Connor Bedard with the Anaheim Ducks in 2023-24? Heres how it might look

Members of the Orange Alliance — the name for the Ducks’ season-ticket holders — and the rest of Ducks Nation, feel free to dream of a future with Connor Bedard coming down on a rush with Trevor Zegras, late in a tied playoff game, and firing a shot past (insert your opposing goalie here) to blow the roof off a jam-packed Honda Center.

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Keep visualizing that as you sift through the embers of a 2022-23 season that already has gone up in flames. I’m not here to squash your hope. In fact, I’m here to provide some. The Ducks themselves halted momentum toward a “Quack, quack! Bedard goes to Anaheim” headline on Tuesday with a 5-2 win over fellow “The Next Connor” hopeful Arizona. There is also the cold reality that a team that has never won the draft lottery might now this time either, even if it were to have the best odds. Sorry for that wet blanket. The Ducks entered Wednesday’s games with the second-worst points percentage in the NHL (.344), better than only Columbus (.330).

I’m imagining some of you — or most of you? — have already braced yourselves for the letdown. That’s how you deal with disappointment: Get ahead of it. But I’m here to tell you it’s fine to dream the impossible dream. The most beloved player in franchise history is dreaming it. If he can, so can you.

I think Connor Bedard would fit perfectly in this @AnaheimDucks dressing room 😊💪 Welcome to Southern California! pic.twitter.com/cI6FZsArAG

— Teemu Selanne (@TeemuSel8nne) January 25, 2023

Let’s have a little fun, as the original “Great 8” did in the Ducks’ locker room to “welcome” Bedard to Anaheim. Suppose you could be the next Anaheim head coach — it’s likely there will be someone new in the fall — and sketch out on a napkin where Bedard would fit in the lineup, along with his linemates. While we’re at it, we can even draw out a potential forward group. What would that lineup be to start the 2023-24 season? Here are four options.

Lineup 1

Here’s a caveat, before we break things down here. There might be a couple of names that won’t be with the Ducks after general manager Pat Verbeek does some handiwork.

Verbeek might find a trade taker for the valuable Adam Henrique, even though there is another pricey year left on his contract. Or he could keep Henrique as the respected professional every dressing room needs, especially one in which the core pieces skew younger. There is also Max Comtois coming up as a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, and his statistics make qualifying him at $2 million a questionable proposition. If Verbeek wants a clean break there, he can have one. But for the purposes of this exercise, we’ll factor in all players who have active contracts and aren’t pending UFAs.

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Now for the fun part. What Bedard is doing to the Western Hockey League is bordering on criminal. As Wednesday, the 17-year-old has 39 goals and 81 points in 33 games. He has scored 12 goals and 17 points in only five contests after tearing through the World Junior Championship. I’m not sure why he’s playing in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game on Wednesday but the fine folks in host city Langley, British Columbia, appreciate it. If you missed his WJC exploits but can get TSN, tune in.

Bedard is a right-handed shot. I don’t have him listed above in the initial Ducks center lineup. He has many dynamic aspects in his game, but his deadly NHL-ready shot could make the most immediate impact. He also isn’t a titan, listed at 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds. There is also some conjecture that he could wind up on the wing at the next level instead of down the middle.

Tasking him with top-six center responsibilities wouldn’t be a must for the Ducks with Zegras and Mason McTavish holding things down. Bedard could be free to let it rip and with McTavish and Terry already working on building chemistry, it is a fantasy to think of Zegras having that kind of scoring talent to feed on his wing. Those two could use a power forward with net presence and touch on the other side, but we’ll slot another shooter, Frank Vatrano, there for now.

Putting Bedard on wing also gets Ryan Strome back at center, where he feels most comfortable and could possibly take advantage of better matchups. It drops Isac Lundestrom to the fourth line, but he’d be a clear upgrade over what they have now and could still get additional ice time as one of their leading penalty-killers.

Lineup 2

This lineup gets Bedard at center and puts him atop the flow chart. That would be heady stuff for someone who only recently would have turned 18. Doing this would leave Zegras where he’s currently at, as the No. 2 center, but the flashy playmaker has been flourishing in that spot. He’s had 16 points in his last 13 games, including seven goals.

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Strome sticks to him, and he has perked up with a recent four-game point streak. The veteran forward, who next season would be in the second of his five-year contract, worked well off the highly-skilled Artemi Panarin in New York and does his best with some of the smaller plays that Panarin and Zegras can work off.

Is this ideal? Maybe not. Having Bedard come in right away as a No. 1 center in the NHL is a tall task no matter how talented he is. You’re also putting someone who leans toward his wicked shot on a line with a shot-first finisher in Henrique, and Terry, who developed into a scorer with 37 goals last season. The good thing is, Terry grew up as a facilitator at heart and is showing that he can still be a point-producer even if the goals aren’t coming as fast this season. He’s on pace for 48 assists and 70 points.

But with Bedard and Zegras occupying the top two center spots, it means McTavish slots in on the third line if you keep him in the middle. Which is where he should be. Doing this, however, means the Ducks need help in getting him some wingers who can finish. That’s a weak spot in general that Verbeek must address. Former first-round picks Jacob Perreault and Brayden Tracey haven’t been lighting up the AHL, so options from within don’t look too promising at present.

Lineup 3

This formation gets Zegras and Bedard back together, but on the top line as potentially the two most dangerous Ducks right away. And it gives Anaheim the luxury of keeping Henrique, McTavish and Terry together as a second trio that doesn’t draw the toughest defensive assignments all the time. It also gets Strome back at center, though maxing out his offensive production gets diminished down the lineup.

But the smallish Zegras and Bedard could use someone with some size and consistent finish. Finding a power forward on left wing who could score from year to year has been a challenge since Dustin Penner left for Edmonton. This is where the Ducks could give Pavol Regenda, a 6-foot-4, 212-pound winger, a real shot. He’s under contract through next season and has nine goals and 15 points in 22 games for the AHL’s San Diego Gulls.

Lineup 4

For a moment, I thought of going off the deep end and having an all-WJC most valuable player top line but, ultimately, I injected some sanity and opted not to put three natural centers in one grouping. We’ve got to give Terry a core pivot to work with, right?

Having Bedard as the 2C doesn’t give him the pressure of instant top-line duty and he could have two seen-it-all veterans in Henrique and Strome to learn from. There is plenty of versatility for the Ducks’ coach. Yes, this does put Zegras on the wing. That’s not ideal but “Z” wouldn’t be playing with grinders. Heck, you can call McTavish and Terry grinders with a lot of talent. Putting Zegras on the wing bumps Lundestrom back up to 3C and provides an opening for Benoit-Olivier Groulx, a 22-year-old who has been a bright spot on the lowly Gulls.

At some point – if it hasn’t already happened – the Ducks will contemplate a future without Bedard. They’ll jeopardize their chances further with more showings like in Tuesday’s victory over Arizona, even though current players will always take that over the constant sting of defeat. Not all fans are on board with “Fail Hard For Bedard.” At least, I don’t think so. I also could be wrong.

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But this is about a big wish that has a chance of coming true. If you’ve got some better Ducks lineups with Bedard included, have at it in the comments below. There are more options than these. Remember also that Verbeek could make changes, and we’ll also adjust accordingly if they occur.

Until then, dream on.

(Photo of Connor Bedard: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images)

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