The Anaheim Ducks have been busy replacing players for the past few years. A frequent participant of the annual draft lottery, the Ducks have missed the playoffs for six consecutive seasons, including a 27-50-5 record for the 2023-24 season, ranking 30th. Despite their disappointing results on the ice, the Ducks have one of the brightest futures in the NHL. They have collected a lot of promising young talent with their lottery picks and drafted several players in the later rounds to build what is generally considered one of the best pools of prospects in the league. As with last year, let's take a look at the 10 best prospects from this well-rounded group.
RELATED: The status of the Anaheim Ducks rebuild: 2024 offseason
To simplify things, I'll use Calder Trophy eligibility as the definition of “prospect.” To be eligible for the Calder Trophy, a player must play fewer than 25 NHL games in a season and fewer than six major league games per year for the past two years. This excludes many of Anaheim's future core players, such as 19-year-old Leo Karlsson, who played 55 games last season. In fact, five players from last year's top prospect list graduated, and the sixth, Jacob Perreault, has since been traded.
10. Yegor Sidorov
Egor Sidorov is a tough prospect to rank. On the one hand, he is a creative and gifted goal scorer, scoring 65 goals in 82 games last season with the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League (WHL). But he achieved this at age 19 in a league where opponents can be up to four years younger. He signed an entry-level contract (ELC) in April and will likely play this season for Anaheim's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the San Diego Gulls.
Sidorov has the potential to be a game-changer at the NHL level, but he needs to perfect his game before coaches feel comfortable using him at the highest level. In the AHL's age-appropriate competition, he'll have to rely on his teammates more often, providing a great opportunity to test how his high-end performance translates to the pro level.
9. Sasha Pastukhov
One of three prospects returning from last year's roster, Sasha Pastukhov just completed his first full professional season with the Gulls. The 20-year-old right winger missed most of the season with a lower-body injury but still managed to score 23 points in 46 games. An extremely talented playmaker despite some skating issues, he is one of the organization's most make-or-break prospects. He still needs time in the AHL, but his highlight reel would be a welcome addition to Anaheim's top six.
8. Rodwin Dionisio
The Ducks' defense prospect pool has been discussed ad nauseam, and Rodwin Dionisio is one of the promising additions to that group. A fifth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, Dionisio had a phenomenal 2023-24 season in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He is one of just nine defensemen in the past decade to reach 25 goals in an OHL season, accumulating 90 points in a combined 77 games with the Windsor Spitfires and Saginaw Spirit.
Dionisio's biggest hurdle to the NHL will be the congestion of left-handed defensemen the Ducks are developing. Oren Zellweger, Pavel Minchukoff and Jackson Lacombe are graduates of last year's top prospect list, and Tyson Hines finished his first pro season with San Diego. He will also turn pro this season, but will do so as part of EHC Biel in Switzerland. His three-year contract raises the question of when or if he will return to North America, but he recently signed an ELC with Anaheim. Release clauses are no longer needed for players moving between the Swiss league and the NHL, but unless something changes in the crowded depth chart ahead of him, it's unlikely he'll return to the States to play for the Gulls.
7. Damien Clara
The first Italian-born player in NHL history to be drafted, 19-year-old Damian Klara has been one of the best goaltenders in Sweden's second division. Klara's .913 save percentage (SV%) helped the Brynäs to a 25-8-0 record in his time as goaltender. He was even more dominant in the postseason, raising his SV% to .931 and posting a 10-1 record while leading his team to promotion from the HockeyAllsvenkan to the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He is the youngest goaltender ever to lead a team to Sweden's top league.
Klara signed a three-year extension contract with the Ducks in June, but is likely to remain in Sweden for the time being. Goaltending is a difficult position to evaluate, but Anaheim has a few promising goaltenders. Lukas Dostal is a graduate of last year's list, and Calle Klang, Tomas Suchanek and Viacheslav Butjec are all older and still developing. But the 6-foot-6 Klara has the talent to make a deep jump in the next few years. With the John Gibson era over, the Ducks may settle on a combination of Dostal and Klara.
Lukas Pettersson, a second-round pick in last month's NHL Entry Draft, is a solid two-way centre prospect. Offensively, he has the talent to score goals, but his good skating and hockey sense will allow him to develop as a playmaker. He recorded 57 points in 44 games with Sweden's top junior league, the J20 Nationwide. A few days after being drafted by the Ducks, Pettersson was selected by the Saginaw Spirit in the 2024 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft.
Pettersson has an exciting future because of his versatility. He's not top-tier in any one area, but he's a complete player for a player his age. He even describes himself as a “mature two-way center,” which should ease his path to the NHL. It's unlikely he'll crack Anaheim's top six with a future core as robust as it is now, but if he continues to play responsibly with his 200-foot game, he could be a reliable third-line option with penalty-killing duties.
5. Stian Solberg
The Ducks traded up last month to select defenseman Stian Solberg with the 23rd overall pick. The 6-foot-2, Norwegian blueliner is an old-school defender who gives Anaheim's prospect pool a nasty edge that has been missing until now. Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek even described him as “Radko Gudas, but three inches taller.” Gudas made a big impact in his first season in Anaheim, so a younger, taller version of him is an exciting idea.
Solberg lacks offensive impetus, but that doesn't matter with the Ducks' roster. They have several puck-moving defensemen who can be spread out across pairings. As a left-handed defenseman, he could make a thunderous pairing with Tristan Luhnow. Solberg signed an ELC with the Ducks but will play for Färjestad BK in the SHL this season.
4. Nathan Gaucher
The second of the three returnees on the list, Nathan Gaucher, is one of the organization's most NHL-ready prospects. The 6'3″ centre finished his first pro season with the Gulls, scoring 25 points in 72 games. It may be difficult for power forwards to adapt to the pro level, as they are more likely to thrive at the lower levels using their size to their advantage. Gaucher was a roughly one-point-per-game player (134 points in 140 games) over his final three years in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, but the challenges of playing in an adult league saw his production drop off.
Whether Gaucher makes it to the NHL will depend less on his production and more on what he brings to the depth roster. His size is a rarity among Anaheim's additions, and his ability to play both center and wing should land him on injured reserve this season. If he stays in the NHL, he'll likely be a bottom-six player handling penalty-killing duties.
3. Tristan Renaud
The last player on this year's list is Tristan Luhnow, who has suddenly become the team's best right-handed defensive prospect. An offensive defender, Luhnow was somewhat of a surprise when he made the Ducks roster out of camp last season, but he improved greatly with each game he played. In the end, he only played in seven games for Anaheim last season before missing the rest of the season with a knee infection.
Anaheim's front office and coaching staff must have been pleased with what they saw from him in the limited sample size, because the Ducks traded their most improved right-handed defensive prospect, Jamie Drysdale, knowing Luhnow would miss the season, which resulted in Luhnow taking on a larger role this season.
2. Beckett Senneke
Anaheim's annual surprise first-round draft pick did not disappoint this year. Even Beckett Senneke didn't expect his name to be announced third. The Toronto native is an intriguing prospect and could fit the needs of an increasingly competitive Ducks. Right wing is the weakest group in Anaheim's forward corps, and Senneke is expected to be the top option for the next few years.
Senneke is 6'4″ but has grown five inches since entering the OHL, meaning he's developed the puck skills of an under-6-foot playmaker that's reflected in his more imposing frame. Last season, he recorded 68 points in 63 regular season games with the Oshawa Generals and continued to make waves in the postseason, scoring another 22 points in 16 games.
Senneke was a make or break choice for the Ducks. His potential merits the No. 2 spot on this list, but he needs to add some muscle and perfect his game to reach his potential. His upcoming season in Oshawa will be one to watch.
1. Cutter Gautier
Anaheim's new top prospect was acquired in the aforementioned Jamie Drysdale trade. Catter Gauthier was the No. 5 overall pick by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2022 but did not want to sign with the team, which led to the trade. Gauthier is scheduled to skate his first full season in the NHL after making his debut in Anaheim's final game of the 2023-24 season against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Gauthier's greatest asset is his shooting ability, and he'll likely get a chance to showcase that as a mainstay in Anaheim's top six. He played 41 games at Boston College last season, scoring an NCAA-leading 38 goals and finishing as a Hobey Baker Trophy runner-up. His sniper skills should make him an immediate asset for a Ducks team that was 30th in the league in points scored last season. Although he's a prolific offensive player, he's by no means lacking defensively. At 6-foot-3, he can use his body to create turnovers and apply pressure on the forecheck.
Stats courtesy of Hockey-DB and Elite Prospects.
