THE Anaheim Ducks saw the return of their captain, Radko Gudas, in their 3-2 overtime victory against the Utah mammoth. With his return to the lineup, they had seven healthy NHL-caliber defensemen on their roster.
Pavel Mintyukov has served the past two games as the Ducks’ healthy safety, a situation all too familiar to the one he faced a season ago when the Ducks were in a bind on their blue line. In this case, the logjam was caused by the integration of a plethora of veteran defensemen, which caused Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger to alternate healthy duties until they were finally relieved at the 2025 trade deadline.
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Takeaways from Ducks’ 4-3 win over Bruins
Takeaways from Ducks’ 3-2 OT win over Mammoth
This year the blockage was caused by the emergence of Ian Moore, another young defenseman, perhaps a little less volatile, more responsible on the defensive side of the puck and cleaner on breakouts.
First NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman reported in his latest blog “32 Thoughts”, Mintyukov would rather be traded than be forced to sit in the press box. “After two consecutive scratches, word got out that Ducks defenseman Pavel Mintyukov would like to be moved if he didn’t want to play,” Friedman reported in his article. “He fell behind Jackson LaCombe and Olen Zellweger on the left side of Anaheim’s defense. Ian Moore, who had a strong camp, was elevated in place of Mintyukov. This is the 10th overall pick in the 2022 draft, so Ducks GM Pat Verbeek won’t be rushed into anything. Something to watch.”
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Mintyukov is 149 games into his NHL career and has scored 50 points (9-41=50), including three points (0-3=3) in 18 games this season. He had a quality rookie season in 2023-24, scoring 28 points (4-24=28) in 63 games and showing flashes of what he could be at the sport’s highest level.
His 2024-25 season was difficult, as he seemed to be negatively affected by scratches or the possibility of scratches, limiting his willingness to take risks and get involved offensively, where he thrives the most.
Mintyukov is at his best when he can diagnose a rush, disrupt it, initiate a counterattack, and stay involved in the offensive cycle with constant activations. He’s an instinctive player who has the potential to become a true two-way force and fill up the scoresheets every night.
Unfortunately, he had failed to seize the opportunity presented by Gudas’ absence, and he appeared to have been outplayed by Moore in the process. It’s simply a matter of numbers, and he’s been the Ducks’ seventh-best defenseman this season (opinion).
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As Friedman mentioned, Verbeek won’t be rushed into a decision, but Mintyukov’s value will only go down from there. His value should still be relatively high, as he’s only four years removed from being drafted (when he was Verbeek’s first-ever draft pick), had a decent rookie season, and is still only 21 years old (22 on November 25).
If traded, Mintyukov would be the fourth top-ten pick in the 2022 draft traded after the draft and the sixth pick in the top-15. All of that could be undone with another injury (it’s still hockey after all) or if he finds himself back in the lineup tomorrow (Thursday), when the Ducks are playing their second straight game.
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