He was a fifth-round pick (129th overall) in last year’s draft as a re-entry selection. He joined goalie Vyacheslav Buteyets (Round 6, No. 178 in 2022) among aspiring Ducks to sign their entry-level deals already this offseason.

Dionicio, 20, amassed 73 points in 60 games split between two different Ontario Hockey League clubs this past season. He also notched four points in five games for Switzerland’s Under-20 side at the World Junior Championships.

While Dionicio’s profile might not be as high as No. 2 overall selection Leo Carlsson or 2023 Western Hockey League Defenseman of the Year Olen Zellweger, his game is, like theirs, predicated on elusiveness, deception and misdirection.

He also traversed a lightly trodden trail to the NHL. A son of Dominican immigrants born in Newark, his family moved to Switzerland when Dionicio was an infant. There, in the town of Herisau, he played soccer and excelled on the same ice that was strided upon by one Timo Meier, a Swiss star who now plays in Newark with the New Jersey Devils, as well as former Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller.

At 6-foot-2 and more than 200 pounds, Donicio adds another physically formidable, skilled defenseman to a group that includes fellow 2022 draftee Noah Warren, who is even more imposingly sized with agility to spare. Pavel Mintyukov, Tristan Luneau and Zellweger all made their NHL debuts last season and will be counted on to expand their roles in short order.

The Ducks will deepen their prospect pool further in late June, when they have seven selections in the first three rounds of the draft, including the third overall pick and another first-rounder.

It was announced by the club that assistant coaches Newell Brown and Craig Johnson would not have their contracts renewed, opening the door for new faces to join head coach Greg Cronin and assistant Brent Thompson. Cronin could also have a multitude of new players in his group as the Ducks will be one of the most financially flexible teams in the league this summer.

Brown and Johnson were holdovers from the administration of Dallas Eakins, whom Cronin replaced last June, when he brought Thompson aboard.

Brown had been with the team since 2021, when he arrived from the Vancouver Canucks organization, and ran a Ducks power play that struggled to find consistency. Johnson joined the club a year later in a broader supporting role. He and Thompson have sons who play for the Buffalo Sabres.

Additionally, Rob DiMaio left the organization for personal reasons, vacating his roles as Ducks assistant general manager and GM of the San Diego Gulls (American Hockey League). Mike Stapleton was promoted to the assistant GM role with the parent club, while Rick Paterson was promoted to the GM position in the minors. The Gulls had a down year last season, something Ducks GM Pat Verbeek said he hoped to improve next season, along with a main roster that he has nearly $34 million in salary cap space to renovate, the third most in the NHL presently.

“The San Diego Gulls have a bright future with many outstanding skilled players returning or joining the team next season,” Paterson said. “We look forward to getting back to our winning ways in short order and bringing the Calder Cup to the great city of San Diego.”

Paterson has been with the Ducks for two decades, serving in at least four roles across management, scouting and player development. That included the 2007 Stanley Cup year, which was his fourth championship after winning previously with Tampa Bay and twice with Pittsburgh.

Stapleton will complete his 10th season in Orange County this year, and was most recently the Ducks’ director of player personnel.

Though some coaches prefer a three-man staff, such as former Kings steward Todd McLellan, the Ducks will likely continue with a four-man bench, with a pair of hires likely to be made in the weeks to come.

Is it enough to have a decent hot dog, a reasonably priced seat with good sightlines, a stadium or venue that’s relatively easy to get into and out of? Is concessions variety important to you? What about the in-game experience? Do you want a high-energy atmosphere, or would you prefer that the speakers be turned down a bit – even if it’s only once in a while – so you can hear yourself think or actually, you know, talk to the person next to you without having to scream?

Or is it all about winning and nothing else? Do you judge an owner by the money he/she spends on the team, and patience with and commitment to coaches and or managers? Or is there such a thing as too much patience? Do you want your owner to be involved, or does it matter if they’re hands-off or absentee owners who don’t sweat the details? (And, in some cases, might you prefer your owner to just keep writing checks and otherwise stay away?)

We have a pretty varied menagerie of ownership in SoCal. It’s not hard to figure out which ones are successful by classic standards; in most cases, you can look at the won-loss record for hints. But do the standards go deeper than the standings or playoff results?

I’ve got my ideas, as you might suspect. But I want to hear from you, the fans, and not just those who, um, are loyal to a particular team but can’t stand the owner. (Angels fans, I think we all know where Arte Moreno winds up on this list.) What makes the good ones stand out? What do they do to earn your loyalty? What can they do better?

As you might have already suspected from the way this column began, yes, I am trolling for responses. The more you cheer, or vent, the more additional columns come out of this concept. I’m only a little bit shameless.

Here are my thoughts, ranked by order of (my perceived) ownership quality:

1. Dodgers (Guggenheim ownership group, led by Mark Walter): Since closing their purchase from Frank McCourt on May 1, 2012, the Guggenheim Dodgers have won 11 division titles in 12 seasons and have a .602 regular-season winning percentage, along with one World Series title in 2020 – and the organizational feeling is that one is not enough, which fans should appreciate. And they’ve plunged lots of money into rejuvenating Dodger Stadium. (But I do wish they’d turn those speakers down once in a while.)

2. Clippers (Steve Ballmer): Ballmer, too, fares well in comparison with the previous ownership (i.e., the Donald Sterling reign of error). On-court success has been mixed and is elusive in the postseason largely because of injuries, primarily to Kawhi Leonard. But the Clippers have a stable, professional front office and what should be a transformative new home, the Intuit Dome, beginning next season.

3. Rams (Stan Kroenke): They’ve made the playoffs five of the last seven seasons and have stability, with Sean McVay on the sideline, Les Snead making the calls in the front office – including draft successes that are a that sometimes – and Kevin Demoff overseeing things. And SoFi Stadium has raised the standards for NFL stadia, although game day parking can still be a mess.

4. LAFC: (Multiple-person ownership structure including Magic Johnson, Nomar Garciaparra and wife Mia Hamm and Will Ferrell, among many others, with Bennett Rosenthal currently listed as lead managing owner): Success on the field, a gem of a facility in BMO Stadium, organizational stability and a bond with its supporters – considering that well before this team had any players, management listened to potential fans’ concerns and suggestions. Who else does that?

5. Ducks (Henry and Susan Samueli): They’re coming out of a rebuild, but this is a stable franchise with a loyal fan base, and Honda Center is 31 years old but still a first-class building. The OCVIBE development that will surround it, currently under construction, is essentially Anaheim’s answer to L.A. Live.

6. Chargers (Dean Spanos): Their tenancy in SoFi Stadium has quieted the narrative that accompanied them here in 2017 – “Who asked for you?” – and hiring Jim Harbaugh created their biggest splash since the move. Spanos was (and probably still is) hated in San Diego but has upgraded to meh in Los Angeles.

7. Lakers (Jeanie Buss): The 2020 bubble championship changed the narrative for a bit, but the feeling remains that Buss and her advisors aren’t really living up to the standards of Laker Exceptionalism. The circumstances around the firing of Darvin Ham led to a good amount of “do they know what they’re doing?” talk among a devoted but increasingly frustrated fan base. Can’t blame them.

8. Angel City Football Club (Multi-person ownership group, currently led by investor-owners Kara Nortman, Julie Uhrman, Natalie Portman and Alexis Ohanian and featuring plenty of celebrity involvement): The second-year franchise is worth $180 million, the highest of the 14 teams in the National Women’s Soccer League and evidence that the league waited way too long to expand to L.A. – but there’s talk about amid suggestions that those in charge are overspending. Potentially messy stuff, but the organization has done a lot right with its initiatives in the surrounding community.

9. Kings (Phil Anschutz and Ed Roski): Do we know for sure that primary owner Anschutz, whose worth according to Forbes magazine really cares about the performance of the team he and Roski purchased in 1995? Especially now, in light of a third straight first-round elimination, I’d think Kings fans would want some kind of indication the owner is at least paying attention to what GM Rob Blake, president Luc Robitaille and CEO Dan Beckerman are doing with his hockey team.

10. Galaxy (also Anschutz): You can make the case that Anschutz, an early and large investor in Major League Soccer, helped keep that league alive. (That’s why his name is on the MLS Cup.) He once owned six MLS teams but now his ownership is limited to the Galaxy, which is a contender again after several years on the outskirts. Again, better if he’s paying attention or not?

11. Sparks (Eric Holoman, CEO and governor): They’ve always had a loyal fan base, though the on-court product in recent seasons has affected attendance. Now, with women’s sports in general and basketball in particular having a transcendent moment, are the Sparks prepared to capitalize?

12. Angels (Arte Moreno): Remember when Arte was the people’s choice, the Guy Who Lowered Beer Prices? Yeah, I know. That was more than two decades ago. The issue here is that he’s too involved, too impetuous, and should hire a president of baseball operations to talk him down from the ledge when needed.

Incomplete, Rugby FC Los Angeles (Pete Sickle, CEO and co-founder): Did you know SoCal had another Major League Rugby team? Neither did I until a couple of weeks ago, which suggests getting the word out was a lower priority than it should have been. The first franchise won a league title in 2021 and was terminated after 2022. This one is relocated from Atlanta, plays in Carson and has a 1-6-1 record midway through the season. If you attend these games, email me and let me know what the crowds and enthusiasm level are like.

jalexander@scng.com

That meant the San Jose Sharks would select first, last year’s No. 1 overall pick owners, the Chicago Blackhawks, would be up second and that the Ducks would slot in third.

This year’s most coveted prospect is Boston University freshman Macklin Celebrini. However, the Ducks have never chosen first overall in their 32-year draft history and it will be no different when the two-day draft starts June 28 in Las Vegas.

“While it’s disappointing to not win a lottery, we remain in a position to draft one of the best players available and add to our young, strong core of top young players already in the NHL,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said in a statement.

The Ducks also possess another first-round pick in this draft, which . It’s currently No. 24 overall, but that position could be impacted by the results of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Columbus Blue Jackets, Montreal Canadiens, Utah’s new club (formerly the Arizona Coyotes), Ottawa Senators, Seattle Kraken, Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota Wild will make the next 10 picks in the draft as of now. San Jose acquired the Pittsburgh Penguins’ pick in the Erik Karlsson trade and will select 14th overall, with the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues rounding out the lottery picks.

The Ducks selected third overall in 2021, when . He joined the parent club a season later and has amassed 85 points in 144 NHL games.

Whomever the Ducks select – Belarussian import turned Michigan State standout Arytom Levshunov would fit beautifully into perhaps the top group of prospect defensemen in the NHL – will join a crowded pack of aspiring stars that includes five other lottery picks.

In addition to McTavish, there’s the supremely creative (No. 9 overall, 2019), the prototypical modern defenseman (No. 10 overall in 2022) and last year’s . The Swedish center made his debut last season, showing immense promise, and the Ducks added another high-profile forward prospect in January when they shipped Jamie Drysdale (No. 6 overall in 2020) to the Philadelphia Flyers with a second-rounder in exchange for Celebrini’s college rival, (No. 5 overall in 2022).

In May of 2024, the man affectionately known as “Sudsie” had been declared cancer-free.

“It’s been an emotional year for my family and me, culminating with the incredible news that I am cancer free,” Maharaj said, in a press release from the Ducks. “There are so many people for me to thank – starting with Henry, Susan and Jillian Samueli, Aaron Teats, Pat Verbeek and the entire Ducks organization. The support I received from around the league is beyond words. The hockey world is an incredible place.”

His wife Yvonne as well as their daughters Alexandra and Katherine were foremost among people Maharaj recognized, and he also acknowledged the courageous fight against cancer of another Ducks coach, former assistant Mike Stothers, who has battled melanoma of the lymph nodes since March of last year.

At one point, Maharaj had asked Ducks goalie John Gibson to be one of the pallbearers at his funeral. Yet when the Ducks last took the ice at Honda Center, the two shared a warm embrace with Maharaj having advanced far down the road of remission.

Maharaj’s late-season appearances shined a beacon of light through a mostly dim season of fledgling promise derailed by injuries and defeats. But no victory was greater than that of their beloved goalie guru over such a nefarious disease.

To beat it, Maharaj endured 11 rounds of chemotherapy, as well as surgical procedures that removed his gallbladder as well as portions of his stomach, pancreas and intestines.

Maharaj was no stranger to adversity, steep odds and unconventional paths. The native of Trinidad fell in love with hockey in Canada and played professionally in Sweden.

As detailed by independent journalist Tal Pinchevsky, Maharaj was victimized by a Swedish gang that firebombed his car and attempted to further intimidate him, actions that Maharaj, who is of Indian descent, firmly believed were racially motivated.

Undeterred, when his six-year swing in Sweden concluded, Maharaj returned to Toronto and began a career working with at-risk youth.

He soon returned to York University, where he’d won a Canadian national title minding the Lions’ net, to begin a coaching career that led him to work privately with a handful of pro goalies and ultimately led him to the NHL level.

Now, he has taken on two new facets of his identity: that of a cancer survivor and another of a cancer advocate.

He and Stothers had the honor bestowed upon them by the NHL to receive and donate a $25,000 grant to non-profit organizations in Orange County as part of the 25th anniversary of the league’s Hockey Fights Cancer initiative.

“My good friend and fellow coach Mike Stothers, who is also winning his fight against cancer, reminded us all after his diagnosis that we should listen to our body and see a doctor if something feels off,” Maharaj said. “I did just that, and I’m alive today as a direct result. Thank you, Mike, and thank you all!”

Ring that bell, Sudsie!

Ducks goaltending coach Sudarshan Maharaj is cancer free!

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks)

Of the 16 teams in the lottery, they have the third-best odds (11.5%) of obtaining the No. 1 overall selection in the June 28-29 NHL entry draft. The San Jose Sharks have a 25.5% chance, while the Chicago Blackhawks have a 13.5% chance.

This was the Ducks’ sixth consecutive campaign missing the playoffs and they last won both a postseason game and series in 2017, when they reached the Western Conference finals. They are the only team in the NHL without a postseason victory of any kind since 2018.

The Ducks have never picked first overall, though they’ve selected second three times and in the top five overall on eight occasions in franchise history.

Last year, they had the worst point total in the NHL and, correspondingly, the best odds at the No. 1 pick, unanimously considered to be generational talent Connor Bedard. The Blackhawks ended up with the top spot (and Bedard), and the Ducks snagged Swedish center Leo Carlsson at No. 2.

There were faint echoes of the Ducks’ previous consolation prize, winger Bobby Ryan. He was selected behind three-time Stanley Cup champion Sidney Crosby, though Ryan turned into a top-six winger and Carlsson’s future at center appeared even brighter than that in his first NHL season.

This year, should the Ducks strike it rich, there’s a consensus No. 1 pick, and then some debate as to who could go next. The Ducks could select anywhere in the top five, depending on which teams win the drawings for the first and second picks.

With that, here is a quick glance of whom they might eye with those selections.

No. 1: Macklin Celebrini, forward, Boston University

Celebrini enters the draft as the consensus No. 1 selection and while he might not have the cachet that Bedard or Crosby had, he’s still more exciting than even some recent consensus No. 1s, like Alexis Lafreniere. Celebrini won the NCAA scoring title with a staggering 64 points in 38 games. He also captured the Hobey Baker Award as the nation’s best collegiate player, even as a freshman, edging out his Beanpot rival and the Ducks’ reigning top prospect, Boston College sophomore Cutter Gauthier.

No. 2: Artyom Levshunov, right defenseman, Michigan State

This Belarussian import has taken off on North American ice, progressing through his development at a breakneck pace. Not only is he a very well-rounded two-way defenseman with few discernible holes in his game, he’s one who plays with tremendous energy and a voracious appetite for the puck. He’s also a right-handed shot who would deepen a stable that already includes Tristan Luneau and Noah Warren.

No. 3: Zayne Parekh, right defenseman, Saginaw Spirit (OHL)

Parekh is also a right-handed shot but his game skews heavily toward offense. When the Ducks dealt Jamie Drysdale for an elite forward prospect, they created a void in terms of an elusive, creative and poised right blue-liner. In Parekh, they get a very agile if not blazing fast skater with a bottomless bag of offensive tricks that allowed him to score 96 points in 66 games last season, exceeding the totals of all three of the Ducks’ junior defensemen of the year from the prior campaign.

No. 4: Cayden Lindstrom, center, Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)

The Ducks are flush at center, such to the point that they’ve started evaluating relocations to the wing for at least two of their four top-10 picks in the middle. But Lindstrom is also the sort of imposing and athletic center who teams covet, in the mold of the Kings’ Quinton Byfield or Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele. He has the size to protect the puck, the mobility to transport it and the skill to do something exciting with it.

No. 5: Cole Eiserman, Winger, Committed to Boston University

The Ducks sorely lacked finishing last season, something that stung them in a couple dozen close contests that became losses. Eiserman has been a goal-scoring machine at both levels of the U.S. development program, averaging more than a goal per game at the USHL and USNTDP levels. There are some polarizing elements to his game but like Montreal’s Cole Caufield he’s an American prospect who can flat out make rubber meet nylon.

They’re bursting with potential over the long haul and an added benefit of having a bundle of scintillating talents younger than 25 is that many of them are on entry-level or otherwise cost-controlled contracts, leaving the Ducks with loads of salary cap room and flexibility.

That’s key as what they boast in promise they might lack in patience after six postseasons on the outside looking in as the Stanley Cup champions quaffed bubbly from the coveted chalice.

“We want to win now, we don’t want to go through this again,” said Frank Vatrano, who is coming off a career-best season with 37 goals at age 30.

For 2024-25, there’s no doubt reinforcements will be needed. The Ducks entered the year a bit thin and became downright emaciated by injuries and departures via trade, most notably (who is among the likely free agents this summer, by the way).

Between entering the year with significant cap space, the forthcoming first significant bump in the upper salary limit since 2019, swaps that shipped out four rostered players for future picks and the retirement of Jakob Silfverberg, the Ducks have both roster slots to fill and nearly $35 million in cap space to fill them.

Verbeek said he’d like to pursue a top-six winger and a top-four defenseman, both of whom would be right-handed shots ideally, as well as improve the speed, grit, scoring touch and overall quality of the bottom-six forward group.

He also said, after two years since the retirement of franchise icon Ryan Getzlaf, the team would be naming a captain imminently.

“We don’t have a captain. We have some A’s, they rotate through,” Ducks coach Greg Cronin said. “I think we need to have a captain (next season). We need to find a leadership group that can hold teammates accountable.”

A desire for the appointment of a designated leader was far from the only thing Verbeek and Cronin shared. Cronin said Verbeek, along with legends Paul Kariya and Scott Niedermayer, was a like-minded individual who provided him with perspective, balance and confidence in the 60-year-old’s first year as an NHL head coach.

Verbeek said he was pleased with Cronin’s maiden voyage and, more importantly, his impact on the crew.

“He’s a very competitive, very passionate guy. I love his approach to life, his approach to our hockey team and I’m very happy with the job that he did this year,” Verbeek said of Cronin. “A lot of things were positive, guys had career years, we certainly improved our competitiveness and our work ethic. The overall culture has taken big strides.”

“Do we still have work to do? Yes, we do, but overall I’m very happy from that aspect.”

In addition to more seasoned versions of Leo Carlsson, Trevor Zegras, Mason McTavish and Pavel Mintyukov, among others, the Ducks also seemed likely to enjoy full campaigns from Cutter Gauthier, Tristan Luneau and Olen Zellweger, who played one, seven and 26 games, respectively, this season.

“Going into the summer, all the young guys are looking to push their game to another level,” Zellweger said.

Late-season departures hit the Ducks hard in the faceoff circle and on the penalty kill, where Carlsson finished the year and Verbeek expects Gauthier to also log minutes next season.

“One of the things that puts power plays on edge is knowing that the players they’re playing against have the ability to knock pucks down, take them the other way and score short-handed,” Verbeek said.

While on-ice personnel will be dictated by opportunity and desire – the Ducks should have little problem re-signing any expiring players, almost all of whom are restricted free agents – the positions behind the bench seemed less clear. Cronin arrived last summer and brought in assistant Brent Thompson. Newell Brown and Craig Johnson were both retained from the staff of Cronin’s predecessor, Dallas Eakins, and Verbeek said he and Cronin had not yet discussed personnel behind the bench for next season.

In goal, Lukáš Dostál emerged as a potential No. 1 as he made 38 starts and 44 appearances. John Gibson, long the subject of trade speculation, did not give an exit interview, although Verbeek seemed to imply that the team would enter next season with the same goalie tandem.

“I’ve got no issues with Gibbie and his compete, his professionalism as a player,” Verbeek said.

There were few questions about the professionalism, beyond-his-years maturity and preternatural hockey sense of Carlsson. Alex Killorn, a two-time champion and four-time finalist with Tampa Bay, said he deferred to Carlsson as a linemate, trying to get him the puck so Carlsson could be the distributor and decision-maker.

“Huge difference from the first game against Dallas to the last game against Vegas. I was more confident, it was easier to carry the puck and stuff like that,” Carlsson offered as a self-assessment.

Carlsson shared the enthusiasm of other aspiring stars like Gauthier and McTavish at the prospect of this fledgling flock maturing together.

“We’ve got a lot of young guys here and we’re all kind of growing up together, which is awesome, and becoming really close friends,” McTavish said. “We really want to play for each other and we want to win. That’s the biggest thing for us, winning hockey games, getting in the playoffs and, hopefully, winning some Stanley Cups.”

But it was also a period of growth, both personal and collective.

Though they finished just a tick better than last year’s NHL-worst total of 58 points, new leadership and a youth movement on the roster set a course toward snapping a string of six consecutive non-playoff seasons.

“You could throw wins and everything out the window, I think, from the eye test, our team was much more competitive. Our work ethic and our structure were much higher,” forward Ryan Strome said. “Those are foundational things that are non-negotiable. Now that we’ve learned some of those things, hopefully we can take that next step.”

With a stockpile of salary cap space, nearly $35 million per most projections, General Manager Pat Verbeek should be able to equip Coach Greg Cronin with a more formidable group next year, which will be his second as head coach.

“We’re in a good spot, and I want to start to make a strong push to where we’re competing and we’re in the conversation of making the playoffs next year,” Verbeek said.

The Ducks finished seventh in man games lost this season per NHL InjuryViz, though they didn’t have players out for the entire season like most of the other top finishers did, and few teams could rival the severity of their injuries. They lost at least 200 games from first-round draft picks. Lottery talents Trevor Zegras, Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish and Pavel Mintyukov all sustained multiple injuries, as did marquee free-agent signing Alex Killorn.

Fortunately, no players, at this time, will require offseason surgery, and defenseman Tristan Luneau has been cleared to play after being out of competition since December due to an infection. Toward the end of the year, fans got a glimpse of the future with a healthy Zegras, a resurgent Carlsson and even a game from the Ducks’ Calder Trophy contender for next season, Cutter Gauthier. That cadre of young scorers .

“I thought that was one of Leo’s best games of the year. You can see how much talent he has and what his ceiling could be, who knows how good he could be in this league? There’s so much promise with him,” Killorn, who won two Cup titles in Tampa Bay, said.

Killorn, who skated on a line with the two players whose combined age didn’t yet total 40, said he was impressed with Gauthier’s transition from the NCAA title game to a clash with the Cup champs, and Verbeek described the connection between Carlsson and Gauthier as “instant chemistry.”

Yet overall in 2023-24, the Ducks were defined more by ignominy than excellence. Despite palpable improvements in overall defensive play, momentary lapses were still a major issue and an even more persistent hindrance was penalties. They led the league in minor penalties and bench minor penalties; finished fourth in major penalties and second in overall penalty minutes; and had the worst penalty differential of the 32 franchises.

Cronin did demote, bench or otherwise reduce the deployment of multiple players for defensive snafus, turnovers and penalties, but in hindsight he said he should have considered doing it more frequently.

“If I had done some things differently this year, maybe after the first blunt message, I would have just sat guys,” Cronin said. “I didn’t do that, probably, enough.”

“Clearly what we did this year wasn’t working; we kept taking (penalties). We probably should have sat some [more] guys,” he added.

The Ducks also earned the undesirable distinction of having lost the most one-goal games in regulation of any club this season (12).

“I don’t think we were ever that far off,” winger Troy Terry said. “Every game it felt like there was one thing we did to sabotage ourselves.”

The longest-tenured Duck, defenseman Cam Fowler, performed an onerous task as the team’s ice-time leader, one that might have felt thankless over the course of so many near misses (they also placed second in two-goal losses and let five more squeakers slip in overtime). But Fowler said that the close losses should have served to reinforce the importance of constancy and focus for a group composed mostly of players who weren’t yet old enough to rent a car during road trips.

“Anybody that has watched this team or has been around this team knows that the optimism for the future is sky high, but it’s up to us, as players, to put that into action,” Fowler said. “This year was a difficult year but it was an important year for us all to learn the steps that we need to take as a group to get better next year.”

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  Ducks right wing Cutter Gauthier skates against the Vegas Golden Knights during the third period of their season finale on Thursday night in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

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  Trevor Zegras #11 of the Anaheim Ducks takes a shot against Shea Theodore #27 of the Vegas Golden Knights in the first period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on April 18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Ducks defeated the Golden Knights 4-1. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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  Ducks center Trevor Zegras (11) and Vegas Golden Knights center Tomas Hertl (48) vie for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

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  Ducks rookie Cutter Gauthier, playing in his first career NHL game, shoots against Shea Theodore of the Vegas Golden Knights in the first period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on April 18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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  Leo Carlsson #91 of the Anaheim Ducks and Brayden McNabb #3 of the Vegas Golden Knights vie for the puck in the first period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on April 18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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  Leo Carlsson #91 of the Anaheim Ducks and Brayden McNabb #3 of the Vegas Golden Knights vie for the puck in the first period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on April 18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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  Leo Carlsson #91 of the Anaheim Ducks takes a shot against Tomas Hertl #48 of the Vegas Golden Knights in the first period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on April 18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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  Jakob Silfverberg of the Anaheim Ducks skates against the Vegas Golden Knights in the first period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on April 18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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  William Karlsson #71 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates with the puck under pressure from Jakob Silfverberg #33 of the Anaheim Ducks in the first period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on April 18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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  Ducks rookie Cutter Gauthier, playing in his first career NHL game, skates against the Vegas Golden Knights in the first period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on April 18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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  Ducks rookie Cutter Gauthier, left, playing in his first career NHL game, and Zach Whitecloud #2 and Paul Cotter #43 of the Vegas Golden Knights vie for the puck in the first period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on April 18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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  Ducks rookie Cutter Gauthier, right, playing in his first career NHL game, passes the puck against Keegan Kolesar #55 of the Vegas Golden Knights in the first period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on April 18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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  Trevor Zegras #11 of the Anaheim Ducks takes a shot against Shea Theodore #27 of the Vegas Golden Knights in the first period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on April 18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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  Vegas Golden Knights center Tomas Hertl (48) dives for the puck next to Ducks right wing Cutter Gauthier (61) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

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  Ducks center Trevor Zegras (11) skates with the puck between Vegas Golden Knights center Tomas Hertl (48), left wing Pavel Dorofeyev (16) and center Ivan Barbashev (49) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

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  Ducks defenseman Olen Zellweger (51) skates with the puck against Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb (3) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

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  Ducks right wing Jakob Silfverberg (33) shoots the puck against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

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  Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore (27) and Ducks center Trevor Zegras (11) vie for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

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  William Karlsson #71 of the Vegas Golden Knights takes a shot against Jackson LaCombe #60 of the Anaheim Ducks in the second period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on April 18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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  Frank Vatrano #77 of the Anaheim Ducks celebrates with teammates on the bench after scoring a second-period goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during their game at T-Mobile Arena on April 18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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  Jack Eichel #9 of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates with teammates after scoring a second-period power-play goal against the Ducks during their game at T-Mobile Arena on April 18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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  Tomas Hertl #48 and Jonathan Marchessault #81 of the Vegas Golden Knights react after teammate Jack Eichel #9 scored a second-period power-play goal against Lukas Dostal #1 of the Anaheim Ducks during their game at T-Mobile Arena on April 18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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  Paul Cotter #43 of the Vegas Golden Knights is upended by a hip check from Radko Gudas #7 of the Anaheim Ducks in the second period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on April 18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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  Pavel Dorofeyev #16 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates with the puck under pressure from Olen Zellweger #51 of the Anaheim Ducks in the second period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on April 18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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  Ducks right wing Frank Vatrano (77) handles the puck next to Vegas Golden Knights center Nicolas Roy (10) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

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  Ducks right wing Frank Vatrano reacts after scoring a goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

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  The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate a goal by Jack Eichel, center, against the Ducks during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

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  Ducks right wing Frank Vatrano, left, celebrates a goal with teammates Trevor Zegras, center, and Ryan Strome during the third period of their game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night in Las Vegas. Vatrano scored three goals as the Ducks won their season finale, 4-1. (AP Photo/David Becker)

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  Vegas Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy watches during the third period of the team’s NHL hockey game against the Ducks on Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

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  Ducks right wing Cutter Gauthier waits for play to resume during the third period of the team’s NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

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  From left, the Ducks’ Leo Carlsson, Jackson LaCombe and Cutter Gauthier celebrate after Gauthier, playing in his first career NHL game, recorded his first point with an assist on a third-period goal by LaCombe against the Vegas Golden Knights during their game at T-Mobile Arena on April 18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Ducks defeated the Golden Knights 4-1. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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  Ducks right wing Troy Terry (19) skates with the puck near Vegas Golden Knights center Ivan Barbashev (49) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

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  Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) jumps over the boards to start a shift during the third period of the team’s game against the Ducks on Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

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  Ducks right wing Cutter Gauthier (61) chases the puck during the third period of the team’s NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

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  Ducks center Trevor Zegras (11) skates against Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Ben Hutton (17) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

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  Ducks celebrate a goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

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  Jackson LaCombe #60, Frank Vatrano #77 and Radko Gudas #7 of the Anaheim Ducks celebrate after Vatrano scored a short-handed empty-net goal, the second of his two third-period goals, and his third goal of the game, against the Vegas Golden Knights during their game at T-Mobile Arena on April 18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Ducks defeated the Golden Knights 4-1. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer

LAS VEGAS — The Ducks’ season finale included a debut, a farewell and another big scoring night for Frank Vatrano.

Vatrano scored three goals and the Ducks ended their season on a high note, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights, 4-1, on Thursday night.

Vegas’ three-game winning streak ended and the loss knocked the Golden Knights out of third place in the Pacific Division and into the second Western Conference wild card . The defending Stanley Cup champions will face top seed Dallas in the first round beginning Monday night, while the Kings will face Edmonton.

Vatrano’s goals gave him a career-high 37 for the season. It was his third hat trick this season and the sixth of his career.

Jackson LaCombe had a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who finished 27-50-5 for 59 points. Ryan Strome had two assists and Lukas Dostal made 29 saves.

Cutter Gauthier had an assist in his first career game. Just five days earlier, he was playing in the NCAA championship game at the Frozen Four for Boston College.

“It feels incredible,” Gauthier said of his primary assist on LaCombe’s goal. “I heard Comber calling for it there and I passed it to him. I saw it trickle in there and just very excited, pure joy. It’s something you dream of as a kid.”

Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg, who played his final NHL game after 12 seasons in the league, was congratulated by his teammates and then shook hands with Golden Knights players after the game. Eleven of his seasons came with the Ducks, and he ranks in the top 10 of several of their franchise categories.

“I enjoyed my time here a lot, not just me but my family,” Silfverberg said. “It’s been 11 amazing years. It’s definitely a team I’ll be rooting for and I’ll follow them closely.”

Jack Eichel scored the Knights’ lone goal. It was his 31st, his most since scoring 36 in the 2019-20 season for Buffalo. Adin Hill made 19 stops for Vegas, which shook off the drop in playoff position.

“Every team that’s left standing is a good hockey team,” Eichel said. “There’s no easy path to winning. We understand every game’s going to be a battle. I think we should be pretty excited. It’s a great opportunity for our team.”

William Karlsson’s second-period assist for Vegas gave him 60 points this season, the second time he’s reached the mark. He had 78 points in the 2017-18 season.

Karlsson remains the club’s single-season goals leader at 43, with Jonathan Marchessault coming one short despite 13 shots against the Ducks, including seven on goal. Marchessault scored only one goal in his final seven games.

The Knights made a concerted effort to get Marchessault the record, sometimes feeding him the puck when there were better options. He had nine shots in the first period alone, four on goal to match the Ducks’ first-period total. Four other shots were blocked and one missed the net.

The Ducks didn’t take their first shot on goal until the 10-minute mark.

“We were asleep in the first 10, 12 minutes,” Ducks coach Greg Cronin said. “We didn’t have our legs. They weren’t moving their feet. They weren’t moving the puck. Vegas was. We were very fortunate we weren’t down 2-0 in the first 10 minutes.”

After a scoreless first period, Vatrano scored at 4:25 of the second and Eichel at 18:47. That was Vegas’ ninth power-play goal this month, tying Calgary for most in the NHL.

LaCombe and Vatrano scored 29 seconds apart early in the third period to give the Ducks the lead for good. Vatrano’s final goal came with 15 seconds left on an empty-netter with the Knights on a 6-on-4 power play.

Ducks defenseman William Lagesson skated in his 100th career game.

Frankie V after the HAT TRICK to cap the season | |

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest)

Coach Cronin after a promising first season | |

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest)

FRANKIE V |

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest)

FRANKIE V IS FEELING IT |

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest)

FRANK FINISHES STRONG |

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JACKSON LACOMBE

WE'RE BACK ON TOP |

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest)

Marquee trade acquisition, World Junior Championships gold medalist, Hobey Baker Award finalist and 2022 lottery pick , making his debut for the Ducks after a season of triumph and tumult for the 20-year-old forward.

Gauthier was selected fifth overall in 2022 by the Philadelphia Flyers, but his rising stock after leading Team USA to gold only cemented that he’d be moving on as Philly acted quickly, trading him Jan. 8 just days after the tournament since he’d previously informed them that he did not want to sign his entry-level contract.

Yet after being , Gauthier had no reservations and inked a three-year deal soon after the NCAA campaign wrapped up with his Boston College team losing to the University of Denver in the national championship game.

“I can’t be more thrilled to be a Duck,” Gauthier said Tuesday, when he arrived in Orange County.

“I’m pretty pumped. It’s been a dream for my whole life,” he added. “Just getting here, I’ve gotten chills, getting to the airport, getting settled in here and meeting all the guys has been a really cool experience so far. I can’t wait to go on Thursday.”

Gauthier was one of three finalists for the national player of the year, ultimately losing out to 2024’s top draft aspirant, freshman Macklin Celebrini, whose Boston University team Gauthier and mates dominated in this season’s Hockey East final. If the Ducks, who own the third-worst record in the NHL and third-best odds in the draft lottery, were to finally win the No. 1 pick, the two could be teammates in the near future.

Gauthier said his sophomore season rounded out his game as he sought to make the leap to the top level.

“I’m more of a complete player,” Gauthier said. “By the end of the year, I was playing against other team’s top lines, shutting them down and also producing [offensively] as well.”

As Thursday’s match opens a chapter for Gauthier, it will close another for Jakob Silfverberg, who will after 12 seasons, 11 of them in Anaheim. As his family was honored to share with him last week, Gauthier’s will be on hand for his maiden voyage.  Also supporting him will be his linemates, two-time Stanley Cup winner Alex Killorn and rookie Leo Carlsson, who Gauthier said had been particularly supportive.

“That’s what you want, another younger guy who’s as hungry as you to play in the NHL and make a name for himself, and he’s been super welcoming,” Gauthier told Ducks Stream.

Vegas will have seeding on the line, seeking to avoid a wild-card position for its title defense. If the Golden Knights win, they’ll finish third in the Pacific Division and face Edmonton. If they lose, they’ll be relegated to the final wild-card berth and a conference finals rematch (from both 2020 and 2023) against the Dallas Stars.

Though the Ducks lost their opener 4-1 in Vegas, they beat the Golden Knights twice at Honda Center this season. They poured in four unanswered goals both times, once to rally from a 2-0 deficit and again during the first period of the third meeting.

“The first game’s in Vegas and it’s a pretty electric spot to play,” Gauthier told Ducks Stream. “My first NHL game against the defending champs of the National Hockey League is something pretty special, and I’m definitely not going to take it for granted.”

DUCKS AT GOLDEN KNIGHTS

When: Thursday, 7 p.m.

Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas

TV: Bally Sports SoCal