DECEMBER 24, 2009 -- ANAHEIM -- When Teemu Selanne broke his left hand on December 3, the Ducks were already struggling to find secondary scoring. Selanne’s 14 goals, half of them scored on the power play, would be severely missed. Add back surgery for a herniated disc to winger Joffrey Lupul and the Ducks really had to wonder what their chances would be. The Ducks were languishing at the bottom of the Western Conference with a 10-13-4 record and already looked to be out of any possible playoff contention.

Enter rookie Dan Sexton.

Dan who?

Sexton, 22, was called up from the Manitoba Moose of the AHL, just days after arriving there from Bakersfield of the ECHL. He made his debut on December 4 against his hometown Minnesota Wild and played on a newly configured second line with Bobby Ryan and Saku Koivu.

Dan Sexton (Photo courtesy Anaheim Ducks)

“When you lose Selanne and top offensive players on your team, you have to move people around and try to get some sort of balance,” said coach Randy Carlyle. “I didn’t think it would be fair to put Sexton with Koivu and not have another offensive player there.”

Carlyle got more than balance. He got a line that had unmistakable chemistry right from the start. And he got a spark of energy for his team that no one would have predicted.

It took a couple games, but Sexton finally got his first NHL goal in his third game. Down 3-1 against Dallas, Sexton scored in the third period and celebrated with a joyous circuit around the ice. In an otherwise lifeless game, suddenly the Ducks were infused with an energy that was contagious. When Sexton tied up the game with 1:02 left, you knew it was something special. The Ducks took that energy and Koivu scored the game winner in overtime. Sexton had nine shots on goal in that game, a new franchise rookie record.

“He’s a quick little guy down low,” said Carlyle. “He’s deceptive. He doesn’t slow down when he has the puck. A lot of players slow down to maintain possession. He doesn’t have to. He seems to be able to accelerate with the puck. He seems to be able to come out of little areas, tight areas with it. Do you expect him to score every game that he plays? No. But he’s still got chances.”

Sexton has not scored every game, but he has not been a one-hit wonder either. Sexton now has five goals and three assists in his first nine games. Total shots on goal? 35, an average of 3.5 per game.

What's more, the Ducks are in the midst of a 17-game stretch in which the club faces nothing but Western conference opponents.  Sexton has contributed mightily to the club's 5-2-1 record during that stretch, and it stands to reason that without his key contributions, the Ducks' playoff hopes would have already, for all intents and purposes, been dashed.

“When I came in, I just looked at it as I’m playing with two good players,” said Sexton. “I didn’t know what else to think. I didn’t know about chemistry or anything. I just said I’m going to try to keep up. So far it’s just kind of worked out to the point where we’ve made a lot of good plays and we’ve been rewarded for them.”

And it isn’t just Sexton that is scoring. In the last nine games Koivu has three goals and eight points, two of the goals were game winners. Ryan has had six goals and ten points.

“They are tenacious little guys,” Ryan commented. “I provide some grit and get the puck to those guys. It’s been fun and rewarding.”

Reaping the biggest rewards has been the Anaheim Ducks team as a whole. They are 5-2-3 since Sexton arrived and are no longer at the bottom of the Western Conference. The Ducks have moved up a couple spots and are now just six points out of a playoff spot.

While not the sole cause of the Ducks’ recent success, Sexton certainly has been a catalyst. The locker room atmosphere is lighter. The enthusiasm and energy that Sexton brings every day continues to spread among the players, the coaches and even the usually jaded media folks.

“To say that we’d expect this would be a huge lie,” said Carlyle. “Are we enjoying it? Yes. And he’s enjoying it. I think it’s just an opportunity for a young player to come in and do the things that he does well.”

Sexton almost didn’t get the opportunity. Checking in at 5’9” and 170 lbs., he isn’t the biggest guy around and might have been easy to overlook. Even he admits to being a late bloomer, which explains part of why he went undrafted.

“Once I stopped growing upwards I started to put on more muscle,” Sexton recalled. “I put on 25 – 30 pounds of muscle. I’m still small, but at the same time I feel like I can hold my own. I had the smarts part of the game, a little skill. I just needed to get bigger. I was definitely happy to be able to compete at that higher level physically.”

He continued to blossom at Bowling Green University and David McNab, notorious for finding undrafted diamonds in the rough, signed him to a two-year contract on April 7. Now he gotten an unexpected opportunity and brought life to a team that needed it.

“Sometimes you just need a fresh person to come in when you are underperforming,” observed Ryan. “He’s not the only reason, but sometimes that’s all it takes.”

Right now, the Ducks have a renewed sense of purpose from a completely unexpected source. Even Lupul, recovering from surgery, blogged his observations about Sexton.

“Fans, you’re not the only ones who have Dan Sexton fever! This guy’s awesome! It’s great as a veteran player to see a young guy come in and bring so much energy.”

Sexton remains grounded and humble, despite his contributions.

“I don’t take any day for granted,” Sexton stated honestly. “Every day I’m here, I really appreciate it. I really try to make the most of it. Every day I wake up, I’m just so thrilled to be here that I just want to go work my butt off every day.”

The Ducks as a whole are working theirs off, too, and it is showing in the standings. They finally have a glimmer of hope that they might make the post-season. If they do, they should thank Dan Sexton, and Selanne, too, for breaking his hand. Who knew that would turn out to be a silver lining in a cloudy Ducks season?

Top

2012 Western Hockey Network