Ryan Kesler’s Physicality Exactly What Anaheim Ducks Needed
By Jessica Bradley
@jessiebear23
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The talks, rumors and actions behind blockbuster summer trades are exactly what keeps hockey fans from insanity during those long months of the offseason. In 2013, it was the then Boston Bruins‘ Tyler Seguin to the Dallas Stars. This past summer was all about Ryan Kesler.
The trade of 2014 sent Vancouver Canucks then-captain Kesler to the Anaheim Ducks and Nick Bonino and Luca Sbisa up to Canada. No argument can be made against Kesler’s proven scoring ability, which has thankfully converted for the Ducks. But his defensive presence on the ice has become his bigger story during his short two months thus far with Anaheim.
While Saturday’s matinee shootout loss to the uptown-rivaled Los Angeles Kings was less of an ending than the Ducks had played 65 minutes of game time for, Kesler continued to prove his worth in gold for Anaheim’s offensive power, as well as his physicality against a team primarily known for its size and dominance on the ice.
Kesler’s two-way style of play provides one of the missing ingredients to an otherwise solid system coach Bruce Boudreau has built in Anaheim. The past two years have led to wildly successful regular season runs for the Ducks; however, the team has fallen far short of expectations, both years, with a first-round playoff exit to the Detroit Red Wings in 2013 and a second-round send-off by the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Kings.
Both Detroit and Los Angeles didn’t have the shooting depth Anaheim very easily takes down their opponents with. Instead, the storied teams attacked head-on in a physical level, knowing the Ducks didn’t have something, or someone, to match. Slowly but surely, both teams chipped away at Anaheim until the Ducks were sent packing.
Will Kesler be the key to a deep, and potentially successful, playoff run this season for Anaheim? Nothing but time can truly answer a question like that. But if this top liner continues to bring offense and defense to the most dire of situations, as he has in both of Anaheim’s games against the Kings this week, the way this team wins could slowly begin to change. An attack with more bite is exactly the kind of depth Anaheim needs.
Jessica Bradley is an Anaheim Ducks writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow her on Twitter @jessiebear23 or add her to your network on Google.
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