Former Anaheim Ducks in the 2018 Winter Olympics

One day until the first puck drop of the Men’s Olympic tournament. LA Sports Hub has a look at the ex-Anaheim Ducks that will be playing.

The Olympic hockey tournament begins tomorrow sans the National Hockey League participation. Even without the NHL, there will still be eight former Anaheim Ducks involved including some significant names.

Maxim Lapierre – Canada
The Montreal Canadiens thought enough of Maxim Lapierre to draft him with pick number 61 in the 2003 NHL Draft. He was a stalwart for 5 ½ seasons with the bleu, blanc, et rouge before being shipped to Anaheim on New Year’s Eve 2012. Lapierre put up three assists in 21 games and was subsequently sent to Vancouver at the trade deadline. He now plays for HC Lugano in Switzerland.

Rene Bourque – Canada
Its been a long road for the 37-year-old native of Lac La Biche, Alberta to reach his current stop in Sweden with Djurgårdens IF. Anaheim wasn’t Rene Bourque’s first or last stop in 13 seasons as an NHL player. In 30 games as a Duck, he became a fan favorite for his hard-nosed style.

Andrew Ebbett – Canada
Anaheim signed the undersized left wing as a free agent following one year in the Ottawa organization in May of 2007. Andrew Ebbett never played more than 59 games in any one of his eight NHL seasons. By far the best season of his career was 2009-10 with the Anaheim Ducks; he scored 32 points in 48 games. HC Bern in the Swiss League is his current team.

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Mason Raymond – Canada
Another member of HC Bern, Mason Raymond may wind up being Canada’s leading scorer in the tournament. It would have been easy to miss Raymond’s tenure as a Duck. He played the final four of his 546 career NHL games in Anaheim last season.

Jiri Sekac – Czech Republic

25-year-old Jiri Sekac plays Left Wing for KHL team Ak Bars Kazan. He wound up there after two forgettable years in the NHL. Sekac was acquired by the Ducks at the trade deadline in 2015 and departed the same way a year later scoring only 10 points in 41 games.

Jonas Hiller – Switzerland
May 2007 the Ducks signed free agent goalie Jonas Hiller from Sweden. He made NHL debut a few months later and established himself as Jean-Sebastien Giguere backup. Of all the former Anaheim players in the Olympics, had the best career. He ranks second in starts (307) third in wins (162), minutes (18,379) and shutouts (21) in team history. Hiller now plays for HC Biel in the Swiss league.

James Wisniewski – USA
James Wisniewski is one of the more recognizable members of Team USA. He was an Anaheim Duck on two separate occasions. Both times he was acquired at the trade deadline, most recently in 2015. Wisniewski played 552 games in his NHL career (99 with Anaheim), scored 274 points and collected 459 penalty minutes in 552 games (99 with Anaheim). Don’t be surprised to see the almost 34-year-old defenseman to sign another NHL deal if he has a good tournament.

Next: Former Kings in the 2018 Winter Olympics

Viktor Fasth – Sweden
The Ducks signed Viktor Fasth as a free agent in 2012 after two outstanding World Championship tournaments for Sweden. He will be remembered by Anaheim fans as the goalie who won his first eight starts in 2013 and faded into oblivion. He still put up good numbers with the Ducks, playing 30 games and compiling a 17-8-3 record.