The Anaheim Ducks have one of the deepest and most potent young defensive cores in the NHL. A fully fleshed out and realized blueline is one of the most important ingredients (maybe the most important ingredient) to building a Stanley Cup championship roster.
A true number one defenseman to lead said blueline is necessary more often than not if a team has ambitions to hoist the greatest trophy in professional sports come June.
The 2023 Vegas Golden Knights had Alex Pietrangelo, the ’22 Colorado Avalanche had Cale Makar, the ’20 and ’21 Tampa Bay Lightning had Victor Hedman, the ‘19 St. Louis Blues also had Pietrangelo, etc. The exception in the last two seasons has been the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, who did it more by committee on their blueline with the trio of Aaron Ekblad-Gustav Forsling-Brandon Montour in 2024 and the trio of Ekblad-Forsling-Seth Jones in 2025.
The definition of what a “number one” defenseman is varies person-to-person, but to me, I define it as the defenseman who plays the most (and that a team often first sends over the boards) in every scenario: 5v5, power play, penalty kill, up a goal late, down a goal, etc.
The Ducks are in a position where they are attempting to put the finishing touches on their elongated rebuild and return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2017-18 season, ending the third-longest playoff drought in the NHL.
The core pieces when the team is finally contending are all expected to already be within the organization, as they have potential depth and impact at every position from the crease out.
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The Ducks have assembled an impressive stable of young blueliners, including players projected to be on the NHL roster like Jackson LaCombe, Olen Zellweger, Pavel Mintyukov, and Drew Helleson, with Tristan Luneau on the bubble. Players like Stian Solberg, Tyson Hinds, Noah Warren, and Ian Moore are expected to have impact roles at the AHL level, while prospects like Lasse Boelius, Tarin Smith, and others wait in the wings.
Since the organization has been selecting near the top of the draft since 2019, they’ve spent most of their top picks on forwards, with Mintyukov representing the only top-ten pick on the blueline.
That leaves the question: when the Ducks are finally contending, who will be their top defenseman?
Jackson LaCombe
LaCombe (24) was the breakout player for the Ducks in 2024-25, after struggling through large portions of his rookie campaign (2023-24). He filled the role of “number-one defenseman” according to my previously stated definition, leading the team in TOI/G (22:18) and TOI on the power play (160:12), while finishing second in 5v5 TOI (1240:07) and TOI on the penalty kill (168:55).
He scored 43 points (14-29=43) in 75 games, and his 14 goals were the most by a Ducks’ defenseman since Lubomir Vishnovsky hit 18 in 2010-11.
In his sophomore NHL season, he was more polished in coverage and more difficult to play against in front of the net. He used his skating to close gaps and join rushes when he saw openings. He was still prone to the odd, dangerous turnover, but ultimately improved his puck management skills.
Pavel Mintyukov
As mentioned, Mintyukov (21) is the only defenseman on the Ducks roster or in the pipeline that the Ducks used a top-ten draft pick on (10th overall in 2022) and was the first draft pick made by Pat Verbeek as the general manager.
After a successful junior career in the OHL, where he won OHL Defenseman of the Year honors in 2023, Mintyukov made an immediate impact in the NHL during his rookie season for the Ducks in 2023-24. Though struggling with occasional coverage lapses, he was a neutral zone play-killer and seemed to have endless creativity and fearlessness in the offensive zone. He scored 28 points (4-24=28) in 63 games.
His capabilities were seemingly muted the following year in 2024-25, as he struggled to remain in the nightly lineup and opted for safer plays in attempts to do so. His impact was diminished as he worked to refine his defensive game, and his power play time was cut from 122:04 TOI in 2023-24 to just 60:52 TOI in 2024-25.
Mintyukov still has the capability and potential to become a dominant two-way force on both sides of the puck in the NHL, as he reads developing plays at a level beyond his years and can turn perfectly-timed defensive engagements into quick-strike offense.
Tristan Luneau
Luneau (21) is coming off an extremely impressive rookie season in the AHL, playing for the San Diego Gulls after battling through more injury adversity than most 21-year-old players.
He has every tool necessary to become a special two-way defenseman in the NHL and is becoming more polished with each passing game. He displays textbook engagement and angling skills defensively and is ever-active on the offensive end.
His most substantial attribute might be his competitive drive. He battled through an offseason knee surgery before his draft year, which caused his stock to slip into the second round (53rd in ’22) only to bounce back and win QMJHL Defenseman of the Year honors in 2022-23.
He barely played hockey in 2023-24 due to an infection in his knee that required surgery just before the 2024 World Junior Championship. He responded by scoring 52 points (9-43) in 59 games in his rookie AHL season, earning a spot on the AHL All-Rookie team.
Others in the Running
Stian Solberg (19) saw his role diminish in his first SHL Season in 2024-25 to the point where the Ducks decided to send him to the AHL to wrap up the season, where he scored five points (2-3=5) in ten games and will look to have an increased role in 2025-26. His trademark is his defensive prowess and physicality, but he may not have the offensive dynamism that others in the Ducks system have. However, he has flashed production at an impressive clip, especially at the 2025 World Championships.
Olen Zellweger (21) was an offensive dynamo in the CHL and was an AHL All-Star in 2023-24, totaling 37 points (12-25=37) in 44 games, before finishing his rookie campaign in the NHL with the Ducks. Like Mintyukov, his impact was diminished in 2024-25, opting for a simpler game to remain in the nightly lineup. His defensive game has come a long way, but he may be limited in that aspect, potentially keeping him from ever becoming a “number one” according to my subjective definition.
There’s always the potential for the Ducks to find their future number one defenseman from outside the organization. Free agency and the trade market aren’t typically places where teams find their top defensemen, but the Golden Knights were able to pluck Pietrangelo as a UFA, and Noah Dobson was recently traded from the New York Islanders to the Montreal Canadiens.
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