IRVINE >> Even as a seventh-grader, Jackson LaCombe recognized that his early hockey education took an exceptional turn when he moved with his parents to Manhattan Beach from Minnesota for the season.

The coaching staff of the 2014-15 Jr. Kings team featured current Kings general manager Rob Blake and Nelson Emerson, who played 1,270 and 771 NHL games, respectively. Blake’s son Jack was on the team with Emerson’s twins, Quinn and Blake, along with LaCombe and Ducks defenseman Drew Helleson, another Minnesota native and close friend of LaCombe’s.

While there was Blake’s Hockey Hall of Fame status, kids are often captivated by other things.

“He has a place there on The Strand down there. We were over there all the time, running around,” LaCombe was saying on Monday. “He (Rob) was always awesome to us and obviously we loved going to his big house. It was a lot of fun.”

The Ducks made the official announcement on Monday that the 22-year-old defenseman LaCombe signed a two-year, entry-level deal, and he will make his NHL debut tonight against the Vancouver Canucks at Honda Center, capping a dizzying run of events this past week. His father Chris and mother Sandy are set to be on hand for his NHL debut.

LaCombe, a 2019 second-round draft pick for the Ducks, was using words like “super excited” and “thrilled” to describe his feelings since arriving in Southern California on Sunday and taking in the Ducks’ game against the Colorado Avalanche, only a day after his University of Minnesota team lost to Quinnipiac in the NCAA championship game.

“Obviously, I was really sad right away,” he said of the overtime loss in the final. “Still am. Being here and focusing on the next step is really important for me. It’s definitely helped me a lot in that aspect.”

There was a bit of a Hall of Fame thread also going on LaCombe’s first full day as a professional. A few players were skating at Great Park Ice and also on the ice was Hall of Famer Scott Niedermayer, who is a special assignment coach for the Ducks and a fountain of information for defensemen, young and old.

“Luckily I watched some of the game with him last night,” LaCombe said. “To touch on that, it’s special having all those guys being able to teach you things and coach you. They have a lot of experience, so just kind of picking their brain a bit, and them telling you a lot of little tricks. It’s awesome and special, for sure.”

Ducks coach Dallas Eakins noted that he has also benefited from Niedermayer’s knowledge and insight.

“He obviously sees the game through a different lens — being a Hall of Famer,” Eakins said. “That’s really important for these kids. They come in and Scotty has a great way about him. He’s so approachable. He’s just an outstanding human being. For him to be around as well really helps those kids.

“It’s no different than our own kids. What’s the saying? It takes a village, right? It takes a village to develop these players.”

Ice chips

• Ducks forward Ryan Strome was fined $5,000 by the league’s Department of Player Safety for unsportsmanlike conduct at the end of Sunday’s overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche. The amount is the maximum allowed under the CBA.

The conduct? Tossing a water bottle from the bench onto the ice.

• Jakob Silfverberg is the Ducks’ nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, an award presented each year to the NHL player best exemplifying the qualities of “perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey”, the Anaheim chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) announced on Monday.

A blood clot in his right leg took Silfverberg out of the lineup for the final 23 games of last season. This season, he has been a model of durability, appearing in 79 of 80 games and recording 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists). He is eighth in scoring among the Ducks and tied for fourth in power-play goals with four.