The Anaheim Ducks were a strong team in the 2017 season, both in the regular season and in the playoffs and that strength really stemmed from the resurgence of Ryan Getzlaf and the unflappable depth of their blueline as well. Getzlaf and the Ducks are going to be tested once again, as things are not getting any easier in the Pacific Division, with Edmonton getting stronger and the debut season of the Vegas Golden Knights, their season will be intriguing to say the least.The Ducks do seem to have their formula down, where they are an exceptionally tough team to play against and one that can score in the clutch moments of the game to help squeak out wins or they can score early and hang on for dear life with a good number one goalie in their crease in John Gibson.
Looking ahead to the 2018 season, the Ducks did a little bit more organizing than housecleaning in the off-season, most notably signing contract extensions, rather than shopping around for the biggest name talent on the market. The only significant addition to the team was to the back-up goalie position, adding Ryan Miller, bringing him home to California on the cheap, which should provide very good insurance down the road, if needed.
The core group of forwards are another year older, the young scorers are another year wiser and the defense will start the season behind the 8-ball a bit (see injuries below), but overall, the Ducks do appear to be quite strong again and they should give us poolies some confidence, when we see the team name pop up on our lists at the draft.
| Player | Pos | 17/18 Proj | Rookie |
| Ryan Getzlaf | F | 70 | N |
| John Gibson | G | 65 | N |
| Corey Perry | F | 55 | N |
| Ryan Kesler | F | 55 | N |
| Rickard Rakell | F | 55 | N |
| Jakob Silfverberg | F | 50 | N |
| Patrick Eaves | F | 45 | N |
| Cam Fowler | D | 40 | N |
| Ryan Miller | G | 40 | N |
| Andrew Cogliano | F | 30 | N |
| Antoine Vermette | F | 30 | N |
| Nick Ritchie | F | 30 | N |
| Ondrej Kase | F | 25 | N |
| Hampus Lindholm | D | 25 | N |
| Sami Vatanen | D | 25 | N |
| Logan Shaw | F | 20 | N |
| Brandon Montour | D | 20 | N |
| Josh Manson | D | 20 | N |
| Korbinian Holzer | D | 10 | N |
| Jacob Larsson | D | 10 | Y |
| Jared Boll | F | 5 | N |
| Chris Wagner | F | 5 | N |
| Corey Tropp | F | 5 | N |
Table last updated on August 5th
Most Intriguing or Breakout Player
The Anaheim defense is what should have been the Achilles heel to their team in the playoffs last season, given that they were banged up, icing some pretty young kids night in and night out, but those kids really fought through and they nearly made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, edged out by a healthier, more powerful blueline in Nashville, but that isn't to take away from their achievements.This leads me to picking Josh Manson as the most intriguing player on the team, who I have projected to be pool worthy on the blueline, as he will likely start to log a lot more ice-time to start the season and that will ultimately lead to bigger and better things, assuming he does well with it.
First Round Picks
The Ducks haven't quite been the offensive juggernaut they once were and their numbers have reflected that in the last season or two. There isn't any reason why they should excel again this season and with the Pacific Division getting much more difficult to play in, scoring could be a little harder to come by. Currently, I have no opening round picks slated for the Ducks.
Other Pool Worthy Forwards
Anaheim shouldn't be too short on scoring though, I currently have the Ducks with six forwards in the conversation for the hockey pool. Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, Corey Perry, Rickard Rakell, Jakob Silfverberg and the trade deadline acquisition Patrick Eaves should all get there this year. Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase are certainly two players who could make their mark this season, but I have them as a bit of a gamble this year.
Other Pool Worthy Defense
If the playoffs were any indication, this blueline is quite good and is poised to be good for quite a while. Cam Fowler, the injured Hampus Lindholm & Sami Vatanen, Josh Manson and Brandon Montour are all set for a good worthy year, while a kid like Gabriel Carlsson could be the kind of guy that keeps this team afloat, when the two injured blueliners are off recovering from off-season surgery.
Goaltending Situation
Both Ducks goalies are set to battle this year, as John Gibson, the number one and the grizzled veteran Ryan Miller, have both shown in the last couple of years, that they'll dig in the trenches for their team. Miller was a good cheap pick-up in the off-season for the Ducks, just in case something goes south for the Ducks and Gibson. Nevertheless, look to feature both of these guys in the pool this year.
Team To Pick From Late?
Your comfort level with taking Ducks, especially late, will hinge on how strong you think this team could be, especially down the stretch. These guys will certainly skate with and grind down their opponents, but it will be their finish that goes under the microscope. There are couple more wild cards in there, as Andrew Cogliano, the league's iron man, will show up everyday, and Antoine Vermette, who is sneaky some years, sliding up and down the rankings.
Unsigned Players and Salary Cap
As for free agents, the Ducks have one more minor free agent left to re-sign in forward Nick Sorensen, but he is due to be more of a minor league player this season, given the depth up front.The Ducks are currently showing $7.2 million in unused cap space with a relatively full roster under the ceiling, so they will be a big player at the trade deadline, if they can put a good season together and then push for the playoffs.
Injuries
Two major shoulder surgeries happened to the blueline, shortly after the Ducks were eliminated by the Predators in the Western Conference Finals, as both Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen underwent major surgery and they still likely have about two or three months left for their recovery, as Lindholm was 4-to-5 months at the end of May and Vatanen was "longer."
At some point, this whole Arizona Coyotes thing should be turning around, right? I would honestly say that I was somewhat excited about the Coyotes around this time last year, but they have continued to meander about and almost make it seem like they are doing something meaningful, but they seem to offer a lot more false hope, than anything else.
There is a feeling that Dylan Strome has done all he can at the junior level, so now it is his turn to try and turn it up at the NHL level and this is a very intriguing thought. The 3rd overall selection in 2015 has yet to make his mark in the big leagues, but with some new life coming into the roster, like Derek Stepan and Clayton Keller, there could be some new bodies to help Strome through to be a pretty good rookie this season.
The Boston Bruins have quietly retooled a good portion of their team, infusing their team from within their own system and they have made some smaller, shrewd signings here and there to help the team win right away. It had worked pretty well for the 2017 version of the team, which managed to make the playoffs again, after some key players stepped up their game and younger players filled some voids in well.
Probably one of the players I am most excited about at this draft is the young Charlie McAvoy, here in Boston. The rookie defenseman made his NHL debut in the playoffs and certainly didn't look out of place on the ice, even if he didn't hit the scoresheet too often. In six games played, the bulky defender still registered 3 assists, so he has some offensive pop to his game and in the lesser checking days of the regular season, we might get to see him open up.
It is quickly becoming a matter of when and not really, if, the Sabres will turn this thing around and finally reach the heights that can be achievable after a long and arduous rebuild. Their most dynamic offensive player is already popping off the points in his second season and now the breakout of these Buffalo Sabres can truly begin.
The younger of the two Nylander brothers, Alexander, should have ample opportunity to show his offensive flair in the 2018 season and with his rookie status still intact, he is the kind of player that could help to win your money back, assuming that the rookie pool reappears in the hockey pool again this season.
The Calgary Flames are in a serious arms race now with their provincial rivals from up in Edmonton and from once being fairly well ahead of the curve, the Oilers have finally hit the jackpot and have shot right past them.
In another case of a third year player making the intriguing or breakout list, Sam Bennett of the Flames is certainly one of the more interesting cases, heading into the 2018 season.
The Carolina Hurricanes have been one of the most active teams in this off-season, which has made them into one of the more intriguing teams heading into the 2018 season. The Hurricanes have added a new goaltender, a couple of new faces up front and they have been able to grow their own defensemen over the last couple of seasons, which has to be a very good asset for this team.
The expectations are really getting ramped up for this Hurricanes blueline and a brand new, long-term contract extension for Jaccob Slavin is a big reason why.
The Chicago Blackhawks methodology is going to truly be under the microscope in the 2018 season, as they have had one of the more interesting off-seasons, trying to manipulate their roster under the league's salary cap ceiling. Even with a slight increase to the maximum allowed amount of salary on a team, the Blackhawks still had to do a lot of wheeling and dealing in this off-season and they are going to be a different looking team, when the puck drops on the 2018 regular season in October.
As the Blackhawks shifted a fair bit of scoring out of their lineup, it will be more a matter of trying to find where they are going to get their magic from, within the organization. 
There is no underselling this fact: the Colorado Avalanche were terrible last year.
If the Colorado Avalanche are going to turn this ship around, they are going to try to do it within. The late season addition of 2016 1st round draft pick Tyson Jost is one of those such players that got an early look, coming out of college to make his NHL debut.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are continuing to evolve and try to find the right mix for success in the league's Metropolitan Division, the toughest group of teams in the entire NHL and they have found some reasonable success at the regular season level.
Well, you were crazy, if you thought this spot wouldn't be held down by Artemi Panarin, given his numbers playing in Chicago and getting moved to Columbus, as that shift certainly makes him into an intriguing player, heading into the 2018 regular season.
The Dallas Stars pretty well played out on the ice, what they looked like on paper in the 2017 season, a team that had the tools to score goals, but didn't seemingly have enough to win a lot of games. The Stars have acknowledged their short comings of a season ago and went out to do something about it, adding some key players at key positions and changing the culture and appearance of this team.
The Stars tried the platoon system for a couple of years and it didn't work. Dallas still has two high paid goaltenders on their roster, but the assumption is that Ben Bishop will indeed be the guy for this team moving forward and he's the favourite to eat up a lot of minutes in the Big D this year.
Okay, it's worth mentioning, if only one more time, life without Pavel Datsyuk was going to be terrible and it was terrible. It was the first year, in a long time, when the Red Wings didn't qualify for the playoffs and it wasn't even close. Hell, it wasn't even a good year to have Red Wings on your hockey pool team.
Year number three. I believe that's the factor that makes Dylan Larkin into a player ready to break out... again. However unexplainable the sudden drop off of the sophomore jinx/slump is, it's just as impressive to see players bounce back from it as well.