Ducks Star Snubbed From Top Defensemen List

There was a noticeable absence from NHL.com’s recent list of the top-10 defensemen under the age of 25: Anaheim Ducks puck mover, Jackson LaCombe. The list compiled the top puck-movers who haven’t reached their 25th birthday, but it missed the mark in several respects.

The most egregious was leaving the breakout Ducks’ defender off this list. LaCombe had one of the most impressive seasons of any defensemen in the NHL last season, but it’s also the least talked about. The NHL has a large contingency of talented, young defenders, but LaCombe must be included in that company.

Let’s look at LaCombe’s 2024-2025 season a bit deeper. Over 75 games, he recorded 14 goals and 29 assists for 43 points. In his second full NHL season, he catapulted his offensive production, more than doubling his rookie year totals of 17 points in 71 games.

The jump in offensive production wasn’t an accident, either. LaCombe possesses elite speed and hands, and he found a way to utilize those tools and put it all together. His speed was a problem all season long for opponents. According to NHL EDGE, he was one of the fastest skaters and covered some of the most distance of any defensemen in the league. His top skating speed was clocked at 22.76 miles per hour, ranking in the 88th percentile of all skaters in the NHL. He also recorded 95 bursts of over 20 mph, which ranked in the 95th percentile. He also skated a whopping 242.94 miles over the course of the season, putting him again in the 88th percentile.

That speed resulted in more scoring chances and as a result, more points. LaCombe was a master at getting off shots in more dangerous areas of the ice. His 14 goals were tied for the 11th-most among defensemen in the NHL last year. Six of those goals came off of 27 shots on goal from high-danger areas. Both of those marks were in the 99th percentile among NHL skaters last year. For a defenseman, he showed a consistent ability to create in tight.

LaCombe also did a ton of his offensive damage at even strength. Nine of his 43 points came on the power play and 33 came at even strength. His 33 5-on-5 points ranked 19th in the NHL last year, putting him in front of defensemen like Simon Edvinsson and Luke Hughes, two defenders included in the top-10 under 25 list.

The Ducks are an overlooked organization, and most of that is their own making. The rebuild has taken longer than expected and experienced turbulence in multiple instances. Jackson LaCombe is a prized member of the core in Anaheim, and his snub from the NHL.com list was a huge oversight.