Prospect Update: Elijah Neuenschwander

By Thomas Harrington

The Anaheim Ducks selected goaltender Elijah Neuenschwander in the fourth round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, 104th overall. This past season he played for HC Fribourg-Gotteron U21 in the U21-Elit, HC Fribourg-Gotteron in the NL, EHC Chur in the SL, and suited up for Team Switzerland at the World Juniors.

Neuenschwander spent most of the season playing in the SL. In the U21-Elit, he played in two games and had a 2-0 record with a 1.50 goals against average. He only played one game in the NL, which he won. He had a goals against average of 1.96 and a .909 save percentage. In the SL, Neuenschwander played in 14 games with a record of 10-3. He had a 2.39 goals against average, a .913 save percentage, and one shutout. EHC Chur primarily used three goaltenders this past season: Martin Neckar for 20 games, Alessio Brun for 17 games, and Neuenschwander for 14. They made the playoffs, and Neuenschwander played in three postseason games, going 2-1 with a 3.42 goals against average and a .890 save percentage. He was the team’s backup in their final playoff loss.

This was Neuenschwander’s second trip to the World Juniors, and he served as Switzerland’s backup. He played in two games with a 1-1 record, a 2.51 goals against average, and a .902 save percentage. His victory came against Slovakia, while he lost to Sweden. Despite playing in only two games, he impressed me in both, and Neuenschwander’s better game was definitely the loss to Sweden.

Neuenschwander is scheduled to play for HC Fribourg-Gotteron in the NL this coming season. Given his age, he could also play in the U21-Elit as well, and maybe even the SL again too. With so many possible leagues and possible teams ahead of him, expectations for Neuenschwander are a little tricky for this coming season. First, for him to play in more than one game in the NL. The NL is the top Swiss league and more games there will show how much Neuenschwander is progressing. Second, if he does play in the SL or U21-Elit, for his numbers to be even or better than what he did this past season.

Neuenschwander is still several years away from the NHL. Goalies are notoriously difficult to predict, but given his young age, there’s little doubt it won’t be for some time. He’ll spend at least one more year in Europe, and quite possibly more. If he plays well there, he’ll eventually come to North America and start in the AHL or ECHL. He’ll have to work his way through those two leagues before he gets a chance in Anaheim, probably in a backup role. So I don’t think we’ll see him in the NHL until the 2030-2031 season at the earliest.

Neuenschwander is currently unsigned and according to PuckPedia, the Ducks control his rights until June 2029. I wouldn’t expect him to sign his entry-level contract any time soon, but if he plays well enough next year, it could happen as early as next summer.

The next prospect update will be on forward Herman Traff.

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August 11th, 2026