These aren’t the best of times for Anaheim Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek and coach Greg Cronin as they oversee a last-place club that’s supposed to have at least put that designation behind them. They also have had some members of their defense sitting in the press box when performances didn’t warrant that.
Olen Zellweger was scratched in Thursday’s loss to Toronto even though he leads the Ducks’ defense in points and is a plus player at even strength. Jackson LaCombe was scratched Wednesday in Ottawa despite his five goals leading the blue line, three of them coming over his last five games. Pavel Mintyukov hasn’t shown the promise that was evident in his rookie season, but scratching him for three straight games wasn’t ideal when trying to get him to the next level. And now Drew Helleson is watching after doing some impressive work since his call-up from the American Hockey League.
Cam Fowler’s return from injury and the trade for Jacob Trouba caused much of that, and the situation was untenable if it continued much longer. The trade of Fowler on Saturday eased some of the Anaheim logjam, has but that also meant Verbeek getting scraps from the St. Louis Blues for Fowler, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer among defensemen. It also meant Fowler not getting to 1,000 NHL games with the only team he had played for.
“Scraps” might be a harsh word to use for the return, but everyone knew Verbeek had little leverage, given that Fowler was blocking the youngsters and that Fowler, 33, was on board with being traded as he was willing to open his trade list to much more than four teams. But who are we kidding? The second-round pick is in 2027 and undrafted prospect Jeremie Biakabutuka — the nephew of former Michigan star and NFL running back Tim Biakabutuka — may never see the NHL. And Verbeek also retained 38 percent of Fowler’s salary while also throwing in a fourth-round pick (also in 2027).
But the absence of Fowler does mean the Ducks can move forward on the blue line. When last season ended, Fowler, the 15-year veteran, saw the writing on the wall with Mintyukov and LaCombe finding their way as first-year players and with Zellweger poised to take his offensive opportunities. With Trouba on board and Brian Dumoulin playing every night, Cronin still might need to sit someone. It won’t be either of those vets. It will allow them to ice those who’ll be part of their future, which Fowler wasn’t.
“There’s a few younger guys here and in San Diego,” Zellweger, who has four goals and 10 points, recently told The Athletic. “There’s a lot of great defensemen in the organization and it creates a good competition for everyone trying to play. It motivates me. It drives me to continue to improve. For right now, I think it’s important that everyone’s capable of playing well right now and helping this team right now.
“We can look into the future and we’re going to all improve down the road but for right now everyone’s where they are for now and it’s going to be important that we play our best to help the team win.”
After years of being the linchpin of the Ducks’ defense, Fowler was no longer helping the team win. Once he recovered from an upper-body injury, his presence in games was essentially designed to showcase him. It couldn’t have been much of a surprise to those in the dressing room, but losing a player long respected for his ability and professionalism is never an easy deal, no matter the dynamics of the situation. Fowler accomplished a lot in Anaheim, and he was always accessible. Especially in these lean years.
“He’s been one of the corner pieces of this team for last decade. Very hard to see a guy like that go,” Ducks captain Radko Gudas told NHL.com’s Craig Merz. “We have a lot of young defensemen coming up here, but it’s a tough moment for us as a team. But we’ve got to regroup and make sure that we are focusing on our game today.”
Even though he shoots left-handed, Zellweger’s ability to play effectively on the right side does help the Ducks with getting more of their youngsters together in games. LaCombe, 23, has been paired with Zellweger at times, and his greatest success has come with the 21-year-old as a partner. The two have an 8-5 edge in five-on-five goals while playing at a 54.26 percent Corsi-for rate.
LaCombe also looks like a far more confident player than last season, when he played 71 games but also experienced a lot of ups and downs. The swings in his play are more ironed out as a sophomore, and he’s thankful for going through the experience.
“Maybe my first year, I was a little fearful and a little nervous to kind of play my game and do my stuff,” he said. “Obviously there’s a lot to learn in your first year in the NHL. For me, that was a big learning curve. And then this summer, I was able to kind of combine everything I learned with just being able to get back and play the game I’m used to playing.
“It’s been a lot more comfortable. I think we’re playing a lot better too as a team so it’s just helping me grow my confidence. It’s been great.”
There has been a long-held axiom that it takes defensemen approximately 300 games to have a full grip on playing the position effectively every night in the NHL. Special players such as Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes don’t need that long, and only the best truly master it. Most learn what it takes to build a long career. LaCombe is barely coming up on 100 games entering Saturday night’s game at Columbus. Mintyukov has played in 87. Zellweger has dressed in 52.
“You see what works and what doesn’t work,” LaCombe said. “You try and put those things into your game. You want to play confident as much as you can. You just kind of learn what’s right and what’s wrong.”
Then there is the 23-year-old Helleson. Ten of the his 13 NHL games have come this season. Most of his pro time has been with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, where he spent two full seasons before getting a call-up late last season and then another promotion on Nov. 13 as Fowler was being put on injured reserve.
Unlike his fellow young Anaheim blueliners, Helleson was a Colorado Avalanche second-round pick in 2019 who Verbeek got as part of the Josh Manson trade. The Ducks have wanted Helleson to play with more of an edge and simplify his game. The former Boston College defender got the message.
“They don’t come around very often, so you want to be ready when they do and try to play your best and take advantage of it,” Helleson said, discussing this chance for him. “I think being down there instead — you want to be up here — but it’s important to take the time to learn and listen to the coaches. What they want from you. It took me a while to want to do that.
“When I was younger, I played offensively and things like that. If you got to change your role to play in the NHL, you change your role. I’m happy to be hard to play against and be simple. Your time will come to join the rush and make your plays and contribute. It’s a dream come true to be up here. I’m just trying to do what I can to stay.”
Helleson has the right-handed shot that Cronin wanted more of on his blue line, but his path to regular duty now appears to be blocked by Trouba, who also has 2025-26 left on his contract. So does Gudas. The Ducks also have Tristan Luneau getting some AHL seasoning, but Helleson has put himself on the radar in terms of being a prospect with a real NHL future.
That’s been great for LaCombe. He and Helleson are great friends, as Minnesota natives who even spent a year as teammates in Southern California for the L.A. Junior Kings program. Both took their talents to prep hockey factory Shattuck St. Mary’s. LaCombe then stayed home to star at the University of Minnesota while Helleson went off to Boston College but the two reunited on the 2021 world juniors club that won gold with Trevor Zegras for the United States.
Sitting in adjoining stalls at Honda Center, LaCombe joked he’d “let it slide” that Helleson went back east to college but also thought he made a good choice. As the Ducks’ second-round pick in 2019, LaCombe went 10 spots ahead of Helleson.
“We were always in contact, checking in on each other,” Helleson told The Athletic. “You’re going through the draft process together, checking in on each other then and seeing how it’s going. When he was at Minnesota, he was always calling me and I’m calling him. Playing video games together. We were always in touch, making sure everyone was doing alright.
“It’s pretty crazy it ended up working out the way it did with the trade and everything. Here we are.”
(Photo of Jackson LaCombe: John E. Sokolowski / Imagn Images)
