Key Takeaways
- Anaheim Ducks prospect Beckett Sennecke had a monster junior season in 2024-25 and awaits his next step.
- Sennecks remains patient, telling RG he's open to whatever path the Ducks believe is best for his development.
- Anaheim has been in close contact with the youngster as they decide if he's ultimately ready for the NHL jump.
Ducks prospect Beckett Sennecke (Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images)
Beckett Sennecke was floored when the Anaheim Ducks selected him third overall in 2024, inspiring them to market “What the Duck!?!” t-shirts with his mouth-agape likeness sprawled across the chest.
A year later, the question might be “where the Duck” Sennecke will play next season after he followed up a sizzling finish to his draft year with 86 points in just 56 games before accelerating his pace to nearly two points per contest in a sprint to the J. Ross Robertson Cup finals.
Sennecke chatted exclusively with RG Media about his fantastic D+1 effort and what the future might hold for the surprise riser turned established commodity. He could play all of the coming campaign in the NHL, spend the season in the junior ranks or potentially take a hybrid route.
“There’s so many different possible avenues for me this year. At the end of the day, I’m happy with whatever they see as being best for my development,” Sennecke said after being asked his personal preference for his path.
The Ducks didn’t stun but surprised slightly a year earlier, selecting Leo Carlsson second overall in 2023 over University of Michigan Star Adam Fantilli, among others. Carlsson came from Sweden to North America immediately to compete for the Ducks, but they took a measured approach to his playing time in order to limit physical wear to his teenage body, which sustained multiple injuries that season just the same.
That same season, the Ducks had placed defenseman Tristan Luneau on a path similar to that of the Seattle Kraken’s Shane Wright. Luneau was to get a cup of coffee in the NHL, a conditioning stint in the AHL, the experience of playing at the World Junior Championships, and then finish the year at the junior level– but in Luneau’s case, a December knee infection hindered the plan.
Elevated Profile, Tightened Defense
No matter the competition, the newfound prominence of Sennecke definitely put his number on more opposing teams’ whiteboards and hitlists alike, though he said that he relished that type of attention.
“You’re always going to have people on their back, in the corners you’re going to get extra slashes and extra cross-checks,” Sennecke said. “That’s just another thing that you have to battle through. I kind of like that stuff, too, because it gets me engaged in the game a little bit more.”
Such channeling of energy tracked with Sennecke saying he focused on what he could control in terms of his professional trajectory, much as he said he handled a World Juniors snub from Canada last year by showing at virtually every opportunity what he had to offer.
As the U20 tournament was concluding in Ottawa, Sennecke was on a tear all over Ontario as he stacked up 11 points in four games from Jan. 3 to Jan. 12 for the OHL’s Oshawa Generals. Sennecke set out to prove his mettle even more saliently in the playoffs, where he slathered on 32 points in 18 games.
That included a stirring performance in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Barrie Colts. Not only did Sennecke turn in a hat trick and four points in the 7-1 romp, but he laid out one of the most notorious hitters in junior hockey, New York Islanders first-rounder Kashawn Aitcheson, before his first goal of the game. He later laid the wood on Dallas Stars’ prospect Tristan Bertucci and did plenty of chirping throughout the series, which the Generals swept behind a dozen points from Sennecke.
“That was just the playoff mentality where it’s kind of kill or be killed. I was just going out there trying to lead the way for the rest of the guys on my team through a physical game,” Sennecke said.
“Knowing that we could go to seven games, you want to wear them down as much as you can in the first couple games and let the other team know that you’re coming to play and they’re going to feel it every time,” he continued, with echoes of former Ducks center Ryan Kesler in his voice. “By the end of the series, they’re going to be sucking gas when they’re going back for a puck, especially their ‘D-men.’”
Physical Play And Fine Lines
Sennecke said that physicality was “part of my game already” and clearly “the kind of identity the Ducks want going forward” with him and 2025’s 10th overall pick, Roger McQueen, whom Sennecke said was also very much in the Anaheim mold.
At 19, Sennecke will still have to better manage the emotional ups and downs of a sport played on the edge. He’s had some moments of visible frustration, similar to the Los Angeles Kings’ Kevin Fiala, and was suspended multiple times by the highly cautious OHL last season.
Sennecke said he saw himself as a competitive player who had made the occasional mistake, saying he never operated with ill will or the intention to injure anyone. But blurring a few lines might be seen as more of a feature than a bug to a franchise with “The Little Ball of Hate” Pat Verbeek at its helm and rugged Radko Gudas as its captain.
The Ducks have stayed in close contact with Sennecke, helping him gain strength and, in turn, better protect the puck. At development camp, the consensus seemed to be that the skill component and mental facets were there for Sennecke already, meaning his physique and strength would likely determine his near-term destiny.
Regardless of what stage or stages Sennecke competes on in 2025-26, he will continue to savor the brightness of the lights as he progresses toward the ultimate goal of shining in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“That’s why we play the game,” Sennecke said. “Those are the best moments, the high-pressure moments where it’s do-or-die. That’s every hockey player’s dream.”
