Rookies We Could See In Anaheim This Year

Photo: USA Today

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 reason, expect to see a number of San Diego players make their way to Anaheim at some point this season. In the four seasons of this relationship, dozens of players have gone back and forth between Anaheim and San Diego, and over 20 players did this past season alone. 

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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 are more likely to spend significant time with the team. I will only include players signed to an NHL contract, so recent draft picks like Brayden Tracey and Jackson Lacombe won’t be included. Finally, I’ll take a look at players who could possibly join Anaheim when their season concludes. This will be the one area where players currently not signed to contracts will be mentioned.

In Net

The Ducks are pretty much set in net. John Gibson and Ryan Miller form one of the better goaltending tandems in the NHL, and then they have Anthony Stolarz and Kevin Boyle. After those four, then we get to Anaheim’s rookie netminders. However, with so much depth in net, if either of Olle Eriksson Ek or Angus Redmond plays in Anaheim this year, something has gone horribly wrong.

Blueline

The Ducks’ blueline isn’t what it once was, but it still has a strong top three between Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm, and Josh Manson. The Ducks also have Korbinian Holzer, Michael Del Zotto, Jani Hakanpaa, and Chris Wideman. That’s seven players, but some of them will almost assuredly be in San Diego for some or most of the season. Jacob Larsson played a ton with the Ducks last season, and while his spot is far from guaranteed, I do think he’ll be in Anaheim’s lineup more often than not. The Ducks will probably carry seven defensemen most of the season but could go with eight at times. After Anaheim’s top three, things are pretty open and training camp will play a major role in who gets the final few spots. So I believe that there is at least one open spot on defense, and possibly two or three. 

Forwards

At forward, the Ducks have Ryan Getzlaf, Rickard Rakell, Jakob Silfverberg, Ondrej Kase, Adam Henrique, Carter Rowney, Nick Ritchie, Devin Shore, Nicolas Deslauriers, Daniel Sprong, and Derek Grant. Ryan Kesler and Patrick Eaves are not expected to play this season. Most of those players are guaranteed a spot in the NHL; however, there are a few veterans I think the Ducks would feel comfortable scratching or assigning to the minors, meaning there’s at least one open forward position on the team, and possibly as many as four, depending on how training camp goes. The Ducks will probably carry at least 13 forwards through the entire season, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they had a 14th forward on the roster for most of the year. Last season, Kiefer Sherwood, Max Jones, and Troy Terry all saw significant NHL action and should again this season. They aren’t rookies, but their spots in Anaheim aren’t guaranteed.

I believe that the Ducks will only have one prospect playing in Europe next summer, goaltender Lukas Dostal. Right now, I believe that he is Anaheim’s best goaltending prospect, but we won’t see him in Anaheim this season. He’ll spend the season in Finland and then come stateside a year from now. The Ducks do have a few prospects playing in Canadian juniors this season, but I don’t think any of them will play for the Ducks at the start of the season. I don’t think any of them are ready for the rigors of the NHL right now, and none of them are currently signed to an NHL contract.

The Ducks have a few rookie defensemen who could see time in the NHL this season. First and foremost, Brendan Guhle could play in Anaheim’s top four. When they acquired him from Buffalo last season, that was where they played him until he was hurt. As long as he is healthy, I think he’s one of the favorites to play in Anaheim for the entire season. Josh Mahura made his NHL debut this past season, and I think we’ll see him again with the Ducks. It may not be a ton of time, but I think the Ducks will want to give him more NHL experience. Finally, I think that Simon Benoit is a dark horse candidate to see some time in Anaheim. He led San Diego in games played last season and Dallas Eakins clearly trusts him. If Anaheim is struggling and/or runs into injury issues, Benoit could be given a chance in the NHL.

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Anaheim has a number of rookie forwards who I expect to suit up for them this season, led by Sam Steel, Max Comtois, Isac Lundestrom, and Chase De Leo. Steel had a great end to last season. If he can play at a similar level, he’s going to play a ton with the Ducks. There’s also an open spot at center with Kesler out. I believe that Comtois is ready for the NHL, however, there may not be enough room for him on Anaheim’s roster. While the Ducks are a little thin at center, they do have more than enough wingers on their roster. However, if Comtois can beat out some of the older veterans, or young players like Jones or Ritchie, he should be in the lineup. It’s hard to predict how much time Lundestrom will get in the NHL this season. He’s good enough to play with the Ducks, but more time in the AHL could help him develop his game, and I think he’ll spend most of the year with the Gulls. However, I do think we’ll see him with the Ducks at some point this season. Finally, De Leo only played in one NHL game last season, but he was one of the Gulls’ most consistent forwards and Eakins likes him. If he continues to play like that, I expect De Leo to get at least a couple of NHL games.

I think there are also a couple of other forwards who have an outside chance of playing in the NHL. Jack Kopacka had a solid rookie season. If he can stay healthy, he’s the type of player who could work well on the fourth line. Antoine Morand is turning pro, and we’ll see how he reacts to playing against professional competition. If he has a great start in San Diego, he could get a shot at the NHL later in the season.

There are a few prospects whose junior and college careers will end and could join the Ducks at the end of the season, but I think there’s only one who has a chance of actually playing in Anaheim: Trevor Zegras. Anaheim’s first pick from June has stated that his plan is to play one year of college hockey and then turn pro. Over the last several years, from Terry to Kevin Roy to Andy Welinski, the Ducks have let their college prospects play in the NCAA for several years. If Zegras has a good enough freshman season, he could turn pro once his season ends, similar to what Cale Makar did this past season when he joined the Avalanche in the middle of the playoffs. However, given Anaheim’s recent history with college prospects, he’s going to have to have an amazing season at Boston for the Ducks to even consider signing him and playing him before this season ends.

After the disaster that was last season, Anaheim will clearly be bringing in more youth to their roster. Last season, the Ducks used a ton of rookies, especially early in the season, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they used even more this year.

The Anaheim Ducks have announced their 2019 Training Camp Roster. You can click the images below to view the players and their information. Please note the training camp is closed to the public. 

Graphic: Anaheim Ducks

Graphic: Anaheim Ducks

Related Article:

Anaheim’s Top 10 Prospects

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September 13th, 2019