How Ducks' Bennett Sennecke Overtook Rookie Scoring Race

The Anaheim Ducks remain one of the biggest surprises in the NHL this season. They currently lead the Pacific Division and have put themselves in a position to end their seven-season-long playoff drought.

The Ducks are led by an impressive young core headlined by players like Leo Carlsson, Jackson LaCombe and goaltender Lukas Dostal. In just his first season in the NHL, another one of their youngsters has quickly made his mark on the organization and taken over the rookie scoring race.

Forward Beckett Sennecke has been excellent in his first 29 NHL contests. The former third-overall pick in 2024 is already showing what type of player he could be in Anaheim’s top-six. He’s recorded nine goals and 15 assists for 24 points in 29 games. He recently just recorded multiple points in back-to-back games for the first time in his career, but the way he’s playing suggests it’s far from the last time.

The Connection Between Speed and Scoring Chances

One area of Sennecke’s game that continues to excel and cause trouble is his speed. He’s the latest rookie to demonstrate the connection between skating speed and scoring chance creation.

In today’s NHL, speed kills. The best players are the fastest players, and the best skaters are often the ones with the most points.

Sennecke is exhibiting that first-hand. His top skating speed recorded this year, according to NHL EDGE, is 22.64 miles per hour (mph). That figure ranks in the 81st percentile of all NHL skaters this year.

He’s also explosive with his acceleration. He ranks in the 96th percentile for speed bursts between 20 and 22 mph and in the 91st percentile for bursts between 18 and 20 mph.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Sennecke’s been able to parlay that speed and quickness into scoring chances. He ranks in the 85th percentile for shots on goal in high-danger areas and is in the 71st percentile for shots on goal in mid-range danger area of the offensive zone.

It’s a simple formula, really, but creating chances from these two areas is the easiest way to produce offense. Sennecke’s shown an exemplary ability to make those chances happen, and he’s being rewarded as a rookie.

Ducks Depth is Thriving

Sennecke’s success should also be viewed as a side effect of this Ducks team gelling and thriving so far this season. Under new head coach Joel Quenneville, Anaheim’s two-way game has gone from underwhelming to swarming. They are aggressive on the forecheck, utilizing their speed to force errors. And they maintain that determination in the offensive zone.

That style has let loose the likes of Carlsson and LaCombe and Cuttier Gauthier, but it’s also freed up 19-year-old Sennecke to play his way. So far, that way is working out for him and the Ducks as he tries to hold onto the rookie scoring race lead.

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