ANAHEIM – Numbers.

In the context of discussing a hockey player, they can illustrate, illuminate and even define. And in some cases, they don’t come close to telling the whole story of that player and his meaning to a team.

Some of Cam Fowler’s hard data with the Ducks this season is rather insignificant. In talking NHL defensemen, Fowler’s three goals and seven assists aren’t the most on his team, much less a threat to those across the league who provide offense from his position. And that plus-minus rating is back on the negative side after a few years away.

But eyeballs recognize that Fowler is playing some of the best hockey of his career and emerging as the leader of the Ducks’ defense corps.

“If you look at his minutes played and who you can depend on in all situations, Cam would be the guy,” Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. “And that’s been his growth in the last couple of years. … He’s a guy we rely on enough. I think if you look at the last (few) games, it’s 25-26 minutes every night.

“That’s what you expect from your No.1 defenseman, and that’s what we’re getting.”

Critics in recent years have pointed to the lack of an elite-level defender as one thing that has kept the Ducks from hoisting the Stanley Cup. A bad start this season has them playing catch-up in their quest to meet many preseason expectations of them winning it all.

Fowler arrived in camp in September determined to be more than someone talented and dependable from the blue line. His ice time is back to more than 25 minutes and he has been a plus player in the past five games as the Ducks work toward playoff positioning.

Six seasons in, Fowler isn’t at the point where he is a game-changer on the back end. But a No. 1 defenseman typically delivers high quality play every night, and he’s starting to get there.

“The main thing for me coming into this season was my consistency,” Fowler said. “And I think I’m playing the most consistent hockey I’ve played in my career. And whether that’s one night if I don’t have my legs, it’s contributing on the penalty kill or other nights when they need a little offense from me.

“I’m trying to do the best I can.”

The boyish looks and engaging smile he showed on draft day as an 18-year-old are still there. But the facial features have sharpened some and there’s an ever-present scruffiness that shows the teenager is long gone.

Fowler turned 24 Saturday. And the player – in particular the defenseman who went right from the draft floor to the Ducks’ lineup already has 373 regular-season games behind him.

It is more than Stanley Cup-winning captain Scott Niedermayer played with the Ducks. Imagine that.

“Everyone says how long it takes for a defenseman to really come into his own in this league,” Fowler said. “For me, that was certainly the case, especially defensively. We can talk about the minuses and all that stuff. The main thing is competing when you’re in your own end and battling.

“I’m not the most physical presence, but you can still compete and you can still win battles. You don’t have to overpower people. That’s something that, of course, I needed to work on. But that’s something that has come along with me trying to set the tone for our team.”

In those areas, Fowler has taken his next leap forward. Boudreau now trusts him in every situation.For instance, in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Pittsburgh, the defenseman was among the four Ducks who had to kill off the Penguins’ 6-on-4 power play in the game’s final minute and 20 seconds.

Two years ago, Fowler might not have been on the ice for that. Now he’s a key part of the NHL’s top penalty-killing team. Boudreau sees his growth in two areas.

“Composure with the puck is one thing,” Boudreau said. “He doesn’t get it and throw it away. He gets it and he’s such a good skater that he can turn away and still make the play.

“The other thing is defending. When he was 18, 19 and 20, he had a little bit of problems defending. Now he can defend anybody. His lateral movement, his gap control most nights is tremendous.”

From Boudreau to Ducks assistant Trent Yawney to right wing Corey Perry, the Ducks see a more assertive Fowler who doesn’t get as rattled when under pressure. They’re bearing witness to a defender who’s never been more assured of himself in tense situations.

“He’s playing with the puck a lot more and making a lot more plays,” Perry said. “When you have a guy out there that’s confident with the puck in the back end, it helps us a lot, too. Because he’s going to make that crisp first pass and away we go.”

With a defense corps that faced a leadership void when longtime veteran Francois Beauchemin departed in free agency, Fowler jumped in to fill it. Nudging him to go in that direction wasn’t needed, as Boudreau attests.

But with the current leadership group of captain Ryan Getzlaf and alternates Perry and Ryan Kesler often being the vocal leaders, Fowler wants to take on a greater role in another way.

“More by example because we have people who have a lot more experience than I do,” Fowler said. “That’s what’s motivating me right now, trying to be a leader on this team. Be as consistent as I can.”

The glaring mistakes have been far fewer in number, but they can still nip at Fowler, who always has been hard on himself. But they don’t stay with him as long as they used to, certainly not into the next day or next game.

And there was a time when Fowler couldn’t ignore the combined minus-53 rating of his first two seasons. It seeped into his play, where he became more tentative on the ice and was concerned so much about the mistakes that it subjugated his offensive gifts.

It was in the 2014 Winter Olympics where a transformation took place. A different player came out of Sochi, this one who played a big role for the United States team and became convinced that he could flourish among the best.

As Hampus Lindholm ascended into a legitimate top-four defender last season, Fowler quietly led the defense in the Ducks’ run to the Western Conference finals. He had a plus-5 rating and contributed two goals and eight assists in 16 playoff games.

Yawney said Fowler has developed into a better player. After a period of Fowler “locking horns for a bit” with Yawney when he first came on the staff, Fowler’s improvement comes from his willingness to step out of his comfort zone, the former NHL defenseman said.

“For me, this is a carryover of his playoff performance last year,” Yawney said. “He’s been by far our most consistent defenseman, game in and game out. He’s really taken a big step in the leadership area.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some pretty good defensemen, No.2 (Duncan Keith) and No.7 (Brent Seabrook) in Chicago being two of them. I know he hasn’t won a Stanley Cup yet, but he’s slowly climbing into that category. Where do I stop? So far it’s been really good.”

Numbers. They might tell something about Fowler the player and they might not. Either way, it doesn’t matter to him.

“You look at some of those numbers and they might stand out and have a negative impact,” Fowler said. “I haven’t even paid the slightest bit of attention to them this year. I feel like my game is where I want it to be right now.

“As long as my teammates and my coaching staff have belief in me and they keep putting responsibility on me when I’m on the ice, I know that I must be doing something right to earn that opportunity. I just need to continue to improve to get those opportunities.”

Contact the writer: estephens@ocregister.com