The Ducks had perhaps the most intense training camp in the league last season, with Greg Cronin bringing his experience at every developmental level to his first year as an NHL head coach.
The result only got them one more point in the standings from a season weighed down by injuries, penalties and tight losses, but changes in the team’s culture and work ethic were palpable. Now, following an offseason that was , including General Manager Pat Verbeek himself, the young roster will be back at it when training camp opens Thursday.
Forwards
Who’s back: Frank Vatrano, Troy Terry, Mason McTavish, Alex Killorn, Ryan Strome, Leo Carlsson, Brett Leason, Trevor Zegras, Isac Lundeström, Ross Johnston, Brock McGinn, Nikita Nesterenko and Pavol Regenda.
Carlsson despite being limited by load management and multiple injuries last season. He and McTavish anchoring the middle effectively for the Ducks will be paramount. Vatrano, who is in a contract year, had while Terry’s was a tale of two halves after he struggled early and then turned on his boosters. Killorn also surmounted two stints on injured reserve to finish strong. Players like Leason, Nesterenko and Regenda can all elevate their responsibility this season. Both Vatrano and, especially, Zegras, have had their names churned about the rumor mill, but camp will open with both players as significant ingredients in the Ducks’ offensive mix.
Who left: Jakob Silfverberg, Max Jones, Ben Meyers and Benoit-Olivier Groulx
Franchise fixture Silfverberg and returned to Sweden’s top league to play for his hometown team. Jones, a former first-round pick, and Groulx, one of the few French-born NHL players, were not tendered qualifying offers and went east, to the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers, respectively. Meyers was acquired near the trade deadline for a fifth-round draft pick but opted to sign with Seattle in free agency.
Who’s new: Cutter Gauthier, Sam Colangelo, Robby Fabbri and Jansen Harkins
Gauthier and Colangelo made their NHL debuts at the very end of last season. Gauthier, a 2022 lottery pick of the Philadelphia Flyers, is by far as one of the most athletic and explosive prospects on the planet. Fabbri is for what was often a hapless bottom six last year, while Harkins adds tenacity.
Defensemen
Who’s back: Cam Fowler, Radko Gudas, Pavel Mintyukov, Olen Zellweger, Jackson LaCombe and Urho Vaakanainen
Fowler’s tenure and leadership endure, while Gudas provides an exemplar of toughness and persistence. Mintyukov and Zellweger will seek to realize even more of their formidable potential. LaCombe had a tough start to his first pro season at any level but found firmer footing, at times, late in the season. Vaakanainen hopes to have a fully healthy season for the first time in his young career.
Who’s back (for now): Gustav Lindström, who was claimed off waivers last year and filled a limited role admirably as a third-pairing right defenseman, is one of three players in camp on a professional tryout this fall. The others are forwards Mark Pysyk and Boris Katchouk.
Who left: William Lagesson and Robert Hagg
Lagesson was a late-season placeholder off waivers that landed in Detroit as a free agent while Hagg took the 15 Freeway to Vegas. Both were essentially depth players last season, particularly Hagg. He played just five games and expressed some retrospective frustration about his situation in Anaheim to the Swedish newspaper Expressen.
Who’s new: Brian Dumoulin and Tristan Luneau
While Luneau isn’t entirely new to the Ducks – this is his third year in the organization and he played seven games for the parent club last season – his opportunity could be vast in 2024-25. A right-handed defenseman with a high motor and tremendous mobility, Luneau could figure significantly into the Ducks’ right side behind Gudas. Dumoulin, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with Pittsburgh, as a blue liner, like Zellweger, who is capable of playing either side.
Goalies
Who’s back: John Gibson and Lukáš Dostál
Gibson has been the subject of trade rumors for years running but will return once more. That’s despite the emergence of Dostál last season, when he was a rare beacon of consistency for the struggling Ducks before capturing a gold medal at the World Championships alongside his Czech countryman Gudas.
Who left: Alex Stalock
Stalock, whose family was a supportive staple around the lower rungs of Honda Center when he dressed last season, called it a career this week. Drafted back in 2005, Stalock played for five NHL teams.
Who’s new: Oscar Dansk
The Ducks are brimming with prospect depth in goal, most notably the Italian national Damian Clara and their projected AHL starter . With Suchanek sustaining a severe knee injury and Stalock not returning, , 30, to give them some experience in the minors between prospects Calle Clang and Vyacheslav Buteyets.
