If Ducks general manager Bob Murray is taking this next few months or so to look into his team’s future, then so will I. For me, the future starts up front with Max Jones, Sam Steel, and Troy Terry. These three forwards arrived to pro hockey with impressive amateur resumes and high hopes. All three have dipped their toes into the NHL with the Ducks this season, but it’s been their time in the American Hockey League that will ultimately have the greatest impact on the level of success they have next season as projected full-time NHLers.
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The San Diego coaching staff led by Dallas Eakins, and assistants Brett Ferguson, Sylvain Lefebvre, and David Urquhart have done a great job in preparing these guys for the next level. Eakins and Ferguson in particular – who I’ve played for – have done a great job in developing Steel and Terry into 200-foot players. The difference is easy to see when comparing their games played from October to their most recent NHL recalls.
However this film room will break down the work these guys have done down in the AHL where they have been key pieces for a Gulls team that is poised to make a very deep run in this year’s AHL playoffs. All three are currently ranked in the team’s top-six in scoring as rookies and their experiences accumulated at the AHL level will undoubtedly pay dividends when they eventually play in the NHL full time.
The Evolution of Sam Steel
Out of this trio of players, Steel was the most decorated of the bunch. He won the CHL’s Top Scorer Award in 2016-17 by registering an eye-opening 131 points in 66 games. During the 2017-18 season, Steel proved himself to be a primetime performer on the big stage when he added a World Junior gold medal to his list of accomplishments and followed that up by leading the CHL’s Memorial Cup in scoring which led to him being named the tournament’s most valuable player.
He’s been a prized possession for the Ducks since they drafted him 30th overall in 2016 and considering the resume he’s built since being drafted, it made sense for him to be given an early opportunity with the Ducks. However, his first taste of the NHL was forgettable. He registered just three points (1G,2A) during his initial 13 games with the club.
Steel lacked the 200-foot game that is required to be an effective center at the NHL level. He struggled with strength and consistency with and without the puck, which isn’t uncommon for a 20-year-old tasked to play head-to-head against some of the Western Conference’s elite centermen.
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Steel’s game has really developed in San Diego. The biggest difference in his game is his willingness to go to the “dirty” areas of the ice, something he was struggling to do on a consistent basis in Anaheim. Steel’s early experience in Anaheim likely had an impact on his developmental mindset and approach once being reassigned to Anaheim. His evolution can really be noticed in his details as a center, details he didn’t need during his time in the WHL, and details that were not there during his time in Anaheim.
In the screenshot below during a recent game, you’ll notice the highlighted Steel skating toward the boards during a breakout situation.
Ontario is in good position to pursue the puck and have done a solid job in taking away any easy outlet play for Steel. Steel could opt to make a safe play in this situation by chipping the puck off the glass and out of the zone. However as a left-shot, making that play isn’t as easy as it sounds on the backhand side.
Steel could opt to push the puck back down low to his defensemen, but due to the Ontario forwards’ positioning and pursuit, Steel would only be passing his problems to his teammate.
Instead Steel demonstrates toughness (by being willing to take a hit to make a play) he shows poise (by not taking the easy way out by shoveling the puck to a teammate in a challenging position, forcing them to have to make a tight play) and vision (taking the extra split second and allowing lanes to open for the extremely important first breakout pass)
Those attributes resulted in the screen shot below, a clean breakout pass to a player who is now wide open and has tons of time and space due to the time Steel created in a tightly spaced breakout situation.
Steel was not making these plays on a consistent basis at the beginning of the year but now, these types of heady plays have become a common occurrence the last couple of months in San Diego.
As encouraging as his development has been defensively, the most exciting growth of Steel’s game has been his play around the net where Steel has been really dangerous as of late. Something he didn’t have to do much of in junior but a commitment he must continue to make to himself in order to reach his potential at the NHL level.
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The areas in which Steel has been scoring as of late … in the crease, two feet from the crease, five feet from the crease, Steel has been willing to pay the price to get production. Steel still has the ability to snap it from distance, but his diversification of scoring chances has made him a far more dangerous player than he was this past October.
Steel has also shown the ability to be strong on his stick against larger opponents, which has led to his success in high-traffic areas.
Adding his recent development and adaption to the pro game with how he sees the game, I’m confident Steel will have a much larger impact for the Ducks when the season opens in 2019 and I see him carving out a role in Anaheim’s middle-six.
Troy Terry Makes it Look Easy
From Terry’s perspective, he did not have the type of impact that he had hoped for when earning the opportunity to start this season in the NHL. During his initial six-game start with the big club, Terry struggled to adjust to the NHL’s pace and the cumulative overall strength of the opponents he would face on a night-to-night basis. The physical part of the game appeared to stifle his offensive capabilities more times than not. His early reassignment to the AHL was the right move for a lot of reasons.
Terry’s poise at the American League level is elite. There are a lot of nights where he looks to be the smartest player on the ice. Terry is thinking the game at another level, which allows his poise to shine on a nightly basis in a variety of different scenarios. He’s deadly on the rush, has a good natural feel to how offensive opportunities will unfold 5-on-5, and I’ve already touched on his power play acumen during a previous Ducks Film Room.
Two traits of Terry that really stick out are his ability to create space for his shot and his use of deception to open up passing and scoring lanes. Both are displayed in these next few frames.
Terry executes the below 2-on-1 at an elite NHL level. At the moment of this freeze frame, Terry has convinced the opposing defender and goaltender that he’s pulling the puck in to take a shot. Notice Terry has his head up and is looking toward the goal with his blade angle positioned to shoot.
Terry’s sell of his shot is a great form of deception in this scenario. It forces the defender to stop his backward momentum toward the goal and lunge forward toward Terry in order to get his stick on the puck in effort to thwart Terry’s shot attempt. This also causes the goalie to sit a little deeper in his stance in order to prepare for the shot. However in the frame below, Terry’s sights have widened, and now appears to have an eye on his teammate who is streaking down right side of the slot. Terry’s stick is still in shooting position but his blade angle begins to show a passing intention.
Terry has now released a perfect cross-slot pass in the frame below, but because of his initial show of a shot, the goaltender is frozen with his body still squared to Terry who no longer has the puck.
The result is an assist for Terry and a tie game for the Gulls.
Plays like this have become an everyday thing for Terry in San Diego where he’s registered 41 points in 41 games. So common that a lot of times when I watch him play I find myself saying, “This guy is in the wrong league.”
I see a guy who’s thinking at another level. An NHL level.
In this next frame Terry rolls out of the right corner as a right-shot with no real dangerous offensive options. The majority of players in this situation would either rim the puck back below the goal line or go low-to-high to their defenseman.
However, Terry doesn’t choose those options, and instead, finds a temporary soft spot in San Jose’s defense in between the pursuing defenseman and the strong-side winger. His decision to do so allows him to square his body to the middle of the ice so he can have a look at all the options available and all the options that are developing. I’d venture to say less than 90 percent of forwards would have the confidence to square up, stop, and find space in that that area.
In the frame below the pursuing defender finally closes in on the waiting Terry, who had already anticipated where his teammate would be and where the opposition would vacate. (Look back to the initial frame to see San Jose had a guy around where the puck would eventually end up). If his vision and anticipation wasn’t enough, Terry’s perfectly weighted pass through the closing defender’s body should do the trick
Terry takes this hit and his pass is on the money for a Gulls goal
These frames have highlighted Terry’s passing, vision, poise, and anticipation, but he can really shoot the puck too. He’s scored 16 goals and notched 25 assists for San Diego, a balanced offensive approach that aids him in creating space as both a passer and shooter.
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With a strong summer of development physically, Terry will be not only be a full-time NHLer next season, but have an opportunity to be a legitimate No. 2 center for the Ducks.
Max Jones is a Beast
Admittedly, I have a soft spot for Max Jones, I centered him and Jack Kopacka during their first professional games and was really impressed on how coachable and hungry to learn both those guys were. I remember being particularly interested in Jones, the 6-foot-3 210-pound, first-round (2016 24th overall) power forward out of the OHL with the imposing physical frame.
Ex-Reign Jordan Samuels-Thomas w/ the dagger! @SDGullsAHL 4 @ontarioreign 1 pic.twitter.com/oRJ4SDaMWP
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) May 3, 2017
(That goal was all him. Jones drove to the net, creating space for me to cut across the ice, gave the puck to Sam Carrick who found me backdoor.)
He wasn’t like most junior players that show up at the end of the year who usually keep their head down and try to stay in their lane. Jones’ impact for our team and myself were immediate. With his size, he is a fast and powerful skater with a heavy shot and an awesome work ethic. He didn’t back down from anyone and was usually the guy getting in the face of the opposition. I loved it.
Objectively, I’ve loved everything about Max Jones this season. He is a load to handle whether he’s skating in on the forecheck or if he’s taking the puck to the net on a rush. I’d even go as far to say that he’s the best puck possession forward below the tops of the circles not full-time in the NHL. Anaheim fans have already seen evidence of that during his initial recall this season.
Max Jones:
Physical, Strong, Winning Battles, Puck Protection, Energy, Emotion. Exactly what the Ducks need. Those are the types of shifts that wear down opponents physically and mentally. Especially this late in the game. #LetsGoDucks https://t.co/zTEFFrpS6n— Jordan SamuelsThomas (@SamuelsThomas42) February 14, 2019
Jones got off to a bit of a slow start this season in San Diego but has really been dominant of late. He has 28 points in 40 games by registering just as may goals as assists. His overall game offensively, defensively, and the passion and energy with which he plays which makes him the most NHL-ready player out of the three featured in this Film Room.
Nobody, I repeat. Nobody wants a piece of this guy, and a lot times, no one appears to want the puck more than him.
In the frame below you’ll see Jones lined up on the inside for an offensive zone faceoff.
Look who’s on his toes and who’s worked for inside position once the puck drops.
The opposing team wins the faceoff clean, but it’s Jones whose energy and work ethic that gets him to a puck that should be possessed by the other group 100 percent of the time.
Jones’ edges make it look like he’ll be taking the puck up the boards but as you will see below, Jones shows great command of his edges and cuts back toward the goal using his body as shield to protect the puck.
Instead of taking the easy way and taking the puck behind the net, Jones essentially decides to take a Marshawn Lynch approach by taking the puck directly to the goal with a defender on his back and another waiting to put a body on him.
He was not going to be denied. That’s what I love about Max Jones and why his game will be a much-welcomed full-time addition in Anaheim next season.
I’ve already stated that I believe that Jones is the most NHL-ready out this group but I also think he’s the most important. Looking back at the trade deadline, one of the most coveted types of players was the power forward position. Reason being, there are not that many high-end ones available anymore. Players like Micheal Ferland and Wayne Simmonds were highly sought after commodities for contending teams who recognized the need for a ‘heavy’ style player that can play in a top-six role.
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I believe Jones has the potential to some day surpass the abilities of Ferland and he’s in an organization with a GM that respects and appreciates the importance of this style of player. Coupled with Jones’ power forward designation, he possesses a nice pair of hands and a strong shot, making him a great fit in a top-six role, top-nine at the very least. The Ducks are fortunate to have this style of player in-house and on an entry-level contract.
There is plenty to be excited about in this group. From this trio you have a diverse combination of skill sets, all in which will be needed for Anaheim to take a step forward next season.
While the Anaheim organization has struggled up top this season, the measure of a truly sound franchise can be found in areas that happen away from the NHL stage. The success of the Ducks’ minor league affiliates, the drafting of prospects, and the development structure around those prospects must be successful in order to keep the organization steady and to yield the desired results at the NHL level.
Anaheim has always found success in those areas. We can look at names past like Justin Schultz and Tim Heed who were drafted by Anaheim but signed by other organizations and have had successful careers. Or more recent names like Brandon Montour and Shea Theodore who were developed and deployed by Anaheim before moving on. Murray has had the luxury of being able to move on from players of that caliber because of players like Andy Welinski, Ondrej Kase, Josh Manson, Rickard Rakell and others that the Ducks have drafted and developed.
Jones, Steel, and Terry represent the new group of Ducks prospects that are primed and ready to make an impact. Anaheim’s future is very much tied to the success of these three players.
(Top photo of Troy Terry and Max Jones: Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images)