Ducks Day Two Draft Recap

By Thomas Harrington

The Anaheim Ducks began day two of the draft with six picks: one in the second round, three in the third round, one in the fourth round, and one in the sixth round. After trading up in the first round, the Ducks made a second trade on day two, sending the 164th overall pick to Los Angeles for the 182nd overall and the 214th overall picks.

Anaheim chose center Lucas Pettersson 35th overall, winger Maxim Masse 66th overall, center Ethan Procyszyn 68th overall, defenseman Tarin Smith 79th overall, center Alexandre Blais 100th overall, winger Austin Burnevik 182nd overall, and defenseman Darels Uljanskis 214th overall. Overall, Anaheim chose three right wingers, three defensemen, and three centers in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. Since Anaheim recently signed goaltender Tomas Suchanek, it was unsurprising to see them not take a goaltender this year. However, Anaheim’s left side is a clear weakness in their prospect pool, so it’s a little surprising to see no left wingers taken. However, it’s not uncommon for centers to move to the wing, and the Ducks usually take the best player available rather than drafting for need. Anaheim also focused on the CHL, taking five players from the Canadian junior ranks. Three players came from Europe, including one from Norway, and they chose one player who will be in the NCAA next season.

Pettersson is a two-way center who played primarily in the J20 Nationell last year, scoring 27 goals and 57 points in 44 games for MoDo Hockey J20 “A”. He also played in five SHL games for MoDo Hockey and was scoreless. He never played more than six minutes in any of those SHL games. He’s a powerful skater who plays on both the power play and penalty kill. Pettersson also played for Team Sweden at the U18 World Championships and scored three goals and eight points in seven games. If everything works out perfectly he could become a second line center some day, but he feels closer to a third line center with a scoring touch. He’s under contract to the SHL through the 2026-2027 season, so it’ll likely be a few years before he comes to North America.

Masse has played in the QMJHL for the Chicoutimi Sagueneens for the past two seasons and was one of their alternate captains this past season. He scored 36 goals and 75 points in 67 games, and followed that up with three goals and six points in eight playoff games. He’s a smart player with a ton of offensive potential and was the QMJHL rookie of the year in the 2022-2023 season, when he scored 29 goals and 62 points in 65 games. Masse has a good shot but needs to work on his skating if he wants to become an NHL regular someday. Many expected him to be a late first rounder or early second rounder, so Anaheim getting him in the third round was a nice surprise. Assuming Anaheim is happy with his development, Masse has two years in junior hockey ahead of him before he turns pro and likely joins the Gulls.

Procyszyn is a 200 foot forward who can play wing and center. He’s played for North Bay Battalion in the OHL for the past two years, and scored 15 goals and 36 points in 62 games last season. He followed that up with two goals and six points in 16 playoff games. Proscyszyn played in a limited role for North Bay last year and he’ll hopefully be given more responsibility this coming season. He’s known for playing a physical brand of hockey. He’ll spend at least the next two years in juniors before looking to turn pro.

Smith played for the Everett Silvertips of the WHL this past season, scoring eight goals and 44 points in 67 games. He followed that up with a goal and five points in eight playoff games. Smith is the second defenseman that Anaheim has recently taken from Everett; they took Olen Zellweger 34th overall in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Smith missed most of the 2022-2023 season with a shoulder injury, so this past season was a great bounce back year from him. He saw time on Everett’s power play but never played big minutes for them. Hopefully he’ll take on a bigger role with them this season. He’s another player with at least two years of junior hockey ahead of him before possibly turning pro.

Blais played for Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL for the past couple of seasons. He scored 24 goals and 84 points in 68 games this past season, a big jump from the seven goals and 42 points he scored in the 2022-2023 season. He scored a goal and six points in five playoff games. Blais is a playmaker and one of the more creative players from the 2024 draft. He led all QMJHL draft eligible players in assists and points, while finishing second in the league in assists with 60. He’ll spend a couple of years more in the QMJHL before looking to turn pro.

Burnevik played for the Madison Capitols of the USHL last year, scoring 40 goals and 71 points in 61 games. He’s committed to going to St. Cloud State University in the NCAA this coming season. He’s an overage pick who will be 20 in January. I expect him to spend three or four years in the NCAA before looking to turn pro.

Uljanskis is a two-way defenseman who played for AIK J20 in the J20 Nationell last season, scoring 11 goals and 29 points in 45 games. He scored two goals and three points in two playoff games. He’s not a player who is going to put up a ton of points but could maybe turn into a sixth or seventh defenseman someday. I would expect him to play in Europe for at least a couple of years before coming to North America.

Anaheim substantially bolstered their right wing, center, and defenseman prospect groups over the past two days. None of the nine players taken at the draft will be making their way to the Ducks next season. Instead, they’ll all report to their junior, college, or professional team. If any of them has a monster season, then we could see them NHL-bound for the 2025-2026 season, but I think it’s safe to say most of these players are a number of years away from playing any games for the Ducks. Hopefully this will be looked back at as a strong draft for Anaheim, but it will take a number of years to truly know the full impact of it.

Related Article:

Ducks First Round Draft Recap

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June 29th, 2024