It was an unmistakable image on the day of the 2010 NHL entry draft. The Ducks, delirious that Cam Fowler fell to them at the 12th pick, calling out the 18-year-old defenseman’s name and assembling their staff for the requisite photo opportunity.

Just three days after announcing his retirement and ending his run as their captain, Scott Niedermayer handed a Ducks jersey to Fowler on the stage at Staples Center. It wasn’t hard to see the symbolism, one effortless skater passing the torch to another.

And when Niedermayer took the teenager into his home during his rookie season, it was easy to see how Fowler was being groomed as well as taken care of as he entered the NHL right out of junior hockey. Now Fowler has 380 regular season and playoff games under his belt.

He’s just 23. A little fact that sometimes gets forgotten.

“You know what, it’s flown by,” Fowler said Wednesday. “It’s really hard to believe sometimes that I’m coming up to the end of my fifth season. And I always listen to people who say enjoy it while you can because before you blink it’s over.

“That’s kind of the feeling I have right now. It is tough sometimes. I’m still a younger, youngish player in the league. At the same time, I have a lot of experience, and I’ve been blessed and lucky enough to play close to five seasons.

“All that experience certainly helps in the long run.”

Fowler isn’t the next Scott Niedermayer but that one is going to be hard to find. He isn’t the next great all-world defenseman but there’s still time. The key for the Ducks right now is he’s quietly doing a great job being Cam Fowler.

Experience is making a difference. Fowler is about to enter his seventh playoff series when the Ducks take on Chicago in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Sunday at Honda Center. His work in his fourth postseason has so far been exemplary.

Fowler’s plus-7 rating leads the Ducks’ six defensemen who have played in all nine playoff games. He’s chipping in five points, and it was his jumping up into the play for a shot that led to Corey Perry’s rebound winner in Game 5 to finish off Calgary in the second round.

The combination of solid defensive work – once a point of major concern early in his first few seasons – and his offensive ability is fusing together and working well at the right time. Playmaking and creating offense isn’t being forced but coming naturally.

“I think I’m starting to get more comfortable in my game and what the team needs at that time,” Fowler said. “Because a lot of what you’re trying to do as a team and individually is limit your mistakes as best as you can. Sometimes one mistake can lead to a game-winning goal or something like that.

“So I’ve been focused on making the simple play when I see it but also using my ability to create things if we need a spark offensively. I’m starting to learn how to pick my spots a little bit better. And I’m starting to learn at what points in games my teams needs me to do something differently.

“That’s starting to develop, and I’m starting to get more comfortable with that.”

There was a time when Fowler was regularly logging 25 minutes or more each game and saddled with most of the puck-moving responsibilities from the blue line. The rise of Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen now gives the Ducks three who are highly effective.

It allows Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau to play Fowler more at 20-22 minutes without having to be The Guy.

“I think he is in a good spot because you got three good pairs – and we actually have four with two (defensemen) who can’t play – where he isn’t relied on to play the big minutes,” Boudreau said. “He isn’t relied on to where if he’s not going good, everything is going to collapse around us.

“He’s one of six guys on the defense that’s participating. I haven’t talked to him about it but to me, that would make it a little easier where there’s a little less pressure on him every night.”

Just as Niedermayer has been a teacher, a position coach and a sounding board for him over the years, Fowler also credits assistant coach Trent Yawney with furthering his development. Yawney was a 12-year NHL defender with Chicago, Calgary and St. Louis.

The competitor in Fowler wants to be on the ice as much as possible, especially in the final key minutes of a critical game. The logical side of him sees the trust the coaching staff has in all six defensemen and that their depth “is why we’ve gotten this far.”

“Of course, I’d love to be up in the 25, 26 minutes or whatever it may be,” Fowler said. “But everything’s fair. Everyone’s earning their playing time and everyone’s earning the right to be on the ice just as much as I am. As long as the team’s winning and everything’s going well, then I have absolutely no problem with my minutes.

“I’m used in all situations. I get to play the power play. ‘Yawns’ have great confidence in me as a player. That’s helped me gain a lot of confidence. Having the belief of the coaching staff behind me, that’s helped as well.”

Boudreau believes there is a different Fowler at work these days, which he didn’t find easy to pinpoint why or how.

“I’ve seen a real growth, and it’s hard to explain it,” the coach said. “A maturity in his play over the course of the year. And I think now he wants the responsibility. He wants to be in that spot. I’ve seen that happen and it’s hard to describe.

“Whether it’s the way he comes off the ice or the way he’s just handling the puck and shooting it. I can’t describe it one way or another except to say that’s the way I feel when I look at him now.”

Contact the writer: estephens@ocregister.com