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Radko Gudas is named the Anaheim Ducks' first captain since Ryan Getzlaf's retirement 2 years ago

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Radko Gudas is named the Anaheim Ducks' first captain since Ryan Getzlaf's retirement 2 years ago
News

News

Radko Gudas is named the Anaheim Ducks' first captain since Ryan Getzlaf's retirement 2 years ago

2024-09-20 01:28 Last Updated At:01:30

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) — Radko Gudas has been named the first captain of the Anaheim Ducks since Ryan Getzlaf's retirement two seasons ago.

The Ducks made the announcement on the first day of training camp Thursday.

Gudas joined Anaheim a year ago as a free agent. The 34-year-old Czech defenseman had six goals, 12 assists and 128 penalty minutes last season while providing badly needed veteran leadership for the Ducks' talented young core.

Gudas is the ninth captain in Ducks history. He is their first European captain since Teemu Selanne, who served as co-captain with Paul Kariya during the 1997-98 season.

The Ducks spent the past two seasons without a captain for the first time in team history following the retirement of Getzlaf, who had been their captain for 12 seasons since 2010. The playmaking center was by far Anaheim’s longest-serving captain.

Anaheim went with a series of alternate captains instead for the past two seasons, most prominently veteran defenseman Cam Fowler, who has been with the Ducks for his entire NHL career since 2010.

Gudas’ appointment by general manager Pat Verbeek and second-year head coach Greg Cronin establishes a more traditional leadership structure for the Ducks, who have missed the playoffs in six consecutive seasons, the longest drought in team history.

“Radko emerged as a natural leader who encompasses all of the qualities of a captain and the respect of his teammates, our staff and his peers,” Verbeek said in a statement. “With a young group of players establishing themselves in the NHL, we felt it was necessary to have a veteran lead our team. Radko exemplifies what it means to be a professional, how to carry yourself on and off the ice and in the community, and be a mentor to our young group that will become the next leaders of the team.”

The Ducks are the fifth NHL team for Gudas, who moved to North America as a teenager. He also won a gold medal with the Czech Republic at the world championships this summer.

Early in his career with Tampa Bay and Philadelphia, Gudas had a reputation as a feisty defenseman who regularly delivered questionable hits leading to league scrutiny and condemnation from opponents. Gudas has matured during his years in the NHL, making more recent stops in Washington and Florida before he joined the Ducks.

Anaheim lost a franchise-record 50 games in regulation last season while finishing seventh in the Pacific Division. The Ducks haven't finished higher than sixth in the division since 2018, the year of their last playoff appearance.

Gudas is the sixth player from the Czech Republic to be named an NHL captain. He joins Peter Stastny (Quebec, 1985-90), Jaromir Jagr (Pittsburgh, 1998-01, and New York Rangers, 2006-08), Patrik Elias (New Jersey, 2006-07), Bobby Holik (Atlanta, 2007-08) and Milan Hejduk (Colorado, 2011-12).

The Ducks open the regular season Oct. 12 at San Jose. Their home opener is Oct. 16 against Utah.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL

FILE - Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas (7) looks on in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche, Dec. 5, 2023, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

FILE - Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas (7) looks on in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche, Dec. 5, 2023, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

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Hunter Biden's sentencing on federal firearms charges delayed until December

2024-09-20 01:27 Last Updated At:01:30

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Hunter Biden will be sentenced on felony firearms charges in December after the judge agreed Thursday to a delay requested by the defense.

In June, President Joe Biden 's son was convicted in Delaware federal court of three felonies for purchasing a gun in 2018 when, prosecutors said, he lied on a federal form by claiming he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.

He was initially scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 13, but the judge agreed to delay the hearing until Dec. 4 after Hunter Biden's lawyers said they needed more time to adequately prepare.

The gun charges are punishable by up to 25 years in prison, though he will likely face far less time behind bars or possibly avoid imprisonment entirely.

He also faces sentencing in California on Dec. 16 on federal tax charges he pleaded guilty to earlier this month. Those charges carry up to 17 years behind bars. He also faces up to $1.35 million in fines.

President Biden, who dropped his reelection bid in July, has said he will not use his presidential powers to pardon his son or lessen his sentence.

After his guilty plea on the tax charges, Hunter Biden said he wanted to spare his family another painful ordeal after his gun trial aired salacious and embarrassing details about a time in which struggled with a crack cocaine addiction. Hunter Biden said he's been sober since 2019.

“I will not subject my family to more pain, more invasions of privacy and needless embarrassment,” Hunter Biden previously said. “For all I have put them through over the years, I can spare them this, and so I have decided to plead guilty.”

Hunter Biden steps into a vehicle as he leaves federal court, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles, after pleading guilty to federal tax charges. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Hunter Biden steps into a vehicle as he leaves federal court, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles, after pleading guilty to federal tax charges. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

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