Josh Lopina To Sign ELC With Anaheim

Photo: New England Hockey Journal

By Michael Walters

Forward Josh Lopina will sign an entry-level contract with the Anaheim Ducks. UMass reporter Nathan Strauss announced the signing and stated the contract will begin next season. He expects Lopina to report to San Diego on an amateur tryout(ATO) contract for the rest of this season. The Anaheim Ducks later confirmed the contract and that Lopina would be assigned to San Diego on an ATO.

Lopina averaged almost a point per game at Mass and Nathan Strauss feels Lopina can “easily make an impact at the NHL level”. He has decent size being 6’2″ talll and weighing about 195 pounds. He has a big frame and is good in the face-off circle. He lead Hockey East with 312 face-offs wins in the 2020-21 season and had a 54.5% face-off winning percentage. He plays a disciplined game as he doesn’t take many penalties and he is willing to block shots.

Some have compared him to Yanni Gourde as also being a solid penalty killer and being able to provide depth scoring, but his offensive upside might be more limited. He did have 21 goals and 29 assists in 56 games at UMass in the past two seasons.

Lopina was drafted in the fourth round (98th pick overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft by Anaheim.

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March 27th, 2022