The Anaheim Ducks are the NHL’s surprise team of the 2025-26 season. After seven consecutive seasons of missing the playoffs and finishing as one of the NHL’s bottom 10 teams, the Ducks sit atop the Pacific Division standings and are one of the must-watch teams in the league due to their combination of talented young stars and high-event brand of hockey.
Since early in the season, the Ducks have been a team on the tip of everyone’s tongues. From podcasts to blogs to national broadcasts, different Ducks’ roster players have been highlighted by several outlets at varying points through the first 30 games of the season.
In the season’s infancy, Chris Kreider grabbed headlines, as he made a quick positive impression with his brand new club, scoring four goals in his first three games with Anaheim after spending his first 13 years with the New York Rangers.
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The narrative briefly shifted to Cutter Gauthier in early November, as by Nov. 6, he was the goal-scoring leader in the NHL, notching 10 goals (to go along with six assists) through his first 12 games on the season.
Finally, up until this week, the main headline-grabber on the Ducks roster was (and still is to a degree) budding superstar Leo Carlsson, who sits tied for eighth among the NHL’s scoring leaders with 38 points (16-22=38) through his first 30 games of the season.
The spotlight has shifted slightly again, as after back-to-back-to-back two-point games, rookie Beckett Sennecke is currently the NHL’s scoring leader among rookies and has catapulted himself into the Calder Trophy conversation. Through 30 games, Sennecke has tallied 26 points (10-16=30), giving himself a cushion on Montreal Canadiens forward Ivan Demidov, who has 23 points (6-17=23) in 29 games, and New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer, who has 22 points (8-14=22) in 31 games.
“He’s playing with a lot of confidence. These guys have so much talent, and they’re so young,” Ducks forward Alex Killorn said after the Ducks' 7-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. “For them to get points and to get confidence, momentum, you don’t see a ton of guys that young that are comfortable protecting the puck against NHL guys after coming over from juniors. He does such a good job with his poise, it’s pretty rare to see in a guy that’s that young.”
From a statistical perspective, what’s further impressive are the facts that 22 of his 26 points have come at even strength, and 12 of his 16 assists are primary assists. He’s firmly on Anaheim’s second power play unit, has only played 50:58 TOI with a man-advantage, and has only registered three power play points (1-2=3).
His primary assist count and 5v5 production highlight his play-involvement on a stride-by-stride basis and ability to drive his line consistently.
Before the season, there were questions about what the best approach was to his development. His only options were to remain in the NHL or return to the OHL to play another year with the Oshawa Generals. The Ducks decided to keep him on the roster to start the year and see how he would develop.
He struggled to adjust during his preseason and rookie camp performances, specifically in the areas of wall play and puck management. Regardless, and following a preseason injury to center Ryan Strome, Sennecke was placed on the Ducks’ second line with Mason McTavish and Cutter Gauthier, giving him every opportunity to succeed and maintain his position in the lineup and in the NHL.
“Maintain” can now be considered an understatement. He scored four points (2-2=4) in his first three NHL games and made several typical “rookie” adjustment mistakes during his first few weeks in the league, but has since not only kept his head above water, but he’s now one of the most impactful offensive weapons on one of the NHL’s best offensive teams.
“I think with every game, every practice, especially, you get more comfortable making those plays, especially at the top of the zone,” Sennecke said after the Ducks’ 4-3 shootout win over the Washington Capitals on Friday, where he logged his first of three straight two-point games. He scored a goal and added a highlight-reel assist in that game, where he mohawked at the top of the offensive zone to freeze Caps forward Connor McMichael, before slicing high to low in the zone and finding a streaking Gauthier in the slot.
“You definitely don’t want to turn it over up there,” Sennecke continued. “It’s something you kind of get used to with time, how much space you have, how much defenders are going to bite, and that’s what you’re trying to get them to do as an offensive guy.”
Impressively, Sennecke has translated the aspects of his game that made him a dynamic player in the OHL over the past two seasons, leading up to and following his selection as the third-overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. His puck skills stand out as elite, but he’s now manipulating the best defenders in the world while both cleverly and aggressively attacking defensive structures, and creating high-danger opportunities seemingly out of thin air. His forechecking and recognition of opposing attacks have led to him disrupting multiple plays and turning pucks up ice and into offensive sequences.
“Yeah, he’s got evasiveness that is a little bit unpredictable,” Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said of Sennecke’s skill. “A lot of guys haven’t seen him yet, and I think they’re still trying to gauge him with what the next move could be, because he’s so slippery. He’s got that long reach; sometimes it looks like you’ve got him, but he finds a way to keep on that puck. I think his (linemates) have been doing a good job to complement him as well.
“It’s a great asset to have, a great strength in the skill department,” Quenneville added when asked about Sennecke’s deception. “Whether it’s deceiving or deception, whether it’s speed, or where the puck is off your stick, being aware of what he’s going to do with his stick, it’s an art, and you have to appreciate when you have guys that are able to do it, and you get to enjoy it some nights.”
What has come as a welcome surprise has been his willingness and approach toward battling his way to the front of the net, whether on or off-puck. He’s constantly mixing it up with opposing net-front defenders and pushing boundaries when trying to find the line when it comes to how much he can get away with in that area of the ice. Simply put, he’s a hockey player and a competitor.
“He’s doing great. He’s a young player. He’s big, he’s strong, he can pull a puck,” Ducks forward Ross Johnston said of the Ducks’ youngest roster player, with whom he’s played on a line for spells during the season. “As a power forward, he’s nice to play with because he can finish, and you’ve just got to feed him the puck.”
Sennecke turned a specific area of weakness into a strength: his wall play. In the preseason and in his first few NHL games, he struggled engaging against some of the strongest and wittiest opponents he’d faced to date, often getting pushed off the puck or struggling to make quick, smart decisions. Since then, he’s been baiting defenders, rolling off of them, or moving pucks to teammates or safe areas before having to battle. He’s keeping his feet moving on-puck, drawing attention and opening up space for himself and teammates on the ice.
“I think he’s strong now, I think he’s only going to get stronger,” Quenneville said when asked about his puck protection ability and how he plays in the small areas of the ice. “With him, he’s long, and he’s got that reach, and he’s deceptive, and he can put it in different areas and not lose momentum when he’s getting it back up to where he needs it. He’s tricky.”
Sennecke will have to maintain this level of production, perhaps even increasing it if he’s to overtake Schaefer in the Calder Trophy conversation. For how impressive Sennecke’s been, Schaefer is currently the New York Islanders’ undisputed #1 defenseman, tied for 11th in scoring among all NHL defensemen, and averages 23:36 TOI per game, including 3:36 on the power play and 1:15 on the penalty kill. He’s already one of the best defensemen in the NHL.
BetMGM currently has Schaefer favored to win the Calder Trophy, with -210 odds. Sennecke is right behind him with +375 odds, and Demidov is third with +550 odds. There are still over 50 games left to play in the season, and a lot can change very quickly. The Ducks are simply happy to have Sennecke on board and making such a sizable impact game-to-game.
“He’s perfect. He’s growing into the game, for sure,” Ducks leading scorer Leo Carlsson said when asked about having Sennecke as a teammate. “He’s getting stronger and better, too. He’s just so dangerous, so unpredictable with the puck. He’s going to be insane in a few years.”
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