ANAHEIM – It was two years ago when the Ducks dipped into the Pittsburgh Penguins organization to pull out a defenseman who was buried on their depth chart.

Ben Lovejoy was moved up into a bigger role with the Ducks and gave them good service for parts of three seasons. And then the Ducks took another dip into the same pool.

Simon Despres was the final first-round pick in the 2009 NHL draft and the Penguins cultivated their prospect for years, as they also did for the college free agent Lovejoy. And then the Penguins decided to trade Despres – for Lovejoy.

“I was surprised,” Despres said. “But like they mentioned to me and mentioned to the media, they decided to go with Ben Lovejoy. Ben had been in Pittsburgh before and had more experience than me. And they wanted to go with more experience.

“He was a right-handed shot, too, and I’m a lefty. A lot of things came into play I guess. I’m not in their shoes. I didn’t make the decision.”

Despres is opening some eyes. His coach, Bruce Boudreau, has been pleasantly surprised with what the 6-foot-4, 218-pound defender has shown since the Ducks got him at the March 2 trade deadline.

From his debut the next night in Arizona, Despres has given the Ducks consistent physical play along with a simple game that has been largely free of glaring mistakes. Nothing has changed when it comes to the postseason.

Despres, 23, assisted on goals in Games 2 and 4 of the Ducks’ sweep of Winnipeg, had a plus-1 rating and didn’t take a penalty in the four games.

“The first game we got him, he was much better than I thought he was,” Boudreau said. “I was thinking we were getting a raw, fairly green guy. And he came right in and had composure. Was physical. Did all the right things. He did it again in the series, really well.

“I was wondering near the end of the season whether he was coming down to earth a little bit. He was really good against a team that we really needed him to be good against.”

Consistent play has been Despres’ calling card since his arrival. Once named the top defenseman in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the Laval, Quebec native has relied on the things he learned when playing for the Penguins’ American Hockey League team in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Despres gives a lot of credit to Wilkes-Barre coach John Hynes and assistant Alain Nasreddine. He had to find his way in an organization that had established veterans with the parent club and strong prospects coming in behind him.

“It was very hard competition,” Despres said. “There were a lot of good defensemen. I remember my first year pro. I went to the American Hockey League to start and it was 10 defensemen. They finished first before in the American Hockey League. I was like wow, where do I fit? How do I even play in the top six in the American Hockey League?

“So I had to work my way up there. Spent a lot of time in Wilkes-Barre. The coaches did a good job of creating a good foundation, good habits of practice.”

At the deadline, the Ducks also got James Wisniewski for their blue line. Initially, the thought was Wisniewski would slide into a top-four role and Despres might be vying with Clayton Stoner for a third-pairing slot.

The surprising play of Despres has earned him a spot next to Cam Fowler.

“I don’t think anybody really thought that would happen initially,” Boudreau said. “Maybe the scouts and Bob because they traded for him. But I thought, mistakingly so, that when we got him – and I look at the charts – that’d he be a really good seventh.

“Right now he’s not a seventh.”

Since becoming his partner, Fowler has liked the poise that Despres has shown when handling the puck in his own end.

“There’s a lot of subtleties in his game that maybe even the average hockey fan, they might not pick up on it right away,” he said. “But for me as his partner and getting to see it first hand, I have a great appreciation for those plays that he makes.

“If you got guys barreling down on you – and especially how hard Winnipeg came – it takes a lot of poise to be able to take that extra second and make a play. He did a real good job at that.”

TIME TO HEAL

With a missing-toothed smile, Nate Thompson wouldn’t go into detail on potential availability for Game 1 of the second round but the veteran center will appreciate the extra rest that he’ll get.

Thompson missed the first round because of an upper-body injury suffered in the regular-season finale at Arizona.

“It worked out kind of … for us to win four straight and have a lot of time to rest up and heal up,” Thompson said. “Not just myself but most guys, too.”

It is becoming apparent that the decision on Thompson playing will be contingent on whether he can handle contact. He hasn’t taken part in contact drills.

“I guess we’ll see more when it becomes more difficult practices,” Boudreau said.

Goalie John Gibson did not skate with the team Friday. Boudreau said forward Chris Wagner (upper body) skated on his own but had no further update. Wagner was hurt in Game 2 against the Jets.

TICKETS GO ON SALE

Tickets for home games in the second-round series against either Calgary or Vancouver will go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. They can be purchased by telephone through Ticketmaster, at the Honda Center box office or on the Ducks’ official team website.

Those who put a deposit on 2015-16 season tickets will have the opportunity to purchase a ticket strip for this postseason at a discounted rate.

Contact the writer: estephens@ocregister.com