After tough off-season, Ducks forward Rickard Rakell hasn’t missed a beat

Kevin Bieksa says Rickard Rakell is one of “those” players.

The kind that flies under the radar — mostly because he plays in California with the Anaheim Ducks — but whose name appears on the scoresheet night after night.

“I didn’t know anything about him when I went down there last year,” said Bieksa, a veteran defenceman in his second season for Anaheim following a trade from Vancouver. “But when you see this guy every day in practice you’re like: ‘He’s a lot better than I thought.’ Very skilled and really competes.”

Rakell has blasted out of the gate for the Ducks since rejoining the club on Nov. 1, but while everything seems to be clicking now, his situation was a lot murkier not that long ago.

The 23-year-old forward, who had an appendectomy in April, was training hard to be part of Sweden’s team at the World Cup of Hockey as a replacement for the injured Alexander Steen. That’s when a second surgery was required to remove scar tissue from the first procedure, ruling him out of the tournament.

Rakell also had a stomach virus while rehabbing back home, and the Ducks wanted to be sure he would return to full health before signing the restricted free agent to a new contract. The two sides eventually agreed to a six-year deal worth a reported US$3.8 million annually in the middle of October.

“It was just unfortunate that I got stomach problems again,” Rakell said in Vancouver last week. “I had to work back up a little bit, but because I had such a good summer and was in such great shape, that made it a lot easier to come back.”

Playing on a line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, Rakell had a dream start to his season with a one-goal, two-assist effort in a 4-0 victory over the rival Los Angeles Kings. He hit a bit of a wall around the five-game mark after his return, but now has six goals over his last eight outings.

“Especially with the first couple games, everything seemed to go in,” said Rakell. “I’m starting to feel like I’m playing better and better. I’m getting scoring chances every night. I just want to keep that up.”

Rakell missed Sunday’s road loss to Calgary with an upper-body injury, but returned to practice on Tuesday and could be in the lineup Wednesday when the Ducks host Carolina.

After recording a career high 20 goals and 23 assists in 2015-16, Rakell was tied for third in the NHL with 10 goals since the beginning of November heading into Tuesday night’s action. He also has four assists to sit tied for second on his team in points over that span.

“He put his work in, there’s no doubt,” said Getzlaf, who has one goal and 13 assists since Rakell’s return. “Ricky was pretty excited to get back on the ice and get back around the guys again.”

Rakell said it’s important to play a simple game with Getzlaf and Perry because of his linemates’ ability to beat opponents 1-on-1.

“I just try to find an open space and put myself in a position to put the puck in the net,” said Rakell, who won gold for Sweden at the 2012 world juniors before adding a silver the following year. “That’s kind of what’s been going on.”

Added Getzlaf: “Ricky does a good job with finding areas. He’s a smart player. He’s been learning over the last few years and it’s really come together.”

Anaheim head coach Randy Carlyle, in his second stint with the club, was behind the Ducks’ bench when they drafted Rakell with the 30th pick in 2011, but was fired that November.

“Ricky’s a pretty talented player,” said Carlyle. “He can play all three forward positions, play the point on the power play. We’re just fortunate to have that skill in our lineup.”

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