Anaheim Ducks Prospects Who Could Start In NHL 2024-25 – Hockey Writers – Anaheim Ducks

As the calendar approaches August, the new NHL season is fast approaching. The Anaheim Ducks are hoping for better luck, as a 27-50-5 record last season extended their longest playoff drought to six years. The Ducks have had their fair share of roster turmoil in recent seasons as a rebuilding team, but much of this has been done in the name of making room for a new generation of talent. Last season saw the NHL signings of Leo Carlsson, Pavel Mintyukov, Tristan Luneau, Olen Zellweger, Cutter Gauthier, and Sam Colangelo, and this season could bring some new names to the fold.

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Either out of training camp or due to mid-season injuries, many of Anaheim's prospects will have opportunities to make their NHL debuts this season. Unlike Anaheim's top 10 prospects list from early July that used Calder Trophy eligibility as a guide, this list only includes players who have never qualified for an NHL game. That leaves a few Ducks prospects who have had little time in recent years, including Gauthier (one NHL game played), Colangelo (three games played), and Drew Helleson (three games played.)

Nathan Gaucher

Despite not having the highest upside, Nathan Gaucher is one of the NHL-ready prospects in the Anaheim program. The 6-foot-3 power forward brought his reliable two-way game to his first professional season with the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League, and he may have a future on one of Anaheim's deep lines. Last year, his biggest obstacle on the NHL roster was the depth of “ready-to-go” forward prospects, such as Brayden Tracey, Jacob Perreault, and Benoit-Olivier Groulx who might get a call-up. Now that all three players are off the roster, Gaucher has a clear path to the NHL.

Anaheim's proposed roster doesn't leave much room for Gaucher to make the roster in camp. He will have to jump one of Jansen Harkins or Brett Leason – two players who received new contracts this offseason. Leason has a goal upside, but his lack of physicality last year could at times lead to playing the less gifted, but more physical Ross Johnston in his place. Johnston is still on the roster and will likely be used as a depth replacement, but I can also see a scenario where Gaucher gets the call in the event of an injury.

Sasha Pastujov

As deep as Anaheim's prospect pool is, there are only a handful of top-six players left in the program who aren't in the NHL. Lower-body injuries took up much of Sasha Pastujov's first professional season in San Diego. However, he was able to come back with 13 points in the final 19 games of the regular season. With promising scoring upside and a skate hitch that could hinder his NHL performance, Pastujov is a true boom-or-bust prospect.

Pastujov was a third rounder (66th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft, and Anaheim's third selection after Mason McTavish (3rd) and Olen Zelleger (34th) that year. With both players selected ahead of him equipped for major roles on the NHL club, it's fair to ask if, or when, these responsibilities will be transferred to Pastujov. However, the Ducks don't seem to be in a rush to call up the talent of the undrafted six. They were unlucky with injuries to the top half of their roster in 2023-24 – Trevor Zegras (51 games missed), McTavish (18 games), Alex Killorn (19 games), and Leo Carlsson (27 games) all had significant chunks of the season taken away from them; however, the team did not dip into the prospect pool to fill vacancies. As unpleasant as it sounds, moving Ryan Strome from the third line to one of the top two lines was a logical decision last year, but that will change over time.

With only two years left on his entry-level contract (ELC), the Ducks want to see what Pastujov can do at the NHL level sooner rather than later. While I doubt he'll make the opening night lineup, a good training camp could land him on the roster this season.

Noah Warren

Last year, I suggested that Tristan Luneau could make the team out of camp as a slide candidate. Even if he hadn't signed his ELC at that time, Anaheim had a thin paper on the right side of the defense and I thought it gave the team a unique opportunity to look at the young blue-liner in a small risk before sending him back. for the little ones. Little did I know that the Ducks would love him so much that he made the team out of camp, and would have played more than the 10 games needed to end the ELC slide if not for a season-ending knee infection. Additionally, the way Anaheim felt about Luneau was supposed to be the final green light on the Jamie Drysdale trade.

Entering camp this year, the Ducks find themselves in a similar situation. Instead of Drysdale and Radko Gudas being the only right fielders like last season, it's now Luneau and Gudas. That leaves room for someone like Noah Warren to get a look at the bottom with a good training camp.

Warren is different compared to the defensive prospects that have risen to the top of Anaheim's system. He is a true defenseman, and his 6-foot-5 frame is a nightmare to play against at the Canadian Hockey League level. There isn't much offensive to his game — 20 points in 47 games in 2022-23 is his highest scoring average in the regular season, but eight assists in 14 playoff games in 2023-24 is an encouraging result. While the offense may not show up, Anaheim doesn't need him to be a point producer. The roster is constructed so he is likely to be paired with the person best suited to handle the puck in the neutral zone and run the offense. His right shot would be a natural fit opposite Mintyukov, Zellweger, or Jackson LaCombe.

What about Beckett Sennecke?

Leo Carlsson's draft year was exciting but different from how most prospects develop. The NHL is not a developmental league, and the typical front office and coaching staff are more than willing to let their prospects find seasoning among their peers in the lower ranks. Carlsson had experience playing well in Sweden, so it was a logical jump to the NHL through the game management system. Beckett Sennecke, Anaheim's top pick this year, has no professional experience, and may need another season in the Ontario Hockey League before being ready for the Ducks.

Sennecke is a project, and his post-draft season for the Oshawa Generals will be worth keeping an eye on. Much has been made of his growth and its contribution to his rise up draft boards, but he's only 6-foot-2 for a year. While the translation of skill from small winger to forward has been encouraging, he still needs to learn how to play a complete game at his size before appearing in a full grown league like the NHL.

That doesn't mean it's impossible for Sennecke to make his NHL debut next season, however, the odds are slim. I don't see how he can make the team in camp, but there is a good chance he could make the roster at the end of the season. If Oshawa doesn't continue its Memorial Cup run, its junior season will end before Anaheim's regular season ends. A possible scenario in this case is that he reports in San Diego, but could get a call up to Anaheim if the organization thinks it's ready. This is not a decision to be made for another eight months, and the regular seasons in Oshawa and Anaheim will determine how the club handles Sennecke.