It's no small task handling a Winnipeg Jets team that features a daunting combination of size, skill and muscle. For the Anaheim Ducks' first-round series against the likes of Blake Wheeler, Adam Lowry and Dustin Byfuglien, who all measure in at 6-foot-5, the responsibility falls on a young defensive unit with limited playoff experience and no discernible No. 1 option.

And they wouldn't have it any other way.

"Last year we got some playoff experience. Getting into the playoffs and learning what it takes," said 21-year-old Hampus Lindholm. "I think it's going to be a fun year. I believe all of the D-men out there, we can really make it happen this year if we just stick to our plan and all try to drag in the same direction."

While the Ducks' forward unit has been built for close to a decade around the all-world duo of Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, Lindholm represents the model for how the franchise has recently assembled its blue line. Drafted sixth overall in the 2012 draft, Lindholm was thrown to the wolves as an untested rookie last season. He didn't just survive this trial by fire, he thrived. It's the same path followed by Cam Fowler, another standout on the Anaheim blue line who was selected 12th in 2010 before earning his NHL stripes as an 18-year-old.

Throw in other young defensemen like Sami Vatanen and trade deadline acquisition Simon Despres, both 23, and the Ducks are relying heavily on a defensive group that still isn't old enough to rent a car. But with veterans Francois Beauchemin and Clayton Stoner providing veteran stability, it's a dynamic that works well in Anaheim.

Cam Fowler, Sami Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm (not pictured) all averaged more than 21 minutes a game for the Ducks, topped only by fellow defenseman Francois Beauchemin. AP Photo/David Zalubowski

"It makes you push yourself every day when you have other young guys. You compete with each other and push each other to be as good as possible," Lindholm said. "It's a fun time."

Their dynamic on the ice may still be developing, but the troika of Lindholm, Vatanen and Fowler has been coming together for some time now. Lindholm and Vatanen spent a season together with Anaheim's American Hockey League affiliate in Norfolk. When Vatanen earned a brief call-up to the big club in 2012-13, his locker was placed near Fowler's. It wasn't long before the young group started enjoying the occasional golf outing together -- outings that the competitive Vatanen reluctantly admits are usually won by Fowler.

Fortunately for Vatanen and Lindholm, their teammate's guidance isn't restricted to the golf course.

With five NHL seasons already under his belt, along with two World Championship appearances and a trip with Team USA to the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Fowler has a career's worth of experience at his disposal. The NHL terrain Fowler navigated at such a young age has ultimately helped the team's other inexperienced defensemen prepare for what they hope will be a lengthy run through the Stanley Cup playoffs.

"He's been in the situation," Lindholm said of Fowler. "It's good to have someone like that around, who's in an in-between stage. Young, but he's been in the league for a while."

Now that Lindholm and Vatanen have accrued more experience in their own right, there's a sense that this youthful blue line could be rounding into form. They now have two full seasons of their own to draw from, not to mention last year's playoff run, which ended in a seven-game second-round series against the rival Los Angeles Kings.

With the defending champion Kings now on the outside looking in at the playoffs, Anaheim's young defensemen are ready to make the leap.

"I think it's more calm here now. We know what to do," Vatanen said. "We played a couple of playoff games last year, too. It's good help for this year."

While franchise mainstay Beauchemin led the club this season by averaging 22:44 of ice time per game, Lindholm, Vatanen and Fowler were right behind him in the team's rankings. Another veteran, James Wisniewski, was acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets at the trade deadline, but he has struggled to crack Anaheim's top six, placing further responsibility on Anaheim's plucky young D-men.

As the man who helped groom these young defensemen, Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau doesn't have a problem with that situation.

"I expect them to play really good," Boudreau said. "I think they've had experience in this league in the playoffs and in pressure situations. I assume they're going to play as well as they can. That's what we're counting on, anyway."

They've developed together and found their way. Now that the postseason has arrived, this bright-eyed unit is intent on taking the next step in its development, all the way to the Stanley Cup finals.

"Playoffs is the time you want to shine. That's when you want to show people who you are and what kind of player you are," Lindholm said. "I definitely see this as a good time to step it up and really show you deserve to be here. You don't shy away from the spotlight. It's going to be a lot of fun and I'm really looking forward to it."

Once it’s all done, Vatanen plans on settling one last score with Fowler on the links.

“I’m going to try to do my best after we win the Stanley Cup,” he said. “After that I’m going to put my focus on the golf game and beat him.”