“Between the World Junior, the Olympics and the playoff run he had with Portland, he just matured and grew,” says Murray of Sbisa. “I see a different kid. I see a man out there now. He is ready to go and play with the men.”
team in the Olympics, but I think a lot of our guys stepped their game up. We definitely played solid defense and he was a big part of it.” Sbisa is among an influx of talented, young blueliners who have taken the league by
storm in the last few years. It used to be that a defenseman took a bit longer to groom for the NHL level, as the learning curve is greater in preventing goals from being scored skat- ing backward than it is scoring them in the opposite direction as a forward. That no longer appears to be the case. Fresh out of the draft, d-men as young as 18 years old (like Sbisa did two seasons ago)
are starting to make opening night rosters and play integral roles on their respective teams. “Maybe it has something to do with how they develop kids from age 5 all the way up to major juniors,” Sbisa says. “So many good, young defensemen have come out of the last couple of drafts. I was lucky enough to play in this league at a young age.” Says Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle, “Any time you have youth that has skill, enthu- siasm and a commitment to do what you ask of them, they improve their chances to play. With the turnover and changes that we’ve made, defense is an area that we need some young kids to step to the forefront. We think Luca is exciting and has an opportunity.” This past June, the Ducks added another talented youngster to the blue line when they drafted Cam Fowler with the 12th overall selection in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Projected as a top-five choice, the club was overjoyed when the 18-year-old was still avail- able at their selection.
Fowler beat the odds to join Sbisa among the seven healthy defensemen on the club’s opening night roster. With a combined age of just 38 (two years short of Nicklas Lidstrom
28 Ducks Digest
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