We’re down to four weeks until the Anaheim Ducks open training camp, and while quiet has set in since Lukáš Dostál gave the club a new No. 1 goalie to lean on for the next few years, we’re thinking you want the offseason clock to start zooming ahead.

Just when you’ve grown weary of a hockey-free summer dragging along, the Ducks will be on the ice hosting the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks at their Great Park Ice facility in Irvine when the three teams play each other in the re-christened Golden State Rookie Faceoff from Sept. 12-14. There will be goals, saves, body checks and maybe even a fight. Soon.

But Joel Quenneville isn’t in town yet to start his return to coaching after an NHL-imposed exile. Trevor Zegras is in a new city and, yeah, Mason McTavish still isn’t under contract. It’s a great time of the year to drag the mailbag out of storage.

We’ll save the questions about McTavish for Part 2, which will drop soon. Let’s dig into your inquiries and chop it up a bit.

(Some questions have been lightly edited for style and clarity.)

Is there any sense that general manager Pat Verbeek is on a hot seat this season? If the team struggles again, will the Samuelis get impatient? Also, now that he’s gone, what were the team’s actual feelings toward Greg Cronin? Did the players hate it, as Ilya Lyubushkin insinuated, or did they like him? – Doug S.

Have the Ducks done enough to make the playoffs this season? And if they don’t, is Verbeek shown the door? – John M.

This is a crucial season for Verbeek and the Ducks. There is more of a seriousness to the playoff talk (as opposed to building and hoping) and after seven years without any postseason action that included bottoming out with one last-place finish, it’s time for them to show they’re on an upward path and be part of the playoff conversation in March and April. But I’m not sure it’s playoffs-or-bust for Verbeek and his employment.

Whether you appreciate their philosophy or not, the Samuelis have leaned toward patience and stability with their top decision-makers. Verbeek’s predecessor, Bob Murray, held the GM job across 14 seasons. Cronin lasted only two years behind the bench — and was turfed by Verbeek — but head coaches in Anaheim usually have been given some runway. That said, I do think the seat under Verbeek will get hotter if the Ducks don’t build on the momentum from their 21-point improvement last season.

Doug, I don’t have a clear answer as to how all the players viewed Cronin. Cronin was demanding, and that certainly rubbed some the wrong way, especially in his first season. He admitted that he needed to pull back in Year 2 and let his veterans do more of the messaging. Some players surely didn’t always see eye-to-eye with him, but I can’t say he was hated. Even with the strictest confidence, most players tend to not openly air their issues with head coaches.

The team largely competed for him. They just weren’t good enough as a complete roster to move up to higher levels. Neither was he in lifting the collective.

Do you envision both Beckett Sennecke and Roger McQueen being able to make the jump next year potentially? – Steve B.

Who has the highest upside in your opinion between Sennecke and McQueen? – Carl P.

Steve, I’m not sure if you’re referring to next year being 2025-26 or 2026-27 but I’m assume it’s the latter. I’d say Sennecke will come first as I figure he could get some NHL games at the start of this year if he has an outstanding camp, while McQueen will play at Providence, where the Ducks certainly hope he’ll be healthy, play a full season and further strengthen his 6-foot-5 frame with a less taxing college schedule.

Given the Ducks already have a number of young, high-performing forwards and have added veterans such as Chris Kreider and Mikael Granlund to occupy key roles, I think 2026-27 is more realistic for Sennecke to make a play for a full-time spot. (He’d also be eligible for the AHL if he needs more development.) Both McQueen and Sennecke have tremendous upside but at this point, I’d say Sennecke is the safer bet to hit his ceiling. He’s got legitimate first-line talent. McQueen, however, could become a matchup nightmare.

What’s the plan with Sennecke? Going back to juniors would be a complete waste of his development and, as I understand it, he’s ineligible to play in the AHL. So, is it either stick with the big club or play a year in Sweden? At a minimum he’ll probably get his nine-game trial run, but does the team believe they’ve seen enough to slot him on the second or third line this upcoming season? – Matt L.

Realistically, he’s probably trying to take Sam Colangelo’s spot, since there are high-paid veterans locked in other spots on right wing. If he’s terrific, Matt, I can see Anaheim giving him a look. Remember what the Ducks did with McTavish in 2021-22: McTavish got nine games with Anaheim and then spent the rest of the first half training with the club and doing an allowable short conditioning AHL loan before heading off to World Juniors and then making a Memorial Cup run. Something similar could happen with Sennecke.

Fans seem to have forgotten about Troy Terry, arguably the most consistent scorer on the team. Do you see Terry having a bounce-back year, and will it be highly dependent on who his linemates are and their chemistry? How about a prediction for Terry’s season goal tally? Thanks. — Brian M.

Brian, it can be tempting to see Terry as someone who has settled into being a 20-goal, 50-point winger and is more of a complementary piece on a roster, and I wouldn’t argue that he’s a star. But I think he’s got more offense in him, maybe not to where he’d touch 37 goals again but perhaps be more in the range of 25-30 goals and 60-65 points. It’ll be interesting to see if the new coaching staff continues to line him up with familiar linemates Frank Vatrano and Ryan Strome or tries him out with Kreider and McTavish.

What level of step forward is needed from the youth to make this a playoff team? Leo Carlsson and McTavish both 60-plus points? Jackson LaCombe proving last year wasn’t a fluke? – Bill F.

All of what you mention in your question, Bill, is true. In the case of Carlsson and McTavish, I think the 60-point barrier is a minimum goal. Carlsson had 11 goals and 18 assists over his last 31 games — a 76-point pace over 82 games. McTavish had 16 goals and 17 assists over his final 36 games for a 75-point pace. If they both move to that level, LaCombe proves 40 points is his norm and not an outlier, and Cutter Gauthier pushes for 30 goals, those are big steps toward taking a real leap as a club.

What would you say is reasonable to expect from Pavel Mintuykov and Olen Zellweger this coming season? – Frederik L.

Frederik, the first thing for them to advance as players is to be in the lineup every night. With Cam Fowler and Brian Dumoulin previously taking spots and LaCombe breaking out, you can imagine Mintyukov and Zellweger chafing at coming out of the lineup for each other until Dumoulin was dealt.

New assistant coach Ryan McGill will play a key role. In Vegas and New Jersey, McGill had a hand in the development of Shea Theodore, Zach Whitecloud and Luke Hughes as young defenders who moved into significant roles. It’ll be interesting to see which of LaCombe, Zellweger or Mintyukov gets the bulk of power-play time.

What has been holding back the Ducks’ chronically weak power play year over year despite all the young talent? – Wayne B.

You can say coaching. Newell Brown’s third run with the Ducks power play wasn’t successful, and Richard Clune’s one season of direction produced terrible results. But the lack of a true net-front presence and pure quarterback have been glaring missing elements. Goalies are too good at reading predictable plays. Gauthier mishit several one-timers when he had power-play time early last season but it’s a mystery as to why he wasn’t used more when his game was coming together. Zegras’s injury absences didn’t help.

With John Gibson traded and Dostál now the Ducks’ starting goaltender, who’s next in the pipeline between the pipes to watch? Tomas Suchanek could be promising, but is there a clear 1B backup coming in the future? – Blaise M.

Blaise, it will be interesting to see how Suchanek does in his return from a torn ACL that cost him all of 2024-25. The 22-year-old really turned himself into a prospect with a great 29-game stretch for the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. He’s one to watch and he could beat out Calle Clang to pair with Ville Husso for the Gulls. (Assuming Petr Mrázek holds the backup job in Anaheim.) Damian Clara, who had a mixed-bag year in 2024-25, will be one to track as he returns to Brynäs IF in the SHL after scuffling at Färjestad BK.

Thanks Eric for doing this! Of our young guys, McTavish, Carlsson, Gauthier and Zellweger get a lot of attention (and deservedly so). Do you think San Diego Gulls such as Nathan Gaucher and Tristan Luneau have a chance to make the team out of camp, or will they need some extra seasoning? – Brent F.

Hi, Brent. Between the two, Luneau has a better track toward winning a job but that’s no guarantee. The Ducks remain very high on the 21-year-old, but the right side of the defense has veterans in captain Radko Gudas and Jacob Trouba. Drew Helleson showed very well on the third pairing. Ian Moore had a strong audition. You want Luneau to get minutes, and he likely will get them with the Gulls. As to Gaucher, the 4C job should be Ryan Poehling’s, and Tim Washe also is in the system. That’s an uphill battle.

Will Stian Solberg be in San Diego for the entire year, or is there still a chance he goes to Europe for the season? – Thomas H.

Perhaps you can’t totally rule out an overseas return, but I overwhelmingly think the plan for Solberg is to play a full AHL season and closely monitor his development. I’d only see Europe as an option if he’s having a particularly tough time adjusting or isn’t getting enough ice time. None of that was apparent when the 19-year-old joined the Gulls after he came over from Färjestad. Solberg made an immediate impact and should play heavy minutes for San Diego. The Ducks have loved his progression so far.

Will Corey Perry get booed or cheered in a Kings jersey this year at the Honda Center? – Matthew M.

My guess, Matthew, is that Perry choosing to wear a familiar No. 10 — which Anaheim has not issued since it bought him out in 2019 — will be a sore spot on top of playing for the rival. The first time he “accidentally” lands on Dostál or gives a Ducks skater a slash will draw a healthy dose of jeering, but with the number of Kings fans that usually invade Anaheim, there will be plenty of cheers if he scores. Then again, Kings faithful could still be wrapping their heads around “the Worm” donning their colors. Nov. 28 could be a lot of fun.

(Photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)