Jackson LaCombe leads his Anaheim Ducks into the 2nd round with a phenomenal playoff debut
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — When Jackson LaCombe signed a $72 million contract extension with the Anaheim Ducks last September, casual hockey fans around North America responded to the news online with countless variations of the same clueless refrain: “Who's that? ” Seven months later, anyone who still doesn't know about the Ducks' top defenseman clearly isn't paying attention to this sport.
LaCombe just finished dominating his first Stanley Cup playoff series , scoring nine points — second-most in the entire NHL — and tirelessly spearheading the Ducks' defensive efforts against Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl while upstart Anaheim eliminated the two-time conference champion Edmonton Oilers in six games . After agreeing to the richest contract ever handed out in Anaheim, LaCombe scored 58 points in a breakout regular season while making the U. S.
Olympic team's roster and leading the Ducks to their first playoff berth since 2018. His performance under the postseason spotlight has cemented everything Ducks fans already knew about him — and his Anaheim teammates think it's long past time for LaCombe to be known beyond the West Coast. “It's crazy to me that people are just now figuring it out about him sometimes,” Ducks forward Troy Terry said.
“And I realize that we haven't been on this stage, and that's when guys get seen. But it's been almost wild to me that people haven't realized how good this kid is. Every night we play, he controls the game with his legs.
He plays both ends. He's the first guy on the attack for us. He's playing McDavid.
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