Rakell & Lindholm Win Gold; Miller Has Surgery

Photo: Lindholm’s Instagram

By Michael Walters

When the Anaheim Ducks season ended, some of the players got to play some more hockey in the IIHF World Tournament. Korbinian Holzer played for Team Germany. Rickard Rakell and Hampus Lindholm both participated as members of Team Sweden.

Team Sweden earned a 3-2 shootout victory over Switzerland in the gold medal game in Denmark this past Sunday. It’s the club’s second straight IIHF World Championship gold medal. Rakell was named to the Media All-Star Team along with Patrick Kane (USA) and Sebastian Aho (Finland). Rakell finished the tournament with 14 points (6 G + 8 A) and a +7 rating. He had two game-winning goals. Lindholm had six assists and a +6 rating. Both played in 10 games total in the tournament.

Miller Has Surgery

When Ryan Miller joined the Ducks this past season he missed some games early on due to some issues with his left wrist. This past week he had surgery to remove a bone fragment from his wrist. The expected recovery time is about six weeks so he should be ready come the start of preseason. Miller played in 28 games and had a 12-6-6 record this past season. His goals against average was 2.35 and had a save percentage of .928. He also had four shutouts. He only played one period in the playoffs when John Gibson was pulled in Game 3 versus San Jose.

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Other Team News

This past week the Ducks also hired Marty Wilford as an assistant coach, who will fill Trent Yawney‘s position. Yawney’s contract was not renewed by the Ducks. Anaheim signed the San Diego Gulls coach Dallas Eakins to a multiyear extension. Wilford has been an assistant coach with the Gulls since 2011. He has been instrumental in coaching the younger players that currently make up the Ducks blue line.

Eakins has been with the San Diego Gulls for the past couple of seasons as the head coach. He has led the team to the Calder playoffs in 2016 and 2017, losing both times in Round 2. He has helped the Ducks maintain a successful farm system in San Diego, which is why he is deserving of the contract extension. There was talk that Eakins could have been a replacement when Bruce Boudreau was let go. His name could resurface again whenever Randy Carlyle‘s time is up as the Ducks head coach.

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May 24th, 2018