Anaheim Ducks select Olen Zellweger in the 2nd Round

With the 34th overall pick in the 2021 NHL entry draft, the Ducks select defenseman Olen Zellweger. The 5’-9” left-handed shot defenseman from the Everett Silvertips played in 11 games for Everett this past season and 7 games for Team Canada at the U18s. For Everett, he scored 2 goals and had 11 assists for 13 points in those 11 games, and for Canada, he scored 1 goal and had 7 assists for 8 points in those 7 games. That point total in the WHL was the most for a draft-eligible defenseman.

While there are issues comparing his season this past year in the WHL to previous players due to the sample size being much smaller, his 1.18 point per game is the best point per game total among draft-eligible defenseman in the last 20 years.

Once you have that context it is easy to see that the Ducks are getting a dynamic offensive defenseman, and that is confirmed when you look at his scouting reports. Zellweger’s game is built upon the rush and his skating ability. He has a very smooth skating stride that allows him to escape would be forecheckers and transition the puck up the ice.

He is not a natural finisher or a playmaker, but he creates offense for his teammates by being in constant motion and distributing the puck to his teammates. The Athletic had this quote from his U18 coach Dave Barr : “You do not have to ask him to skate. It’s a lot easier to pull reins on a horse than to kick them in the ass all the time. He’s a very active player. And he’s willing to block shots and take hits to make plays. He can think the game fast and he can also play the game fast. He’s got good hands. He’s got great feet. He’s an Energizer Bunny out there. And he’ll go into the tough areas and take hits to make plays. He’s got that uncanny ability to get the job done.”

Wheeler had Zellweger ranked 47th in his ranking.

Some people might see a 5’-9” defenseman that has put up points and get nervous about his defensive game, but that is not the case with Zellweger. He is able to utilize his skating ability to keep a very tight gap with attacking players and stop transition attacks before they even begin.

Zellweger also is a September 10th, which is 5 days before the cutoff so he is one of the youngest players in this draft. There is a lot of room for growth there and he is already such a good player.

Per Jfresh’s patreon, which utilizes TopDownHockey’s model, here is Zellweger’s prospect card:

To get a guy with this type of statistical profile in the 2nd round is an absolute steal for the Ducks. They hit a home run with this pick.