When it rains, it pours. For Frank Vatrano, it might as well have been hailing. Entering the first season of a three-year extension that he signed just over a year ago with the Ducks, Vatrano was set to play for Joel Quenneville again. Quenneville was someone Vatrano knew previously from playing under him with the Florida Panthers. Vatrano was also coming off his third consecutive 40-point season, with his tenure as a Duck being the most productive of his career.
However, it hasn’t been all smooth sailing for Vatrano in 2025-26. He’s having his worst statistical season by far since becoming a full-time NHLer, relegated to the fourth line and barely accumulating any special teams minutes. His average time on ice (12:21) is the lowest it’s been since the 2021-22 season, when he was playing for the Panthers.
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To further exacerbate things, Vatrano suffered a shoulder injury on Dec. 27 against the Los Angeles Kings after his skate got caught in the ice and he slammed into the boards. He did not return to the game and the Ducks announced on Dec. 31 that Vatrano would be out for approximately six weeks due to a shoulder fracture.
Dec 27, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA;Los Angeles Kings right wing Adrian Kempe (9) is defended by Anaheim Ducks right wing Frank Vatrano (77) as he handles the puck in the first period at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
“My immediate reaction was, ‘Am I paralyzed?’ I went in pretty (dangerously) there. I went in neck-first, and you’re always taught as a kid when you’re going into the boards neck-first that you don’t go in (with your head bent down), you kind of just bail, and that’s what I did. I bailed and I let my shoulder take the blunt of it. I’m lucky I was taught that at a young age, because I don’t know where I would have been if I didn’t know how to protect myself from the injury that I had. It could have been a lot worse.”
The Ducks have gone 9-8-1 in the 18 games that Vatrano has missed, equalizing their seven-game losing streak with a subsequent seven-game winning streak. They finished out the pre-Olympic break portion of the season with two consecutive wins.
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“I think the whole league has gone through it this year, with losing streaks and whatnot,” Vatrano said. “We crawled our way out of it, it was a team effort to crawl out of it. We didn’t like the way that we were playing. I think we were playing too high-risk. I think we sharpened some things up defensively. We know we could score goals, but we want to keep the puck out of the net, so I think we’ve been doing a good job at that. We’ve been playing very hard defensively and just overall being a tough team to play against.”
Dec 7, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Anaheim Ducks right wing Frank Vatrano (77) on a drive against the Chicago Blackhawks during the second period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Corinne Votaw-Imagn Images
“No one ever wants to watch from up top (in the press box), but I think when you watch from up top, you can kind of see the game in a whole different perspective. Things are kind of slowed down up there. You see the plays develop and you put that in your mind when you’re out there on the ice. You have extra plays to make and you have extra time, so you definitely benefit from that side of things.”
The Olympic break has given Vatrano ample time to rehab his injury without missing more games than he would have during a normal NHL season. While coming out of the break could feel like a mental reset on his season, he prefers to think of ways he can positively impact the team, even if his individual performance hasn’t been up to his standard.
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“When things aren’t going well, sometimes other things happen. That seems like that’s what happened to me. When things aren’t going well on the ice, then you either get hurt or something happens. You never really want to take a reset. You always want to be able to help the team, regardless of how the season’s going for you. You want to feel (like you’re) a part of the group and help them go forward. To take the positive out of it, it’s kind of time for me to sit back and work on my game a little bit and try to get back a little bit.”
Nov 8, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Anaheim Ducks right wing Frank Vatrano (77) celebrates with team mates after scoring a goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
“Frankie gives us hard work, gives us an honest effort,” Quenneville said. “One of the guys (who is) well-liked (and gives us) enthusiasm. Whether it was his shot or his production, it’s been off a little bit, and I think that he needs to get himself feeling good and getting that some confidence in his game and with the puck on his stick, go from there.”
With Vatrano and Leo Carlsson (Morel-Lavallée lesion) back in the fold, this is the closest the Ducks have been to full health since training camp. Quenneville will have plenty of options to choose from when crafting his lineups moving forward.
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