, you want to take the other. I don’t really care. But I mean, Cutter Goce and Leo Carlson are both absolutely on fire this week. Cutter Goce had a hat-tick last night. First career hatrick if I’m not mistaken. Uh four goals, four assists, eight points on the week, which leads the NHL. Leo Carlson, seven points this week, and that’s only through three games. Like it’s unbelievable. And and like we were saying earlier, man, Carter Goceier leads the league with 10 goals. He’s tied with a couple of players, but he’s right there at the top of the table with everyone else. And it was it was a perfect week for the Anaheim Ducks. You know, perfect three and 0 this week for uh for them. And those two guys are a big big part of why. So, I couldn’t necessarily pick one or the other because they both played such a big role. So, I I gave it to the pair. Yeah, I like that. And I’m kind of surprised you didn’t go with Michael Bunting, though, with his six points on the week. your guy. Yeah. I mean, yeah, sure. Yeah. Bunts, you know, if Nashville won more games, I guess maybe. I don’t know. That’s not bad. Bunting. Little six-point week for him. Yeah. Yeah. Not bad. Not bad. Yeah. I feel like I can’t really take someone else because it’ll just screw up my whole order. So, I’ll say you get Cutter Goate, I’ll take Leo Carlson because he’s just so fun to watch, man. And he’s another guy where it’s like give him a couple more years when he’s I think a little bit more uh settled into that role. Not that he’s not obviously he’s playing fantastic hockey, but I think that once we see him, he’s going to be a guy that wins over 55% of his face offs. He’s so big and so strong. Guys just have to go through the growing pains there. And once he gets even more um confident with controlling the puck, they’ll get more shots on goal, too. And the production is just going to skyrocket for him. So, I think he’s on the cusp of being talked about as like a top 15 centerman in the National Hockey League. not there yet, but with the size, skill, speed, combination, and his work ethic down low and everything like he’s going to be in the mix. Like Radco Guttus is one of the oldest captains in the league and when his time’s up, it’s going to be probably Mason McTavish or Leo Carlson to lead that team. Leo, I would put Leo in there uh 100% uh as as maybe the a captain waiting there in Anaheim. But it’s funny, man, because you look at that guy and that player specifically, and we’re going into what, year three? Is it year three? Year three. Yeah, year three for him. Year three for Adam Fantelli. And I remember at the draft it was somewhat of a shocker when the Ducks decided to go Leo Carlson over Fantelli. And last year it looked like that may not have been the correct decision. Fanty had, I think, 31 31 goals last year and looked like every part of a future topline center. It was like, “Oh, maybe they should have went chalk and went with Fan Tilly.” Fast forward to this year. I mean, Van Tilly’s struggling. I think he’s got like two goals, six points, I think, so far this year. Meanwhile, you got uh 18 points so far on the year for Leo Carlson, uh top 10 player in in uh production. So, it’s going to be fascinating to kind of watch those two throughout their career to see who who made the right call there for Anaheim. But definitely top stars. Anaheim’s drafting’s been awesome. Like Senica making the the show like you said. Dude, they got a couple of defenseman also over the last couple years that still need to, you know, come through like Dan Soulberg. Yeah, Soulberg last year. Noah Warren, who was a uh was he a QMJHL player of the year, you know, a couple at one point at one point they had the Q, the dub, and the O defense. Tristan Muno, too, was the OHL defenseman. He he was Q defense in the year. Then they had Olen Zelwagger out west and Pavl Mchikov in the OHL. Oh, Mchikov. Right. Right. Right. Right. Mikov was was the OHL guy. But um Tristan Luno was a second round pick of theirs a couple years ago who I think is a good defenseman too. Kind of there’s too deep where he’s playing the American League. I hope that the I hope the Leafs trade for him. Side note, but anyway. Oh, that’s that’s your guy. Yeah. Yeah, I mean I know him personally cuz when I did that uh CHL top prospects game, he was on my team with me and on your team Jeff O’Neal. I mean I was a celebrity head celebrity assistant coach. Um to me he was like he was probably the most impactful defenseman on that team. And Mikov was on the team as well, but I thought that Luno for me was uh was probably one of the more impactful defenseman. just did a lot of the small things, right? Right hand shot, too. I think he’s got a future as a top four defenseman. Okay, you heard it here first. Go get his hockey card while you still can. You can. It’s pretty cheap. Speaking of hockey cards, got the the Toronto Sport Card Expo this weekend, too, which is going to be massive. So, pretty sure Charara is going to be signing autographs now. I think about it. Yeah, I usually get this photo. I don’t know if you’ve seen it. Uh maybe you got to sign for me. Yeah. Hey, you can ship it within the next 24 hours. Try and get that done. Sund Dean’s going to be down there as well. So, very nice. Be a really fun weekend. That’s awesome. Well, enjoy that. Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week. We will be back next Wednesday. If you want to hear more from us, go check out Locked On Maple Lease, Locked On Senators. Thank you for making the Locked On Network your team every day. for Mike Dphano.

Anaheim’s hot start, surprises in the Pacific, Hockey Hall of Fame preview, and our three stars of the week on this Locked On NHL Wednesday edition with Ross Levitan and Mike DiStefano!

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