Ducks Top 10 Prospects for the 2023-24 Season

Perreault received his first sample of NHL action during the 2021-22 season when he appeared in one game for the Ducks. It was a pretty uneventful debut for him, as he failed to register a shot and was credited with blocking one in just over 11 minutes. With a few free-agent departures at the bottom of the forward group, he can earn an opening night roster spot, but he’ll need to shore up his inconsistencies in training camp.

9. Jackson LaCombe

Jackson LaCombe was drafted back in 2019, but he only recently signed with Anaheim after finishing his fourth year at the University of Minnesota. He suited up in two games for the Ducks at the end of the season, going scoreless in both contests. If Anaheim makes no further signings on the blue line, LaCombe has an inside path to making the opening night roster. However, a year in San Diego would follow the team’s pattern of development to let prospects take their lumps at the lower levels.

LaCombe’s skillset may not be at the high-end levels of other defensive prospects in Anaheim’s system, but he’s not far off. Olen Zellweger and Pavel Mintyukov usually garner attention as speedy, puck-moving defensemen, but LaCombe is also a capable play-driver. His path to power play time will be limited by the talent ahead of him on the roster, but I could see him filling in at times in case of injuries.

8. Tyson Hinds

Tyson Hinds has had an impressive development path since getting drafted in the third round in 2021. The Gatineau, Quebec native recently received the Kevin Lowe Trophy as the top defensive defenseman in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. On top of award-winning defensive play, he chipped in 54 points in 56 games. He also worked his way onto the Canadian World Junior Championship roster, entering camp as the seventh defenseman and finishing the tournament as the team’s shutdown option.

Hinds is another piece in Anaheim’s soon-to-blossom defensive pipeline. Like many other prospects, he’ll probably spend most of the year in San Diego. It’s hard to see him receive a call-up to Anaheim this year with the sheer number of left-handed defensemen in the organization. However, injuries are hard to predict, and the coaching staff may see his 6-foot-3 frame as better suited for a short-term replacement at the NHL level.

7. Tristan Luneau

Tristan Luneau is another defensive prospect in a loaded system. Before getting selected by Anaheim in the second round of the 2022 draft, he was named the QMJHL’s rookie of the year for the 2020-21 season. This year, he took a step forward and was named the QMJHL’s defenseman of the year. He finished the season leading all defensemen in assists (63) and points (83).

Scott Wheeler of The Athletic sees Luneau as a “high-floor, low-ceiling type” that should make him effective at the NHL level (from, “Anaheim Ducks are No. 8 in 2023 NHL Prospect Pool Rankings, The Athletic, Feb. 2, 2023). He’s one of the few right-handed defensive prospects in the system, which could lead to him cracking Anaheim’s roster sooner than some of the left-hand options caught in the logjam.

6. Sasha Pastujov

The second and only other winger to make the list, Sasha Pastujov is one of Anaheim’s most exciting prospects based on talent alone. He’s a tremendous play-driver with great hands and the ability to finish scoring chances. This season, he finished fourth in the Ontario Hockey League in points (98). The concerns come from his skating, which, to be clear, isn’t terrible, but it does limit his top speed and could put a cap on his ceiling. He’ll need some time in San Diego to round out his game. Anaheim isn’t particularly deep on either wing, but I can’t imagine Pastujov will be on the shortlist for call-ups throughout the upcoming season.

5. Nathan Gaucher

Anaheim selected Nathan Gaucher with the 22nd pick in the 2022 draft. At 6-foot-3 and over 200 pounds, he’s one of the bigger bodies among Anaheim’s forward prospects, and his ability to use this size will dictate his NHL ceiling. Last year, he won the Guy Carbonneau Trophy as the top defensive forward in the QMJHL. While the top-end offensive upside isn’t there, he’s more than capable of chipping in a few goals while centering a shutdown-caliber line and should be a dependable penalty-killer for years to come.

4. Lukas Dostal

Lukas Dostal is the most seasoned of Anaheim’s prospects at the NHL level, but 19 games last season still leaves him eligible for Calder voting. Injuries to goaltenders John Gibson and Anthony Stolarz forced Dostal into some hostile minutes last season, appearing in seven straight contests in December. Playing goaltender behind Anaheim’s patchwork defense was a thankless task, but he performed well enough to gain confidence within the organization.

Dostal is Anaheim’s goaltender of the future, and he’ll likely start the year backing up Gibson on a full-time basis. Gibson’s been through the usual offseason trade rumor mill, so any news there could result in an even further expanded role for Dostal.

3. Olen Zellweger

Even though he hasn’t suited up in a regular season game for the Ducks, Olen Zellweger has been Anaheim’s most enticing prospect over the last several years. The 5-foot-10 defender was a late riser in the 2021 draft when the Ducks selected him with the second pick in the second round. His talent warrants the selection, but there were immediate question marks. Not only was he one of the smaller defensemen in his class, but he was incredibly young, as he was only two weeks from eligibility for the 2022 draft. Combined with various COVID-19 restrictions and regulations in place at the time, there was no guarantee that Zellweger’s development would pan out.

Fast forward to the present day, and he’s on the precipice of his professional debut. He’s been named the Western Hockey League’s best defenseman in each of the last two years, as well as the top defenseman in the entire Canadian Hockey League in 2023. I thought he was ready for the NHL during training camp last year, with the assumption he had nothing left to prove in major junior. Starting the season in San Diego is the likeliest outcome, but I think he’s good enough to force Anaheim’s hand and work his way onto the opening night roster.

2. Pavel Mintyukov

After spending a decent amount of draft capital on Zellweger and Jamie Drysdale in recent years, Anaheim’s selection of another defenseman in Pavel Mintyukov with the tenth overall pick in 2022 was a bit surprising, considering some of the forwards still available. Any doubts about the pick were washed away with Mintyukov’s play, as he recorded 88 points in 69 regular season games in the Ontario Hockey League last season. He won the OHL’s Defenseman of the Year award, which means Anaheim prospects won top defenseman honors in all three of the Canadian Hockey Leagues.

Choosing the higher-ranked prospect between Zellweger and Mintyukov is truly splitting hairs. Both fit the mold of a modern NHL defenseman with a future home in Anaheim’s top-four. Zellweger might be the better player currently, but I think Mintyukov’s ceiling is a little higher. It may be unfair to the smaller Zellweger, but Mintyukov’s 6-foot-1 frame may be better suited to handle the tough minutes of a top-pairing defender.

1. Leo Carlsson

By the time the final horn sounded on Anaheim’s 2022-23 season, a new top prospect was inevitable. A league-worst record guaranteed a top-three selection in the draft, and eventually, the lottery ensured it wouldn’t be Connor Bedard. Hearing the Ducks select Leo Carlsson second overall was a surprise, but it’s clear what they’re looking for in their future center.

Carlsson’s draft year in Sweden was among the best for a player his age in a professional league. As an 18-year-old, he recorded 25 points in 44 games, the most among junior players. They aren’t the video game numbers usually seen out of prospects, but the Swedish Hockey League is a high-level professional league for grown adults. For reference, this is the entire list of SHL players with a higher-scoring draft-eligible season: Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Elias Lindholm and Nicklas Backstrom.

Carlsson’s best asset, and the reason Anaheim selected him second over Adam Fantilli, is his tremendous hockey IQ. Combined with his 6-foot-3-inch frame, he can be a dominating presence on both ends of the ice. He draws comparisons to Patrice Bergeron or Anze Kopitar, two-way centers who are among the team leaders in scoring while maintaining high-level defensive play. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Carlsson as a perennial Selke Trophy contender throughout his prime.

Statistics courtesy of Hockey-DB.