FRESH START: The Anaheim Ducks Have a New Hope with a Winning Coach Stepping In This Season
It’s a new era for the Anaheim Ducks under head coach Joel Quenville, but the Mason McTavish situation remains in limbo. Kyle Carr of Locked on Ducks is here to talk about that and more next on today’s Locked On NHL podcast. You’re Locked on NHL, your daily podcast on the National Hockey League, part of the Locked on Podcast Network. your team every day. Gil Martin here. Welcome everybody to the Monday edition of the Locked On NHL podcast. We are part of the Locked On Network, your team every day. I want to thank everyone who makes Locked on NHL your first listen every day. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss an episode. It is my pleasure to welcome back to the show the host of Locked On Anaheim Ducks, Kyle Carr. And uh Kyle, we’ve been talking and you know there’s a buzz around Anaheim Ducks camp right now. New head coach Joel Quenville, new era. What’s different about this team so far? Well, honestly, Gil, thank you for having me. But um there’s just this difference in pace and confidence and the the experience that I’ve been seeing out on the ice compared the last couple of years is a completely different mindset, a different vibe. The entire building is in a whole new place. I know a lot of the players have been commenting on the pace of practice and just high intensity and you can see it in the in while you’re watching in the stands and everything. They’re just constantly going. Not a a second is wasted. It’s a quick maybe 5 seconds on the on the whiteboard and then they’re out there doing it. And every drill is max speed and using pretty much the full ice as much as they possibly can. I think only a couple of drills have been that half ice, but everything has just been extremely energetic and quick and much more organized than years prior. And how are the players responding to this? How what is the atmosphere around this team? Atmosphere is great. Like you can see guys laughing, smiling. They’re they’re kind of messing with each other, but it’s not like a goofing off type of messing with each other. It’s they’re working so hard and it’s like that endorphin level, dopamine, having fun because you’re working hard type of energy. Uh like you can just see there’s like this excitement about the team. there’s this aura and everyone’s kind of just believing and pushing each other to that next level and there isn’t anyone really lagging or falling behind and then but there’s no like disappointed faces or any kind of signs of uh you know angst or regression or anything like everyone just seems to be having a blast. It’s like watching a bunch of youth players out there for practice, you know? It reminds me of my son’s practices. Like they’re just out there having fun being kids still. And that’s the kind of energy I think the Anaheim Ducks really need right now. One player who’s not there right now, Mason McTavish. He is practicing with his old OHL team. What happened this off season that they couldn’t reach some kind of an agreement? And I mean I Where are they at right now? Right now it sounds like they’re in a very weird flux of conversations. Elliot Freriedman earlier was reporting that McTavish’s camp wanted a bridge deal and the Ducks wanted the long-term, but then we saw reporting yesterday saying that the Ducks offered 5.5 for 5 years and that McTavish’s camp was looking more for 7 to 8 years. So that’s a huge difference. And not even speaking about the AAV with that long-term 7 to 8 years. I feel like for McTavish, taking a shorter contract would be more beneficial, especially with how the cap is going up. Not locking yourself into that long term could help you get paid in the future. So, not exactly sure how this is going to work out, but it sounds like both camps are working towards a positive solution and there isn’t anything, you know, negative going on. It’s just fine combing. You’ve got Pat Beak who loves to grind. You’ve got Mason McTavish’s camp who loves to grind. And it’s just business guys being business guys working out every penny that they can. Now, there were some rumors that teams inquired about McTavish and and the Ducks just said, “Goodbye. We’re not not trading him.” Yeah, it sounded like there was people kind of trying to poke the bear about McTavish. But what I heard from McTavish’s camp side is that there was no offer sheet that was brought up or anything to like even try to start that conversation. So it really sounds like people were trying to work more towards a sign and trade and not actually offer sheeting and back doororing Pat Verbbeek, which I guess is nice, but uh there there hasn’t been any movement and it sounds like they really want to lock McTavish down. It’s just working out, you know, dotting the eyes and crossing the tees. Do you think it gets done before the season starts? That’s the hope. Obviously, they have till the to December. And do I want to see McTavish miss that many months of hockey? Absolutely not. But I think we’re going to have something worked out before the start of the regular season. There might be a couple of preseason games missed, but the talk is how he’s missed and how Verbique is upset that he’s not there and the players wish he was there and he was literally out here in Southern California and then flew back just before camp started because nothing got done. So hopefully something comes to fruition here and I think both sides want to work towards that common goal. The Ducks made a lot of additions over the off season. Who has you the most excited and and why? Well, looking at the last couple of days and seeing Male Granland out there and Chris Krider, both of them are bringing a a new energy to this team. But looking at the hands of Muel Granland and just how he’s been skating and taking up space, I really like the way that he sees the ice and his kind of creation and visionary prowess that he has. He has been slotted in at center because of Mason McTavish not being signed yet. So seeing him in that center position, he’s been handling that very well. And then honestly, a big surprise is Ryan Pelling. I think he’s brought a new energy to that fourth line with Ryan Johnston and um I believe they had uh Nikita Nestero with him. It’s they’ve been mixing up the lines, but uh he just seems to bring this energy to the fourth line to where these guys are extremely engaged. Or no, it was uh uh uh Jansen Harkkins. him with Ryan Pelling and Ross Johnston have been just tests and they’ve been giving the rookies the the run through, but they’ve been playing extremely well against some of the other top guys. So, honestly, all the new new additions have been fitting in really well, and they’ve been bringing a new level of energy to this team. And I think the guys that have been here are going to be new additions themselves because they’re just a new lease on life out here in Anaheim. And you could just see that these guys are more confident that they can kind of just play the way that they want to play and bring to the team what they bring to hockey. Like you got Olen Zelwagger who’s been up and down with the last couple of years with being in the in the lineup, out of the lineup. He looks totally confident in a whole new player this year. He looks way better on defense, way better on offense. Uh you can see with Troy Terry, he’s looking great. Uh Krider’s looking wonderful. All of these guys are bringing a new level to this team and I think we’re going to be seeing some surprising hockey coming out of Anaheim. So what’s the key? What do does this team need to do most to get back to the playoffs this year? Honestly, just apply the the fundamentals. I think brilliance in the basics is going to be the theme of this year and bring your highest energy every single day. You know, use your feet as quick as possible. Bring that speed. Use your strength. Be physical. Don’t give up 50/50 pucks. And utilize your teammates. And with that, all of it’s going to combine into offense and quick turnaround from the defense. I don’t think you’re going to see the Ducks hemmed in as much this year as they were previously. Uh you’re going to see a lot more offense out of this team, and it’s it’s going to be kind of shock and awe type hockey. Just quick, fast, physical, and make things happen. All right. Well, sounds like an exciting season ahead. Kyle, why don’t you tell our viewers and our listeners where they could find the podcast and where they could find you on social media. Absolutely. You can find Locked on Anaheim Ducks on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcast. Go like and subscribe of course. And then on social media, we’re on X uh Blue Sky Threads, Instagram, all of that fun stuff. Tik Tok and it is L_Ducks or just look up Locked on Anaheim Ducks and you will find myself and of course tune in to all of the locked on NHL action this season. All right, Kyle, thank you so much. Thank you, Gil. Have a wonderful day. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. The NFL season is here and FanDuel is making sure you’re ready for kickoff with a can’tmiss offer. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your first bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. That’s $300 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. I love using FanDuel because it fits however you like to bet. If you like player props or maybe building a same game parlay to win even more or jumping in live as the action unfolds, it makes every game more exciting. 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The Anaheim Ducks have a new coach in Joel Quenneville and new hope as they enter the 2025-26 NHL season.
Kyle Kjer of Locked On Anaheim Ducks joins us to discuss the offseason changes and what feels different so far for the Ducks in training camp this season. And, how can the team overcome the loss of Trevor Zegras and other key players. Plus the prospects who are stepping up.
All this and more on today’s Locked On NHL Podcast with Gil Martin.
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