Ducks Make First Round Of Roster Cuts

Photo: Anaheim Ducks

By Thomas Harrington

On Sunday, the Anaheim Ducks made their first round of roster cuts, sending forwards Marcus Nordmark and Mathis Preston to their junior teams. The Ducks also added defenseman Matt Basgall to the training camp roster. The Ducks now have 47 players left on their training camp roster. It wasn’t a surprise to see either Nordmark or Preston sent back to juniors. Nordmark had an outside shot of getting an NHL game or two, but it was incredibly unlikely. Preston has yet to sign his entry-level deal with Anaheim.

Nordmark was Anaheim’s second first round pick this past summer, going 28th overall. After being drafted, it wasn’t clear if he would stay in Europe or come over to North America. He’ll spend this year playing for the London Knights of the OHL, and hopefully Team Sweden at the World Juniors. I would have liked him to play in a preseason game, but with fewer preseason games, it wasn’t a surprise that he did not play.

Preston was chosen by the Ducks in the second round this past summer, 50th overall. He’s heading back to the Vancouver Giants of the WHL, the team he finished last season with. Similar to Nordmark, I would have liked to see Preston play in a preseason game, but it ultimately wasn’t a surprise.

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It’s unusual for a team to add a player to their training camp roster after it began, but that’s what Anaheim decided to do with Basgall. He’s currently signed to an AHL-only deal, so there’s no question that he’ll be cut and sent to San Diego later in training camp. But if there’s room on the roster, it’s not a bad thing to have another body at camp, especially with the injuries the Ducks have already run into.

The Ducks still have a long way to go to get to a 23-man roster. A number of cuts will probably come early this week now that Anaheim’s first preseason game is out of the way. San Diego’s training camp will be starting later this week, so expect a sizable number of players to be AHL bound in the coming days.

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September 20th, 2026