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Mighty Ducks rookie tournament preview

Written by: Kevin Forbes on 09/08/2004 Subscribe to HF's RSS Feed

The second annual Pacific Division Rookie Tournament will be held at Disney Ice in Anaheim, California. The four-team round robin event features the top prospects from the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, the Los Angeles Kings, the Phoenix Coyotes and the San Jose Sharks and it kicks off on September 9, 2004. Anaheim is the host team of the tournament this year, taking over the duties from Los Angeles, who hosted the inaugural tournament. Last year's final saw the Phoenix Coyotes pull off the win over the Los Angeles Kings. The Ducks placed fourth and are looking to rebound.

Anaheim's roster along with game schedules can be found here. The team contains only players who played last year in North America, as it is difficult for unsigned Europeans to leave their club teams once their season has already begun. The roster also features a tournament low five tryout players, with Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Jose sending 28 tryout players between them.

The following is a brief breakdown of the Mighty Ducks roster by position:

Goaltenders

Highlighting the Ducks lack of depth between the pipes, 2004 draftee Gabriel Bouthillette looks to be the top netminder for Anaheim. Prior to the tournament, he was engaged playing preseason hockey with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the QMJHL. Bouthillette looks to challenge for the starting position with the Titan after a solid rookie year with Gatineau. Backing up Bouthillette is Mathieu Poitras, a goalie on a tryout contract. Poitras played last season as the over-age starting netminder for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and had a GAA of 3.47 and a save percentage of 0.907. No longer QMJHL eligible, he hopes to make an impression and perhaps earn a contract to fill the vacant backup position with Anaheim's farm team in Cincinnati.

Defensemen

Anaheim has a gritty solid group of defenders, featuring four players in Hockey's Future Mighty Ducks Top 20 ranking. It will be led by Shane O'Brien, who is just coming off an impressive rookie season in the AHL with Cincinnati. Behind the hard-hitting O'Brien is Aaron Rome and Juha Alen. Rome should be especially motivated, as he is a former prospect of the Los Angeles Kings. Unable to reach a contract with them, the former WHL blueliner signed with Anaheim in the offseason. Alen is looking to build on his solid, although unspectacular rookie year with Cincinnati. Nathan Saunders is going to help patrol Anaheim's blueline for the second rookie tournament in the row. The Moncton Wildcat will also be counted on keeping the opposition honest. Jordan Smith will be on hand to provide a first look to Ducks fans on why Anaheim chose him in the 2004 entry draft. Joining Smith from Sault St. Marie is Brad Staubitz, another player in Anaheim on tryout. Staubitz is an undrafted solid defensive blueliner, who is entering his overage year with the Greyhounds. Rounding out the defense is undrafted tryout Andrew Canzanello who just graduated from Colorado College, where he was a strong puck mover for the Tigers.

Forwards

Anaheim's strongest position could be up front, with them sending seven of the 10 forwards in their Top 20 prospects. Top prospects Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry headline an impressive bunch. Getzlaf, a Calgary Hitman, is expected to be able to challenge for a roster spot with Anaheim this season, while Perry, a London Knight, will be counted on to provide plenty of offense for the rookie team. Both were chosen in the first round of 2003 by Anaheim. Tim Brent has a new contract and will play a two-way role. The twice drafted St. Michael's Majors captain signed a three-year entry level deal on the eve of the tournament. Curtis Glencross and Dustin Penner are both big college free agents signed after the 2003-04 NCAA hockey season ended. They'll be counted on to bring size and strength to the top lines. Glencross was able to fit in some time with Cincinnati before the season ended and he performed well. Pierre Parenteau and Joel Perrault are being counted on to continue their strong play from their rookie season with Cincinnati last year, while Joel Stepp and Igor Pohanka are both hoping to improve on their freshman efforts in the AHL. George Davis will be counted on to provide muscle, after a year that saw him play for Halifax in the QMJHL and Cincinnati in the AHL.

The Ducks liked Zenon Konopka so much that they signed the tryout to a two-year contract before the tournament began. Konopka split time between the AHL (Utah) and ECHL (Idaho) last year and plays a hard-nosed game with no lack of determination or heart. Brent Kelly is another player who saw time in both the AHL (Cleveland) and the ECHL (Johnstown) last year. He's a tryout who might already be familiar with San Jose's team because of his time in Cleveland. Andrew Gibbons wasn't drafted at the 2004 draft and is hoping to make a strong impression as a tryout now. He played last season with the Oshawa Generals of the OHL and will no doubt return there after the tournament ends.

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