Rakell Learning to Win with Plymouth Whalers

DanMarrazza — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 18:57:03 -0000

Spending this season with the Ducks could have exposed Ducks prospect Rickard Rakell to a winning environment, but the extra value of his returning to Plymouth is that he actually gets the chance to be a major part of the success. Because where Rakell was rotating between being a healthy scratch and a fourth-line player with the Ducks, he's going to be a top-six forward and receive major minutes with the Whalers, who, like the Ducks, enter Wednesday comfortably leading their division in points.

The Whalers were already one of the hotter teams in junior hockey, the re-addition of Rakell seems to have made Plymouth a juggernaut. Aided by Rakell's two goals and three assists in his first three games back with Plymouth, the Whalers have run their current winning streak to six straight victories, including dominating 10-2 win over their division's second-place team, the Sarnia Sting.

Most importantly for the Ducks (and Ducks fans), it opens the door for Rakell to have the chance to be a go-to player in a prolonged playoff run this year (his final junior season), which is something he has never had before.

Although Rakell has "championship" experience, having won a silver medal and a gold medal with Team Sweden during the last two World Junior tournaments, he really does not have very much "playoff" experience, seeing as the World Juniors are a short-term tournament where a team can be eliminated with a single loss.

Meanwhile, the playoffs in Canadian junior hockey consist of four playoff rounds and a four-team, Round Robin championship tournament which has many similarities to the format of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Going through this type of playoff run is something that could allow Rakell to have the chance to possibly play in 20-30 high-stakes playoff games. If he stayed with the Ducks all season, he would remain a complimentary player who would have to try to become a regular Duck next season having barely played hockey for the nearly half of the 2012-13 season. Rakell is still at a juncture of his career where he needs to be developing his skills. Sitting on the bench in Anaheim would probably not be the thing for his game, and would not put him in a position to improve his abilities heading into next season.

And given that Rakell was only averaging 8:57 TOI during the four games he played in for Anaheim, he probably would not be much of a factor in how the Ducks finish this season, anyway.

Although a player going from the NHL to juniors might seem like a demotion-or not something the fan of a first place NHL team should care very much about- Rakell having the chance to play out this season with the Plymouth Whalers is something that could play dividends for the Ducks in the near future, and is something that should not be completely ignored.

For any team to develop into a winner, individual members of the organization have to develop into winners, themselves. For Rakell, being in Plymouth this spring gives him a great chance to continue to learn how to win important games in the types of ways he'll have to with the Ducks in the future.

Currently, the Whalers have 11 games left in the regular season, with their playoff run probably beginning just days after the team's regular-season finale on March 17.

Rakell's progress with the Whalers can be followed on Twitter at @PWhalers.

John Gibson Returns Home After Capturing World Junior MVP Honors

DanMarrazza — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 17:49:31 -0000

When goalie Jim Craig backstopped Team USA to a gold medal in Lake Placid, he emerged from the 1980 Winter Olympics as a national hero.

Anaheim Ducks prospect John Gibson received no hero's welcome when he returned home to his junior team earlier this week; even though he captured both MVP and top goalie honors with the gold medal-winning American World Juniors squad.

The main difference between Craig's situation and Gibson's situation is that shortly after the U.S. won the gold medal in 1980, Craig was called up to the NHL's Atlanta Flames. Instantly, he was beloved by fans. Meanwhile, when Gibson returned home, he was reunited with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League, smack dab in the heartland of Canadian hockey country.

The Americans' 5-1 drubbing of Team Canada in the semifinals at WJC might go down as one of the U.S.'s most memorable victories en route to a championship; just like the 1980 team's semifinal win over the Soviet Union. Gibson coming back to Kitchener would be on par with Jim Craig having to live in Moscow immediately after the 1980 Olympics.

Kitchener, Ontario in 2013 is not nearly as harsh of an environment as the Soviet Union probably would have been in 1980. However, Gibson's return is made extra juicy because his once-again head coach in Kitchener, Steve Spott, just served as the head coach of the very same Canadian team Gibson had a massive role in eliminating.

"When we were in Russia, we stayed out of each other's way," Gibson told Anaheim Calling. "When I got back, he (Spott) just congratulated me and said that he was happy for me. Now that we're back here, I think it's all good again."

Gibson returns to face Canadians not just on the ice but off the ice, too. He lives with a Canadian billet family. Billets are the host families with whom most junior players live with while away from home.

"My billets are Canadian, but they cheered for the U.S. this year and when I was on the team last year," said Gibson. "They've had American players in the past, so I don't think it was too different for them."

Gibson was momentarily the most famous hockey player in the world - he even trended on Twitter - all because he displayed the stingiest World Juniors performance ever by any American goalie. The overall circumstances might be a little different for Gibson's host family this year. After all, Gibson's host family never housed the single athlete who shattered their country's attempt at a prestigious championship.

"I'm not really sure what to expect," added Gibson, regarding the receptions he'll get in Canada the rest of this season. "Whether it's positive or negative, I can't let it have too much of an effect on me."

While Gibson will almost undoubtedly get a sprinkling of boos when he returns to Kitchener's lineup later this week, he can take solace in knowing his Anaheim Ducks family remains 100% on his side.

"I didn't talk to them (the Ducks) right after winning the gold medal," said Gibson. "We only had like two hours to celebrate after the game before leaving to come home, so it was too much of a whirlwind. They keep in touch with me, though. I talk to (Ducks Director of Player Development) Todd Marchant a lot, and (Ducks goalie coach) Pete Peeters comes to Kitchener sometimes to work with me. I'll probably talk to someone in the organization after everything settles down."

Another member of the Ducks family who Gibson will soon be in touch with again is fellow Anaheim 2011 draftee Rickard Rakell. Gibson eliminated Rakell and fellow Ducks prospect William Karlsson's Swedish national team in last Saturday's gold medal game.

"I definitely didn't like playing against John," Rakell told Anaheim Calling. "Knowing that we can maybe play together in the future, it's a big relief."

I don't think Rickard will be the only one in the Ducks family who will be relieved by having Gibson on their side.

SBNation.com User Blog: DanMarrazza

Rakell Learning to Win with Plymouth Whalers

John Gibson Returns Home After Capturing World Junior MVP Honors