A busy weekend for the Ducks at the NHL Draft is finally complete. In total, Anaheim added nine players to its top-ranked prospect pool, highlighted by first-rounders Beckett Sennecke and Stian Solberg plus a trio of third-round selections.
After the draft, AnaheimDucks.com caught up with Assistant GM and Director of Amateur Scouting Martin Madden for his thoughts on each of the nine newest Ducks and the indelible impact of longtime Ducks scout Glen Cochrane, who passed away in January.
On Glen Cochrane
Glenn came into Ducks Organization a year before I got here. Seventeen years he was with the Ducks and he loved every minute of it. He was such a total team guy, same as he was on the ice when he played. Whatever his role was, he would do it to the max with passion while keeping it fun for everybody. He was just the life of a party, the life of meetings, and doing that while bringing his independent perspective. That’s how I would describe Glenn.
He had his point of view and he was willing to listen to yours, but you never had to prod him to know what he thought. The whole process about this draft, Glen was with us. He was watching more hockey than we were in the first half. I don’t think he missed one WHL game played from September until January. He was a big part of our midseason meeting and he had strong opinions on a number of players in this draft class. And then we lost him. But those opinions and his spirit stayed with us throughout the process into today. One of the kids that he loved, was passionate for and that he truly believed in was Tarin Smith and it was nice that in the right spot for him, we were able to honor Glenn by making that pick.
On Beckett Sennecke
It was a really strong top of the draft [this year]. Beckett is a special player and he’s just scratching the surface of his potential, just getting going in his growth spurt. He was still growing throughout the season, so he’s just catching up in terms of strength, but he has that elite hockey sense, elite skill and elite skating ability that will permit him to keep doing what he did in the OHL playoffs at the next level.
Other players in this draft are closer than him to playing and having a role in the NHL. He’s not there physically yet, but ultimately, when he’s part of our group, he’s going to be an impact player. That’s why we took him.
On Stian Solberg
I think there is more to come with the puck for him. The way he ran the power play in the world championship cannot be dismissed….
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