The NHL off-season is in full swing, giving us the perfect opportunity to look at each team’s prospect pools.
In this series, Tony Ferrari digs into each NHL team’s strengths and weaknesses, gives a quick overview of their latest draft class, shows where each team’s positional depth chart stands and looks at who could be next in line for an NHL chance.
A player who no longer holds rookie eligibility in the NHL is considered graduated and no longer considered a prospect for the purposes of these exercises, except in very specific cases.
First Thoughts
The Anaheim Ducks are close to being a really fun, exciting young team. They have a boatload of young talent throughout the pipeline and on the active NHL roster.
Players such as Leo Carlsson, Pavel Mintyukov, Olen Zellweger, Mason McTavish and Trevor Zegras could all be considered prospects in their own right but have played significant NHL time, which graduates them from the prospect pool.
Carlsson was the team’s second-overall pick just last year, and he had a solid rookie year. The team implemented a slow approach to getting him into game action, playing him in fewer games early in the year to ease him into NHL hockey. He also dealt with an injury at one point in the year. Despite all that, Carlsson finished the year with 29 points in 55 games. He didn’t blow the doors off, but he consistently looked like one of Anaheim’s better players whenever he was on the ice. This upcoming year could be a big one for their young Swedish star.
LOOK HOW LEO CARLSSON PICKS UP THIS PUCK 🥵 pic.twitter.com/fQIbw91gQi
— NHL (@NHL) April 6, 2024
Mintyukov and Zellweger took turns in the spotlight on the back end. The two offensive dynamos had some really fun moments throughout the season. Mintyukov looked like a real threat for the Calder Trophy early in the year, playing big minutes and putting up points.
Just after the New Year, Zellweger got his first taste of action in the NHL. By March, he was a fixture in the Ducks’ lineup. His intelligence and puck-moving ability were a factor every time he was on the ice. While he played 26 games, which takes him out of the Calder conversation for this upcoming season, he could be one of the most exciting young players in the NHL next season.
The depth on the back end is impressive, considering their top two prospects before this draft graduated this year. Noah Warren is a bruiser who plays a reserved role and could be an excellent complement to an offensive D-man. Rodwin Dionicio has been one of the OHL’s best offensive blueliners, but he will certainly need some AHL time to see if his pass-reliant game translates to the next level.
Tristan Luneau got into NHL games last season, and he was set to play a big role for Canada at the World Junior Championship before problems arose. He got the flu, and then an infection in his knee took him out of action and hospitalized him overseas while the team competed at the world juniors. Despite playing just 13 games between the NHL and AHL in 2023-24, his development to that point was impressive.
🚨 TRISTAN LUNEAU FIRST NHL GOAL 🚨
These young @AnaheimDucks continue to impress. pic.twitter.com/j9hGYNID5V
— NHL (@NHL) December 1, 2023
The San Diego Gulls, Anaheim’s AHL affiliate, will be worth following. Scoring winger Sasha Pastujov will be particularly worth watching in his sophomore season. He’s always found a way to be productive and could see NHL games at some point this year. Nathan Gaucher will also look to take a step in his second AHL season. The depth center will be focused on finding comfort at the pro level.
Nico Myatovic and Coulson Pitre will both be playing their first full pro seasons. Getting their footing and finding their role will be important.
Tomas Suchanek will likely take most of the workload in net for the Gulls after playing on an AHL deal last year and signing an entry-level contract heading into next season. He’s emerged as the Ducks’ top goaltending prospect.
The Zegras dilemma will be interesting to watch. He has been one of the Ducks’ best players and among the NHL’s most marketable stars in recent years, but the fit with what the Ducks are building may not be quite right. If Verbeek and the Ducks move on from him, his return could be pivotal in helping this team take the next step.
23 and Under Likely to Be on the Roster
C Leo Carlsson, C/W Cutter Gauthier, D Tristan Luneau, D Pavel Mintyukov, D Olen Zellweger, C Mason McTavish, LW Trevor Zegras
2024 NHL Draft Class
Round 1, 3rd overall – Beckett Sennecke, RW, Oshawa (OHL)
Round 1, 23rd overall – Stian Solberg, LD, Valerenga (Norway)
Round 2, 35th overall – Lucas Pettersson, C/W, Modo Jr. (Swe.)
Round 3, 66th overall – Maxim Masse, RW, Chicoutimi (QMJHL)
Round 3, 68th overall – Ethan Procyszyn, C/RW, North Bay (OHL)
Round 3, 79th overall – Tarin Smith, LD, Everett (WHL)
Round 4, 100th overall – Alexandre Blais, C/RW, Rimouski (QMJHL)
Round 6, 182nd overall – Austin Burnevik, RW, Madison (USHL)
Round 7, 214th overall – Darels Uljanskis, LD, AIK Jr. (Swe.)
The rise of Beckett Sennecke was in full force in the days leading up to the NHL draft. While his late-season rise had some believing he was a top-10 talent, all the talk in Vegas was about Sennecke going third to the Ducks. The highly skilled winger had a late surge thanks to a hot finish to his season, which included a strong performance in the run to the OHL final with Oshawa. Sennecke grew quite a bit over the summer, and he had to get used to his new frame early in the year. But once he hit his stride in early February, he took off.
Sennecke fits the mold of what the Ducks like in big, strong wingers, and he should get stronger as he fills out his newly realized 6-foot-3 frame. But the interesting factor is he brings plenty of 1-on-1 skill to the table. Sennecke is a slick playmaker with silky smooth hands. With some patience, he might end up being a highly entertaining top-six winger who can put up some big production.
Related: Why the Anaheim Ducks Bet Big on Beckett Sennecke
Later in the first round, the Ducks traded up to get their man on the back end, Norwegian hard-hitter Stian Solberg. He plays a style of game that inflicts pain on his opponents because he is always looking to throw big hits. He will punish opposing forwards around the net front and will line them up in open ice. His offensive game is a bit limited, but he is an excellent foil to the young offensive talent they have on the back end.
Stian Solberg this morning at dev camp with some textbook 1v1 defending (sans stick) keeping himself between attacker and the net, never giving up the middle, and displaying his trademark physicality #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/rCqCgiWGHx
— Patrick (@PatrickCPresent) July 4, 2024
Snagging Lucas Pettersson in the second round is solid value. When he was on his game, Pettersson looked like a top-20 talent in the class. When he was off his game, he disappeared from the action. He has plenty of skill and brings legitimate dual-threat offense, but he must find a bit more consistency to ensure he reaches his potential.
In the first of three third-round selections, Maxim Masse is a big winger who understands how to use his size to gain an advantage. Anaheim has been building a big, physical team over the last few years, and Masse fits right in. He establishes body position and understands how to win puck battles. Masse has a good shot, but at the next level, most of his money will be made around the net.
Ethan Procyszyn is a human battering ram. He goes out on the ice simply to hit his opponents. He’s hard on the forecheck, physical in the corners and constantly looking to throw his weight around. Procyszyn always looks to get under his opponent’s skin. His offensive upside may not be all that high, but the kid could be a menace on a fourth line.
To cap off their third-round selections, the Ducks nabbed Tarin Smith, a smooth-skating blueliner who showed plenty of flashes of potential throughout the season. Smith loves to play with the puck on his stick in transition, using his advanced edge work and lane identification to get the puck up ice. Defensively, he can bring a physical element at times, but he’s best when he uses his feet to dictate where his opponents go.
Blais is an undersized playmaker from the QMJHL who racked up points with his precision passing from the outside. He moves well and could play a bigger role in transition as he matures. His vision in the offensive zone to find teammates in scoring positions is his best asset. The rest of his game will need some rounding out.
Burnevik is an interesting player who blossomed with USHL Madison after two years with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. With a much bigger role, he showcased his off-puck scoring touch and support game. Burnevik isn’t going to drive play on his own, but he showed great instincts as a complementary winger who got to the dangerous areas to score, always seeming to find pockets of space for his teammates to feed him.
With a late swing on Darels Uljanskis, the Ducks got one of Latvia’s best players in international competition, looking like a competent puck-mover and power-play quarterback. He isn’t an overly impressive player in any regard, but he showed flashes of puckhandling and good enough instincts at both ends of the ice to warrant a pick late.
Strengths
The Ducks’ main strength is their depth of forward talent. Between Carlsson, McTavish, and Gauthier, they have three top-six centers, so one will likely move to the wing. They have Gaucher coming up, who could be a solid third-line center down the road.
Out on the wings, things get almost even more silly. Gauthier will likely be the one starting on the wing, but beyond him, they still have Zegras despite trade rumors.
The pipeline has plenty coming. Pastujov just had a solid AHL rookie year despite missing some time. Myatovic and Carey Terrance were both taken in the second round last year and could be depth pieces down the road.
Weaknesses
It’s not often that a pipeline is so strong that it doesn’t have much weakness, but the Ducks certainly fit into that category.
Left-shot defenders may be a bit of a weakness, but they have Mintyukov and Zellweger on the NHL roster, and both are entering their age-21 seasons.
Anaheim’s pipeline is about as diversely talented and deep as almost any, especially considering the young players on the roster.
Next Man Up: Cutter Gauthier, LW/C
It came as a bit of a shock when the Ducks traded for Gauthier. The Philadelphia Flyers’ fifth-overall pick in the 2022 NHL draft made it clear he didn’t intend to play for them. A deal to Anaheim quickly materialized, and Gauthier was a foundational piece for the Ducks.
After a tremendous year in the NCAA that included a Frozen Four appearance and a Hobey Baker finalist nod, as well as a World Junior Championship gold medal with Team USA, Gauthier signed his entry-level deal.
“It’s going to be an exciting game.”
Cutter Gauthier on his first Ducks development camp, what his offseason has looked like and a certain matchup he’s looking forward to this upcoming season.#FlyTogether @TheHockeyNews https://t.co/de0CdSVA3o
— Derek Lee (@Derek_Lee27) July 3, 2024
Although the power forward only played in one NHL game, it was a taste of what he could be for this team.
His physicality, shooting ability and ferocity in all facets of the game are exactly what GM Pat Verbeek wants the Ducks to be. He should be in the lineup to kick off the season, and he will likely be a fixture in the top six at either center of the wing for the entirety of this upcoming season.
Prospect Depth Chart Notables
LW: Cutter Gauthier, Sasha Pastujov, Nico Myatovic, Brayden Tracey, Jan Mysak
C: Lucas Pettersson, Nathan Gaucher, Carey Terrance, Nikita Nesterenko
RW: Beckett Sennecke, Sam Colangelo, Maxim Masse, Ethan Procyszyn, Alexandre Blais, Coulson Pitre
LD: Stian Solberg, Tarin Smith, Rodwin Dionicio, Darels Uljanskis, Tyson Hinds
RD: Tristan Luneau, Noah Warren, Vojtech Port, Drew Helleson, Ian Moore
G: Calle Clang, Tomas Suchanek, Damian Clara
For a deeper dive into the prospect pool with player rankings, check out the Yearbook and Future Watch print editions in The Hockey News.
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Related: 2024 NHL Draft: Best Value Pick for Every Round
Related: 2024 NHL Draft: Top Undrafted Players and What’s Next
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News Summary:
- NHL Prospect Pool Overview 2024-25: The Anaheim Ducks Look Refreshed
- Check all news and articles from the latest NHL updates.