Zaniboni was excited at the prospect of adding Tyler Stockwell, a 5’11” 170 lb. forward to his early list of players.
While the first two Ducks players signed – forward Ian Wood and goaltender Mike Ambrose are both from Pittsburgh, Stockwell, who will turn 18 later this summer, is a native of Peninsula, Ohio.
However, he did play in the Pittsburgh area last season on the Three Rivers Vengeance of the NA3HL as a teammate and sometimes linemate of Wood.
Born, in Windsor, Ontario, Stockwell said his family moved to Michigan when he was young and ultimately settled in Ohio.
Zaniboni met Stockwell at a recent showcase tournament and said later his style of play reminded him of 2012-13 Ducks’ player Ian Harris.
The comparison to Harris will make hockey fans think of his solid work on the penalty kill and that is a role Stockwell filled with the Vengeance as well. He also served some time early in the season on the powerplay.
Stockwell finished the year with 13 goals and nine assists while racking up 78 penalty minutes, showing that the then 17-year-old was not intimidated to play at the junior level. Four of his goals came on the powerplay and one other was a shorthanded effort.
“It’s a big challenge at first, moving up to playing 18-20 year-olds,” said Stockwell in a recent telephone interview, But he clearly handled it well adding, “I got some help and advice from a couple of cousins that played junior hockey.”
Primarily playing on the team’s second line this past season, Stockwell counts good on-ice vision and the ability to work in traffic as among his assets as a player. Zaniboni picked up on that quickly and added that he is flat out fast too.
The young forward seems equally comfortable in any role on a line, whether it be setting up, scoring or checking.
Zaniboni and assistant coach Jake Hebeisen talked with Stockwell at the Junior Hockey News Showcase tournament held in Chicago earlier this month and it sounds like everyone came away impressed. Zaniboni and Hebeisen are both anxious to see Stockwell in the lineup and he was anxious to move to the Midwest, getting some encouragement from Wood who may once again be a linemate this coming season.
Stockwell said he has never been to Wisconsin but said he went through Minnesota once and he is planning to attend a tryout came for the Corpus Christi North American Hockey League entry in June that will be held at Fond du Lac.
The young forward could play on a team representing the Ducks at the annual Chowder Cup tournament in Massachusetts later this summer as well.
Duck feathers
In other recent news, the Dells Ducks team is heading in a different direction as far as team colors. Through its first two seasons, the Ducks wore primarily black, gold and white with some ‘camo’ mixed in.
For the upcoming season the team is swapping out the gold for silver for a jersey that will be similar color-wise to the Los Angeles Kings.
Team president John Schwarz recently attended a league meeting where several issues were discussed, including the 2013-14 schedule. Representatives from all eight of the Minnesota Division teams will gather in early June, likely in the twin cities, to put together the 2013-14 schedule. Before they do, the board members will need to decide where and when the Showcase events will be held this season so they can work around those dates.
