Henrique's Versatility Proves Vital to Ducks Offensive Attack

Watch a typical Ducks game and a few things stand out immediately. There is the hand-eye coordination and puck skills of Trevor Zegras and Sonny Milano, the silky smooth skating ability of Jamie Drysdale and Cam Fowler, the vision of Ryan Getzlaf and the tenacity of Nic Deslauriers.
But what might not be so obvious are the consistent contributions by a player considered by his teammates and coaches to be part of the team's fabric, a quiet leader on and off the ice whose impact on both ends of the ice is not always reflected on the scoresheet.
"He's just a 'Put me wherever you want, Coach' kind of guy," head coach Dallas Eakins said of his swiss-army knife, forward Adam Henrique.

Henrique, or "Rico" as he's known to players and fans alike, offers Eakins a unique skillset - the ability to play wing or center in an offensive role alongside the team's most skilled players, while also serving as a responsible veteran mentor for youngsters still learning how to defend at the NHL level.
"Whether you watch it with your eyes or go deep in the analytics, no matter where we put him this year, he's made his line better," Eakins said of Henrique. "It's as simple as that...That young man is a valuable, valuable piece not only to our team dynamic but to our younger guys becoming better."
Henrique's versatility has long been a hallmark of his game, something he credits to his junior hockey days and his Windsor Spitfires coaches, namely Bob Boughner and DJ Smith - who both went on to become NHL head coaches - as well as former New Jersey teammate Zach Parise.
"The coaches we had there were teaching the 200-foot game," Henrique said of his time with Boughner and Smith. "For me, that was the mold of my game to get to the next level. As I progressed through junior, that became part of the scouting on me and what would translate to the next level.
"To learn from NHL players who had been there and had success, that translated through a lot of players in Windsor. The reason we were so good was because of what they would teach us on a daily basis. They taught us what it took not just to play successful junior hockey but what it would take to get to the next level."
Henrique's willingness and ability to blend into a variety of roles doesn't necessarily mean he changes his play much from game to game. Sure, there are some adjustments, like playing helping lower in the zone defensively when playing with a younger center like Zegras, but the structure of Henrique's game within the Ducks systems negates the need for more significant adjustments.
"He's got the ability to make high-end plays and play the skill type of game with skilled guys, but he does it all through his structure," Troy Terry said. "When you're playing with him and he's doing all the right things through that structure, it allows you more opportunities to bring your skill out. It's a credit to him because he's a high-end player offensively and he does it all the right way."
Henrique isn't the loudest voice in the locker room or the guy who makes an intermission speech, but his level of preparation is clear as day in everything he does before gameday. Often one of the last players to leave the training facility on practice days, Henrique puts himself through a diligent routine to withstand the grinds of an 82-game season.
"He's the poster boy for if you have great practice habits, you'll have great game habits," Eakins said. "We do a drill in practice, it's basically a warmup drill, where we walk through breakouts. It's at the start of practice and there is no pressure. But if you watch Adam Henrique, he will check his shoulder two to three times going back for each breakout. There's no one coming and he knows no one is there. It's those little things in the game that make a huge difference."
Added Terry, "He's a guy I pick up a lot from on how to be a pro and how to take care of my body. He does so much just to make sure his body is ready every day. You can see it in practice, too. He doesn't take any practices off. Every day we're on the ice is an opportunity for him to get better. Picking up on stuff like that is big for me and the young guys."
Henrique's value on the ice was sorely evident during his six-week absence with a lower-body injury. The Ducks average 3.28 goals per game with him in the lineup and nearly one full goal fewer (2.35) without him, before even considering his neutral zone and breakout contributions.
"Guys like that are the drivers of lines," Eakins said. "As a player, you don't want to be the complement. You want to be the guy who makes the difference. That's what Adam has done this year."
The affable forward has been a key cog for Anaheim since arriving in a trade from New Jersey in 2017, but he was far from immune to Anaheim's miserable shortened 2020-21 season, struggling to a 12-9=21 stat line in 45 games and passing through waivers midway through the campaign.
It would have been easy for the sting of the past season to affect Henrique's mentality and outlook heading into an uncertain future - with questions about the Ducks rebuilding plans - but that could not be further from the truth.
"You think about what he went through last year, that is looking adversity straight in the face and going through it," Eakins said. "A lot of guys would have handled it in a terrible way and he didn't. He put his head down and worked.
"For him to come back and leave last season behind has been massive for our group."