The Anaheim Ducks collected their thirteenth victory in 20 games this season, Wednesday night against the Boston Bruins. They are ranked fourth in the entire NHL. Not so bad for a club that was criticized for ignoring the consensus and leaving value on the table in the draft!
Recruiting the Ducks has been the business of Quebecer Martin Madden for a long time. He has always been considered one of the best in the profession but, in recent years, has had to endure some criticism, or at least doubts, over his early draft selections.
In 2021, the Ducks selected Mason McTavish with the third overall pick. He wasn’t necessarily the consensus pick at the time, but the forward had had a positive draft year and had moved up the various rankings. So far, so good.
In 2023, however, Madden and his team made the decision to let the consensus stand that, since the start of the season, and even before, placed center Adam Fantilli as the second best prospect in the draft, behind Connor Bedard. Prospects like Matvei Michkov and Will Smith were also available at No. 2, where the Ducks were drafting.
A paid choice
They instead opted for Swedish center Leo Carlsson, creating a bit of a surprise on the draft floor held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. It’s still early, but we have to admit that Madden’s flair paid off on this one since Carlsson is having his breakout season. He has 27 points in 20 games so far and gives the impression of being a franchise player.
But the biggest surprise came the following year. In the 2024 Las Vegas Draft, Madden and the Ducks held the third overall selection. With this choice, they created a real commotion by announcing the selection of striker Beckett Sennecke. And no one expected that, especially not Sennecke whose face after his selection gave rise to a viral sequence.
Another pillar in the making
Once again, we can only recognize Martin Madden’s flair. Yes, Ivan Demidov was available at third.
However, so far this season, the two young hockey players have displayed almost identical productions. In 20 games, Sennecke has scored 14 points including six goals, while Demidov has the same point total, but in 19 games. It has four nets.
