Anaheim Prospects We Could See In The NHL

By Thomas Harrington

When Anaheim made the San Diego Gulls their AHL affiliate, it became easier than ever for 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 such a rate in the AHL that they deserve the call-up. Regardless of reason, you can expect to continue to see a number of San Diego players make their way to Anaheim at some point this season. Dozens of players have gone back and forth between Anaheim and San Diego ever since this affiliation started. Overall, seven players played for both San Diego and Anaheim last season. Five of them were Anaheim prospects: Olen Zellweger, Tristan Luneau, Nikita Nesterenko, Sam Colangelo, and Pavol Regenda. Here are the prospects we could see play in Anaheim this season.

I will only be including players signed to NHL contracts. College players will not be included, except for the few who may make their NHL debut when their season is over, similar to what Sam Colangelo did last year and Jackson LaCombe two years ago. So don’t expect to see Kyle Kukkonen or Michael Callow below. Most players from the 2023 and 2024 drafts will also not be included because Anaheim rarely has prospects head to the NHL so soon after being drafted. So players like Lucas Pettersson, Maxim Masse, and Damian Clara won’t be included either. I’ll start by naming the prospects among the goaltenders, defensemen, and forwards that I think are most likely to be called up from San Diego. I’ll then go over the dark horse candidates from the Gulls, junior players who may get a few games at the start of the season, and wrap it up by looking at players who could make their NHL debut after their college or European seasons are over.

Between The Pipes

John Gibson has been Anaheim’s starter for several years. While he was expected to be again this season, he is now going to be out for three to six weeks after undergoing an emergency appendectomy. Lukas Dostal had a great rookie season and the two may end up splitting time in net rather than one of them getting a majority of the starts. The Ducks also brought in Oscar Dansk on a two-way deal. He has played in six NHL games and has a 4-1 record. Tomas Suchanek was likely going to be the first callup this season if needed, but his long-term injury forced Anaheim to bring Dansk in. If either Gibson or Dostal are injured, then he’s the most likely call up. However, if Calle Clang or Vyacheslav Buteyets are playing phenomenally for the Gulls, then they could get a chance instead.

On The Blueline

Anaheim has a very young defensive core. Urho Vaakanainen, Pavel Mintyukov, Zellweger, and LaCombe are all 25 or younger. Only Cam Fowler, Radko Gudas, and Brian Dumoulin are over 30. With so much youth on the backend, it wouldn’t be surprising to see some of them struggle at times, and the Ducks may want to give others a chance as a result.

If there’s a rookie defenseman who is going to force his way onto the team on a regular basis, it’s Luneau. He made his NHL debut last year and looked very comfortable. However, given how much time he missed last year, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Ducks want him to start the year in San Diego to get some game action, and then bring him up to Anaheim. Drew Helleson made his NHL debut in the 2022-2023 season. After not getting any games with the Ducks last year, he’s going to be pushing to get back to the NHL this season. Those are the two defensemen I think are most likely to get called up from the Gulls this season.

Forwards

The Ducks are looking pretty set at forward right now. Troy Terry, Alex Killorn, Trevor Zegras, Ryan Strome, Robby Fabbri, Frank Vatrano, Brock McGinn, Isac Lundestrom, Ross Johnston, Brett Leason, Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, and Jansen Harkins are the 12 veterans most likely to be with the team on opening night. The rookie who will almost certainly be on the roster opening night and with the team for most, if not all, of the season is Cutter Gauthier.

There’s also a couple of players who could be pushed out by prospects if they have a strong enough training camp and preseason. Colangelo, Nesterenko, and Regenda all played games for the Ducks towards the end of last season. Colangelo scored one goal in three games, as did Nesterenko, while Regenda was scoreless in five games. I think all three will see time in Anaheim this year; the only question is when and for how long. Nathan Gaucher is another prospect who has a chance. He’s less of a guarantee, but if he’s playing well enough for the Gulls, I could see it happening.

Dark Horses

With the more obvious candidates out of the way, here are my dark horse picks to possibly make their NHL debut this season. There are three forwards who I think have an outside shot. The first is Sasha Pastujov. He had a difficult rookie season with the Gulls, but was significantly better in the second half than the first half. If he can keep playing at that level, he could get the call. The second is Judd Caulfield. He’s more of a third or fourth line player, but he really impressed me in his rookie season, and I could see the Ducks giving him a taste of what the NHL is like. The final forward is Yegor Sidorov. It’s highly unlikely, but he really impressed me at the Rookie Tournament, and if he can carry that kind of play over to the Gulls, he may get called up this year.

On the backend, Tyson Hinds, Noah Warren, and Rodwin Dionicio are all outside shots to make the NHL this year. Hinds had a solid but unspectacular AHL rookie season last year, while Warren will be playing in his first professional season. Both players are more known for their physical and defensive play rather than their offensive prowess. If the Ducks want to inject more physicality into their lineup, either of these players could get the call. Dionicio is more known for his offensive play. Similar to Sidorov, he really impressed me at the Rookie Tournament, and if he can keep playing like that and the Ducks want a little more offense from their blueline, then he might get called up as well.

Last summer, I didn’t think any of Anaheim’s junior players would get an NHL tryout to start the season. I thought only Luneau would have a chance, but he’d need an absolutely stellar training camp. Well, he did just that and saw seven games of NHL action with Anaheim. This year, once again I don’t think any junior players will get a tryout with the Ducks, but I could be surprised again.

Before his recent injury, I thought Beckett Sennecke had an outside chance at making his NHL debut this year. However, I now expect him to go straight back to juniors as soon as he’s healthy rather than have him face NHL competition once he can play again. I don’t think the rest of Anaheim’s junior eligible prospects are ready to start the year in the NHL.

Anaheim has several players playing college hockey this season, but I think only one could make his NHL debut when his season is over: Ian Moore. He’ll be a senior at Harvard University this year. If he’s not signed by next August, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent. The Ducks could sign him but plan to only play him in the AHL to end the year, but he’ll need to agree to that first.

Stian Solberg will be playing overseas this year, and depending on when his season ends, I could see the Ducks giving him some NHL games to end the year. More likely, they’d probably prefer him to go to the AHL, but if he’s physically ready, I could see it happening. He’s the only player in Europe who I think would have a chance of getting NHL games when his season ends.

The Ducks are mired in the longest postseason drought in franchise history. While that streak feels likely to continue through this season, hopefully all of the youth that has joined the team in recent years or will join them this year will help the Ducks improve. They don’t need to make the playoffs this year, but it would be great to see them be competitive through the entire season.

Related Articles:

Ranking Anaheim’s Prospect Positions

2024-25: Anaheim’s Top 10 Rookies

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September 27th, 2024