Ducks Announce Development Camp Roster

By Thomas Harrington

On Sunday, the Anaheim Ducks announced the dates and roster for their 2023 summer development camp. The camp will open on Monday, July 3rd and go through Friday, July 7th. at the Great Park in Irvine. Development Camps are usually a lot of fun, and you’ll get a glimpse at several future Anaheim Ducks players, some who will be on the roster as early as this season.

All nine players chosen at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft will be there: Leo Carlsson, Nico Myatovic, Carey Terrance, Damlan Clara, Coulson Pitre, Yegor Sidorov, Konnor Smith, Rodwin Dionicio, and Voltech Port. Carlsson is the only player from this list who has a chance to play for Anaheim this year; the rest will return to their respective junior or European teams.

Joining them will be seven of the eight players selected in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft: Nathan Gaucher, Micael Callow, Connor Hvidston, Ben King, Tristan Luneau, Pavel Mintyukov, and Noah Warren. Warren is unfortunately injured, so you won’t get a chance to see him on the ice. The only player from this draft not attending is Vyacheslav Buteyets who will be playing in Russia next season. Gaucher and Mintyukov both have a chance to see time with the Ducks this year, while King should be with the Gulls. Luneau, Warren, and Hvidston will all be back in juniors this coming season, while Callow will be starting his NCAA career at Harvard University.

Five players from Anaheim’s 2021 draft class will be in attendance as well: Kyle Kukkonen, Sasha Pastujov, Tyson Hinds, Olen Zellweger, and Gage Alexander. Pastujov is injured so don’t expect to see him on the ice. Mason McTavish, Josh Lopina, and Sean Tschigerl are the only members of this class not attending. McTavish is already an NHL player, while Lopina has a year of professional hockey under his belt after playing all of last season for the Gulls. The Ducks decided to not sign Tschigerl and lost his rights at the start of June. Pastujov, Hinds, and Zellweger are all starting their professional careers this coming season, and Zellweger has an excellent chance of seeing time with the Ducks. Alexander finished last year with the Gulls and figures to be one of their goaltenders this season. Kukkonen just finished his freshman season at Michigan Tech and will be back in the NCAA next year.

Anaheim will have three players from their 2020 draft class present: Sam Colangelo, Albin Sundsvik, and Ian Moore. Jamie Drysdale, Jacob Perreault, Thimo Nickl, Artyom Galimov, and Ethan Bowen are the players from 2020 not attending. Despite missing most of last year, Drysdale has been in the NHL for a couple of years now, while Perreault has spent the last few seasons in San Diego. The Ducks traded Nickl back in March, and Galimov is currently in Russia. Bowen did not play hockey this past season. Colangelo and Moore are both college players who will likely be returning to the NCAA for one more year of action. Sundsvik has spent the last few years in the SHL and will be back there next season but with a new team, Rogle BK.

There will be three players from the 2019 draft class present: Jackson LaCombe, Trevor Janicke, and Will Francis. Trevor Zegras, Brayden Tracey, Henry Thrun, and Matthew Hill are the players from 2019 who will not be attending. Zegras has become one of Anaheim’s top forwards these past couple seasons, while Tracey has been in the AHL for a couple of years. Thrun was traded to San Jose and the Ducks chose to not sign Hill and his rights expired. LaCombe finished his NCAA career last season and made his NHL debut with Anaheim. Janicke has been playing at the University of Notre Dame, and it’s currently unclear where he will play next season. Francis has had an incredibly difficult road to get here, so it’s always special when he gets a chance to step onto the ice.

There are three players that the Ducks acquired in a trade who will be at development camp: Judd Caulfield, Nikita Nesterenko, and Calle Clang. All three should see time in the AHL this coming season, and Nesterenko could spend much of the season with the Ducks. The Ducks will also have one free agent prospect at camp: Jaxsen Wiebe. He just finished his WHL career and should be in San Diego this coming season.

Finally, the Ducks will have one free agent invite at camp: goaltender Tomas Suchanek. He played for the Tri-City Americans of the WHL last year and had a 27-14-1 record. He was eligible for the 2023 NHL Entry Draft but was not chosen.

It’s been quite a while since the Anaheim Ducks were on the ice. If you can go, I highly recommend doing so. Development camp is a lot of fun, and it will be highlighted by the second overall pick from 2023 in Carlsson and the three best defensemen from the CHL: Zellweger, Mintyukov, and Luneau. No prospect who played professionally all of last season will be in attendance. For prospects playing in Europe or the NCAA next season, this will be your only chance to see them this season with the Ducks unless they join the team at the end of the year.

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July 2nd, 2023