Player Evaluation Time

After an amazing 3-0 win vs. the Chicago Blackhawks, It's time to briefly touch up on each of the players progress through the first 24 games.

1-Hiller: Came off a great post-season but seemed a little shaky in some of his appearances so far.

4-Boynton: Not bad, but not a standout player yet.

7-Eminger: In the same boat as Boynton. They can both probably be better, but they haven't been awful.

8-Selanne: Proving that age is just a number. He's showing that he's still got it. Always seems to be open for Koivu's passes.

9-Ryan: Off to a decent start, but a couple more goals would be nice.

10-Perry: Becoming a great defensive player on top of already being fantastic offensively.

11-Koivu: The chemistry between Teemu and himslef is starting to resurface.

13-Brown: Wonderful forechecker and skater. Always hussles and gives it his all. Seems to have some difficulty clearing the puck at times.

14-Lupul: In the first games he was in, he showed promise. When he returns from his injury, will there be a suitable place for him now that the second line is performing well?

15-Getzlaf: Amazing offensive and defensive center. Slow start goals-wise, but definitely showing his superstar passing abilities.

16-Parros: Always fun to watch a nice Parros fight.

17-Nokelainen: Seems to match well with Calder and Marchant. Getting more scoring chances recently.

19-Whitney: When he used to touch the puck, most Ducks fans would cringe 'cause he could not hold the blue line. But there's been definite improvement.

20-Carter: Mr. Bad Luck. Hit in the foot twice with a puck during pratices. He's probably in the same boat as Lupul. When he comes back, where would he fit in?

21-Brookbank: Not really all that noticable. Is that good or bad?

22-Marchant: Great hussle and effort every game. Glad to see he's getting the occasional goal.

24-Artyukhin: Huge and fast. He's getting some great chances now that he's on a line with the Fins.

27-Niedermayer: Always seems to succeed in overtime. Still probably one of the best defensive skaters out there.

32-Calder: Questionable when he was first brought up, but seems to be great with Noki.

34-Wisniewski: So far so good. Wicked shot, he should use it more though.

35-Giguere: Slowly returning to the amazing goalie he was. Looked great in the past three games.

60-Mikkelson: Showing great progress. But, he always seems to be on the ice when the ducks are scored against..

67-Sharp: Filled in well, but not quite ready for the big league yet.

LETS HOPE THE DUCKS CAN CONTINUE RIDING THIS WINNING STREAK!!

Go Ducks!

Looking Back and Moving On

      


       Through 20 games this season, the Ducks have been very up and down. Mostly down. While there were some games that gave fans hope and promise, a majority of them have been embarassing.

      Compared to the first 10, these most recent games have been good. Not as sloppy, not as slow. Ryan Getzlaf seems to have his legs back and proves to be a great passer. Especially to the other team. How many times are you going to blindly throw the puck in front of your own net, and have it wind up on the tape of the opposing players stick, and eventually into the back of your teams goal?! I guess his NHL leading 22 assists sorta makes up for that..

   
      Corey Perry is still off to an amazing start with a 13 game point streak. He always seems to find the open guy, or the back of the net. Perry is definitely makin a good fight towards being on Team Canada next February.

                                               
      It seems like the rest of the big players are getting themselves going, so these next games at home are going to be vital to the teams sucess. The Ducks play San Jose, Calgary, Carolina, Chicago, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. Some of those games are going to be difficult, but this will test the team and give us a look at the skill, effort, and determination of the players. If they dont reach around .500 by the end, they'll find themselves in a pretty deep hole.

Ducks Drama

written by K

Yesterday, J.S Giguere made some comments that stung many Ducks fans in Southern California. The quote that really stuck out was, "I'd rather retire than be a backup goalie." 
-Obviously he is just trying to show people that he doesnt want to earn his $6 million while sitting on the bench. He's got a passion for the game and wants to prove that he is still a no. 1 goaltender in the NHL.

                          

Many fans were upset, saying that he is being whiny and dramatic. Also adding that all this does is lower his trade value. While I do agree that it was not the smartest move venting to the media, I'm glad that he let people know that he is not having a good time being a benchwarmer.


Today, Giguere clarified some of the statements he made. He told reporters in New Jersey: "I want to be the number one goaltender in Anaheim, I love playing here. I want to be here." Jiggy also added that he was being sarcastic about retiring, he was just trying to say that something has got to change.


Most Ducks fans have taken one of two sides on this whole Jiggy drama:
1) Get rid of him, his time here is done.
or
2)Give him a fair chance to prove that he was just in a funk last season.


Personally I think that Giguere can bounce back and prove that he is number one in Anaheim. Although, I'm not exactly sure when he will get his chance because of the way Jonas Hiller is playing. Hopefully Randy Carlyle will stick to his plan of having them compete to be number one and giving them both fair shots.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NOW: Scott Niedermayer said in an  interview with Rich Chere from the Star Ledger, that he may be interested in a trade that would send him back to the New Jersey Devils. Niedermayer stated that his 1 year contract with the Ducks didn't involve a no-move clause, so being traded may be a possibility.
-It's not looking good to be a Ducks fan at the moment or in the future..

ALSO: Drew Miller was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Red Wings. It seems like all of our ex-players move on to bigger and better things.

Something Good

written by J



Been a fan since:  1995
Favorite players:  Parros duhh! and Koivu
Favorite Ducks Moment: Whenever Parros scores a beautiful goal
Top 3 favorite Ducks games:Beating the Sharks, Stanley Cup win in 2007, and 11.3.09 vs. Penguins
Teams I enjoy watching:  Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche
Least favorite players:  Derek Boogaard and John Scott
Least favorite teams:  Detroit Red Wings and San Jose Sharks

A Little Bit More About Me

written by K


Been a fan since: 1994
Favorite players:  Giguere, Ryan, Marchant, and Brown
Favorite Ducks moment: winning the cup in '07
Top 3 favortie Ducks games:  game 5 stanley cup finals '07, game 6 western confrence quarterfinals '09, game 2 western confrence semi-fianls '09
Teams I enjoy watching:  Penguins and  Hurricanes(not at the moment)
Least favorite players:  Holmstrom and Avery
Least favorite teams:  Sharks and Maple Leafs

To all Ducks Fans:

Helloo Ducks Fanatics!!

As two obsessive Ducks fans/friends, we've decided to create a soon-to-be world famous blog about the Anaheim Ducks. We will usually be blogging as either "K" or "J", but there may be special guest bloggers occasionally.
Duckers will provide various outlooks on all things Ducks related. Hopefully we aren't to insane for you to handle.