Is Etem on Ducks' list?
Looking ahead to the NHL draft, where the Ducks pick twice in the first round, the Mackenzie Liddell of the Sports Network speculates that Long Beach native Emerson Etem might be on the radar.
The allure of drafting a homegrown athlete is often too tempting to pass up, especially if that talent is a hockey player from the sunny state of California. That is the position the Anaheim Ducks find themselves in heading into the draft.
Long Beach native Emerson Etem of the Western Hockey League's (WHL) Medicine Hat Tigers is likely on the radar of the Ducks, who own the 12th and
16th picks ofPhiladelphia Flyers' pick in the first round.
Aside from his California roots, Etem's ability to play right wing or center will be an attractive ingredient for the Ducks who will need to replenish an aging crop of secondary scorers, with Jason Blake (36), Teemu Selanne (39) and Saku Koivu (35) all in the twilight of their careers.
NHL Central Scouting currently ranks Etem eighth among North American skaters, while various mock drafts have him going anywhere from eighth to 18th.
At 6'0", 194 pounds, Etem is an explosive skater who handles the puck well at full speed. In his first WHL season, Etem compiled 37 goals and 65 points in 72 games while also chipping in another seven goals in 12 playoff games.
Prior to his WHL debut, Etem honed his skills in the U.S. Under-17 National Team Development Program (USNTDP) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he racked up 45 (23-22) points in 50 games.
About J.P.
J.P. Hoornstra has been covering the Anaheim Ducks since 2007. Eight months after the University of Wisconsin won its third NCAA hockey championship, he was born in a frigid Madison winter. He betrayed his blue-blooded beginnings by graduating from UCLA in 2003, and welcomes any and all dialogue on the finer points of hockey.
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