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Mikkelson learns the ropes on defense
November 22nd, 2009, 10:38 am · 12 Comments · posted by Eric Stephens, Staff writer
It is common knowledge in hockey circles that the toughest position to master in the NHL is that of a defenseman.
You’re often skating backwards to defend against players that already have the momentum on you, you’re battling against power forwards around your net, you’re expected to clear out any pucks left by your goalie after he makes a save and you’re expected to quickly gather the puck and make a tape-to-tape pass to your teammate heading up ice.
And that only begins to describe the job. Brendan Mikkelson had one of those nights that he’ll use as a learning tool after committing three direct giveaways and inadvertently providing a screen on Ryane Clowe’s goal in San Jose’s 3-2 victory Saturday night over the Ducks at Honda Center.
But Mikkelson has showed enough promise to earn a regular spot on the third defense pairing just a year after dressing in 34 games as a rookie last season. The native of Regina, Saskatchewan has come all the way back after suffering a torn ACL and cartilage in his knee shortly after spraining his medical collateral ligament in the 2005-06 season while with the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League.
Because of the knee injuries, Mikkelson was limited to just 22 games that season.
“The initial part is the worst,” he said. “After the initial injury, you get used to knowing that you’re going to be out this long. That kind of sinks in. You realize you’re not really a hockey player for those eight months. You’re recovering.”
Mikkelson has been been able to seize upon opportunities created either through the Ducks losing players through trade (Chris Pronger) or free agency (Francois Beauchemin). Some of his season-high 19:27 against Tampa Bay on Thursday was spent on the power play, where he helped fill in for an injured James Wisniewski.
“You never hope for an injury on a guy,” Mikkelson said. ”At the same time, it is ian opportunity. It’s also important that when injuries do happen up front or in the back end or even in net, that other guys step up. I think that’s a sign of a good organization.
”Like I said, I don’t wish that upon anyone. I’ve been there. I know how much it sucks. At the same time, you’ve got to fill in and do the best job you can.”
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I think Mikkelson has been a bright spot for the Ducks on defense so far this season. He’s still got some learning to do, but so far so good.
I’d really like to see him move with the puck more, he’s showing that he’s got great hands and impressive speed. A few more shots on goal wouldn’t hurt either.
Sometimes it looks he could carry the puck all the way
eric- i was actually suprised you didn’t mention him in the last hockey news i got about the rookies on the team. he is still considered a rookie isn’t he?
anyways i think mikkelson has done a good job this season but that last game he was really bad. it just looked like he was having one of those days. hopefully tomorow he has a better game. i think he will. we need to start putting some wins together soon.
Mikkelson has top 4 written all over him. He can still improve on his read & react. I’m not sure how much offensive upside is there. He can definitely use his big body more and play a more physical game.
Mikkelson has been a pleasure to watch round himself into NHL Dman. He’s about halfway along the learning curve and needs only playing time improve. He projects as a solid, steady Top 4 D.
What ever happened to Jake Gardiner,
Are they gonna bring him up next season?
gardiner along with sbisa are still the ducks top 2 prospects in the system, they both are probably a year or 2 away.
I think Gardiner is still playing college hockey at Minnesota. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t even at camp. If he was, it was only for rookie camp, and he didn’t get a good look. Still one of our top prospects according to Hockey’s future though. Another guy to look out for is Matt Clark. That kid has great defensive awareness, and can take the body. He’ll be up next year and might get a permanent home in 2…maybe less.
Gardiner is still playing college hockey for the University of Wisconsin (not Minnesota as some have posted). He did not participate in camp and if he had he would have to have paid his way to keep his NCAA eligibility. This was the same for Mark Mitera the last few years.
Mikkelson looks much better this year but still needs to work at reading plays out of his zone to make the proper pass. Glad to see he’s getting to play and earn his spot this year.
Fans collectively utter, “don’t screw this up”, every time he has a moment alone with the puck….he makes scary decisions at times, but that will change in time…he is tentative, and that leads to turnovers..nobody knows where the puck is going when he has it…he needs to stay paired with a veteran to learn the right moves, and so Scotty can yell to him what to do…until he does. I am a huge supporter, but you guys are suddenly softies…
I think Eminger has shown more poise at times, likely because Cap is helping him…it will happen…when? we’ll see.
Last year I cringed every time Mikkelson touched to puck - or for that matter - might have been expected to. He has improved this year - but still needs to improve.
I hope backcheck is right about Mik looking like a future top 4 d man - I keep reminding myself that Scotty will likely be gone next year. I really hope mgmt will considers asking him to stay on as a coach for our defensive players.
And he is right. Mikkelson has shown a lot of potential this year from the beginning. He is still young and does make mistakes (he is human after all), but he continues to learn from his mistakes and keeps improving. We still have not seen the finished piece of Mikkelson yet.