Rookies We Could See In Anaheim This Season

Photo: San Diego Union-Tribune

By Thomas Harrington

When Anaheim made the San Diego Gulls their AHL affiliate, It became easier than ever for Bob Murray and the Ducks to call up players when needed. It could be for an injury fill-in, for a sick player, or because they are producing at a rate in the AHL that they deserve the call-up. Regardless of the reason, expect to see a number of San Diego players make their way to Anaheim at some point this season. Overall, 13 players played for both Anaheim and San Diego last season, down from 18 the season before.

I’ll start by going over the potential open spots in Anaheim’s roster to get a general idea of what kinds of prospects the Ducks could call up. I’ll then go over the European and junior level players who might get some NHL time at the beginning of this year (though it’s unlikely), and then move on to rookies in San Diego who I think could get called up and more likely to spend significant time with the team. I will only include players signed to an NHL contract, so recent draft picks like Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Blake McLaughlin won’t be included.

Current Roster Depth

Between John Gibson and Ryan Miller, the Ducks are pretty set in net. If something happens to one of them, the Ducks could call on Jared Coreau, or even give Kevin Boyle his first taste of NHL action. Regardless, I don’t anticipate any of Anaheim’s goaltending prospects to play in the NHL this season. If one of them does, something has gone very wrong in Anaheim.

Once again, the Ducks have a very solid blueline, led by a top four of Cam Fowler, Brandon Montour, Hampus Lindholm, and Josh Manson. In July, the Ducks brought in veterans Luke Schenn and Andrej Sustr for the bottom pair. The team also has Korbinian Holzer as the seventh defenseman. There’s not a lot of opportunities here for rookies, but there’s room if one or two of the young defensemen can really stand out. After the big four, Anaheim should have no trouble scratching one of the older players to give a rookie some NHL time.

At forward, the Ducks have Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Ryan Kesler, Rickard Rakell, Jakob Silfverberg, Patrick Eaves, Andrew Cogliano, Ondrej Kase, Brian Gibbons, Adam Henrique, Anton Rodin, and Carter Rowney. There is also Nick Ritchie who still needs a new contract. The health of Kesler and Eaves will play a big role in how much of an opportunity there will be for rookies. If either Kesler or Eaves are out, there will be an opportunity for some of Anaheim’s top prospects to get a chance to play in a top-six role. Hopefully, both are healthy, and if they are, younger players in San Diego will have to work that much harder to get some time in the NHL. Even if both are healthy, there will still likely be at least a spot or two for a young player to grab, so long as they can outplay some of the veteran depth that Anaheim signed over the summer. Personally, this would be my preferred route. Make the prospects work for that playing time on the team’s third and fourth lines to get some NHL experience, and then have them move up into a bigger role when they show that they can handle it.

Which Prospects Could Play In Anaheim?

Anaheim has a number of prospects playing in Europe, but I think there’s only one who has a chance to get in some NHL games at the start of the season: the recently drafted Isac Lundestrom. I don’t think it likely, but given the wealth of pro experience that he has, he’s got a chance if he has a great camp. At the junior level, there’s even less of a chance of any of them getting some playing time at the start of the season, but Maxime Comtois is the lone junior player who I think has an outside chance. The reason for this is simple: the Ducks are not deep on the left side, and he became the team’s top left wing prospect over the course of last season. Still, I anticipate him going back to juniors to start the season.

The Ducks have a number of defensemen in San Diego who could see playing time with Anaheim this season. Let’s start with the three who saw action with the Ducks last year: Marcus Pettersson, Andy Welinski, and Jaycob Megna. I’m confident that Pettersson will get plenty of time with the Ducks this year, and I think Welinski will get some games as well too. Megna is a little trickier. He’s a good bottom pairing player, but with Schenn and Sustr on the roster, there is less of a need for him. If either gets injured, he could find himself in Anaheim.

Last year, I had thought that Jacob Larsson was virtually a lock to make Anaheim’s roster and spend most, if not all, of the season with the Ducks. However, knee surgery last summer meant that he wasn’t quite ready for the NHL and he started the season off in San Diego. It’s really unfortunate because that meant he missed his biggest window of opportunity last year when both Lindholm and Sami Vatanen were injured at the start of the season. Once his knee was fully recovered, he was one of the Gulls’ top defensemen, but Pettersson, Welinski, and Megna were the ones who ended up getting the chances last season. While it was disappointing to see him spend the entire year in San Diego, I’m confident that Larsson will be in Anaheim this coming season. He’s their top defensive prospect, he played on the top pair in the AHL last season, now he needs to show what he can do in the NHL.

The Gulls do have one other defenseman who might make his NHL debut this season, Keaton Thompson. He’s now a veteran of two AHL seasons and will be looking to finally make his way to the NHL. While I think it’s a bit of a long shot, he does have a chance.

Despite the fact that there aren’t a ton of openings at forward in Anaheim, there are a number of players who I think will likely see at least a game or two in the NHL this season: Kalle Kossila, Kevin Roy, Giovanni Fiore, Max Jones, Sam Steel, and Troy Terry. Kossila, Roy, Fiore, and Terry all played with Anaheim last season, while Steel and Jones are only just now turning pro. Of them, I believe that Terry and Roy are the most likely to see a significant amount of time in the NHL this season.

Roy is one of Anaheim’s oldest prospects, and he made a solid impression when he was called up last season. He’s also got an advantage in that he plays on the left side, where the Ducks seem to annually have at least one open spot. He’s been one of the most dangerous forwards in San Diego over the last two years and used that ability to score his first six goals with the Ducks last year. Terry has become one of Anaheim’s top prospects over the last two seasons, and he looks NHL ready. The biggest issue for Terry is that he plays right wing, the deepest forward position that the Ducks have. Still, if he’s good enough, he’ll get time. Also, Eaves’ availability could have a big impact on how much ice time Terry receives. If Eaves is 100% healthy all season, he probably will get a lot of time next go Getzlaf. However, if he misses significant time, Terry is one of the players who might fill in for him.

Kossila played in 10 games last year but didn’t leave as big of an impression as Roy did. However, he has scored over 100 points in the AHL over the last two years, and I think he’s going to get another chance this season. He was arguably the Gulls’ best and most consistent forward last year, he just needs to figure out how to transfer that to the NHL. Unfortunately, he’s injured and likely won’t be back until late November, meaning that he’s going to have to work even harder to play in Anaheim this year. Fiore was the surprise of last year’s training camp and ended up getting one game of NHL action as a result. He was one of San Diego’s top goal scorers last season and could inject some much-needed goal scoring into Anaheim’s bottom six. He set the record for goals by a San Diego rookie, and that will hopefully transfer over to the NHL.

Steel and Jones will be entering their first pro seasons, and as Anaheim’s two first-round picks from the 2016 draft, there will be a lot of people closely watching the pair. Of the two, I think Steel has a better shot at making Anaheim’s roster out of camp, especially if Kesler is not quite ready to go. Even if Kesler is good to go, Anaheim’s fourth line center spot is very much up in the air, and Steel could grab it with a solid training camp and preseason. Jones’ health will be a big impact on his ability to make the NHL. He missed the rookie tournament in Vegas, and he’ll likely be out until mid-October. This could end up being another situation like Larsson, where injuries at the start of the year keep him in the AHL for the entire year. Another impact will be if Ritchie is still not signed to a contract, then there could be two open spots on the left side, giving Jones an excellent chance to make the Ducks’ roster, along with Roy. If Steel and Jones are good enough during camp, then they will make Anaheim’s roster. I do think all six of them will be in Anaheim at some point this season. I just think that the NHL experience and age of Terry and Roy give them a slightly better chance to be in the NHL when the season starts.

There are a few other forwards in San Diego who might get a taste of the NHL this season, depending on how well they are playing and what Anaheim might need. Mitch Hults, Alex Dostie, Deven Sideroff, and Julius Nattinen were all rookies in the AHL last year. Hults was the best of them but they all struggled. If they can turn things around and have a much better sophomore campaign, they might get a game or two of NHL action on the fourth line, but I don’t think that will happen this season. There’s also the recently acquired Chase de Leo. He plays center and has a couple of games of NHL experience under his belt; he could see some time in Anaheim too.

After last season’s disappointing finish, the Ducks will be looking to inject some youth into their lineup. The good news is that Anaheim has a number of prospects at both forward and defense who should be ready to step into the NHL right now. Some will be able to do it for a full season, while others will simply get a bit of experience before going back down to San Diego. It will be interesting to watch as players continue to rotate between Anaheim and San Diego this year. The good news is that training camp and the season are both just right around the corner, and we’ll start seeing what prospects will make their mark in the NHL this season.

Related:

Ducks Training Camp: Day One

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September 18th, 2018