Ducks Have Found Good Balance in Roster Construction

Let’s start with the young stars. Leo Carlsson has arrived. After achieving his first 20-goal season of his career in 2024-25, he’s already got half that total (10) within his first 15 games.

Carlsson is impacting all areas of the game. Of his 10 goals, he has two on the power play, two shorthanded and six even-strength goals. Three of those goals are also game-winning goals including one in overtime.

The number-two overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft is showing why he was worthy of that pick. But he’s not alone when it comes to major impact.

Cutter Gauthier has 11 goals this season. He had a hat trick back on Nov 4 against the Florida Panthers.

What makes this do impressive is that they’re doing their things on different lines. Carlsson centers the top line with Chris Kreider and Troy Terry. More on the veterans in a little bit.

Meanwhile, Gauthier is on the left side of a dynamic second line centered by Mason McTavish with Beckett Sennecke on the right. The 19-year old Sennecke has six goals in his first 15 games of the season.

The Ducks are being powered by their young talent. But you also need the right veteran mix on the roster. The Ducks have seemed to figure that part out thus far in 2025-26.

We mentioned Kreider and Terry a moment ago. Kreider is over a point per game (12 points in 11 games) while Terry has 19 points in 15 games. Then lower in the lineup, you have guys like Alex Killorn, Ryan Poehling and Frank Vatrano holding things down.

On the blue line, Jackson Lacombe, Owen Zellweger, Pavel Mintyukov and Drew Helleson have revamped the look of the team defense. Add in a veteran presence like Jacob Trouba and just like the forwards, you have a good balance.

Then in net, Lukas Dostal is second in wins as of Monday with eight and is on the right side of .900 with his save percentage. After dealing long-time netminder John Gibson to the Detroit Red Wings, it became Dostal’s net. He hasn’t disappointed. With Petr Mrazek as the backup, the Ducks have a nice balance in net too.

Coaching Matters Too

The Ducks also had to get the most out of their roster. What they weren’t able to get out of Greg Cronin they have been able to get out of Joel Quenneville so far.

Quenneville has been able to show he can coach the young talent even after the time away from the game. He’s also been instrumental in helping the veterans like Kreider and Trouba.

Overall, this Ducks hot start is not a fluke. They have the components you look for when evaluating if something can be sustained in the long run.

The Ducks have young, dynamic and exciting talent all over their lineup. They have veterans who know what it’s like to play through the grind of a season. They have a coach that knows what it takes to win Stanley Cups.

When you add it all up, the Ducks are the real deal to start 2025-26. While their individual talent speaks for itself, it’s their overall roster construction and balance that stand out.

Whether they can keep up this torrid pace over 82 games remains to be seen. But the early results are promising.

If you’re looking for a fun and exciting team to watch, you may want to make plans to stay up late and start watching these Ducks play hockey. They are worth the price of admission and then some.