Prospect Update: Brayden Tracey

By Thomas Harrington

Brayden Tracey, Anaheim’s second first-round pick from 2019, completed his second full season in the WHL last year.

Tracey started the season as the Alternate Captain for the Moose Jaw Warriors, the team where he had spent his entire junior career at that point. Unfortunately, he was injured in Anaheim during training camp and missed the start of the season. He returned to action in mid-October and recorded a four-point night in just his second game of the season, his first of three four-point games last season.

Listen To Our Hockey Podcast

Overall, in 28 games with Moose Jaw, he scored 15 goals and 38 points, scoring at a higher rate than the previous season, when he scored 81 points in 66 games. However, Moose Jaw was not a very good team, and they were second to last in the WHL when the season was canceled. Because of their struggles, Tracey ended up getting traded to the Victoria Royals. Victoria was one of the top teams in the western conference and would almost certainly have made it to the postseason.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as well for Tracey with his new team, though he did get off to a strong start with them. In his first game with his new team, Tracey scored the overtime game-winning goal and had at least one point in his first four games with the Royals. Overall, he played in 24 games for Victoria and scored seven goals and 23 points, giving him 22 goals and 61 points in 52 games for the season.

While it was disappointing to see Tracey’s numbers fall from 81 points to 61, a big part of that was how much time he missed with injuries last season, and the season being cut short. He played in 14 more games in his draft year. If he had played in 14 more games this past season, he probably would have been right around 81 points again. While it’s always better to see players improve every season, given the injuries and his adjustment to his new team, it’s understandable why Tracey didn’t progress as much as hoped.

This coming season, Tracey will be returning to Victoria in the WHL. With a full season ahead of him, my expectations for him are simple: to be better and more consistent than he was the season before. Since I’m not sure exactly how many games he’ll play, I won’t put a point total up for him, but in what will likely be his final year of junior hockey, I do want to see his points per game average rise from the 1.22 he had in his draft year. He’s got an excellent shot and lots of skill, now he needs to use it with the Royals. The adjustment period should be over; as long as he’s healthy, I’m expecting some big offensive numbers from him.

Tracey is still at least a couple of years away from the NHL. He’s got one more year of junior hockey before he turns pro, and I think he’ll likely spend at least part of a season, if not the entire year, in San Diego. So I think he may see some NHL action in the 2021-2022 season, but I don’t think he’ll have a shot at a full-time role with the Ducks until the 2022-2023 season.

Tracey signed his entry-level contract last November, and it will begin when his professional career does. If he has an amazing training camp, maybe that’s as early as this season, but I don’t think it will begin until the following year. It will run for three years and he’ll be a restricted free agent when it’s complete. Assuming he has progressed into an NHL player, he’ll hopefully be getting a one-way contract from Anaheim. It probably won’t be a long-term one, though if he can impress enough it could. It will likely be something similar to what Troy Terry recently signed, a three year deal between $1.5 and $2 million a season or so.

The next prospect update will be on Henry Thrun.

Related Articles:

Prospect Update: Olle Eriksson Ek

Prospect Update: Jack Badini

Prospect Update: Josh Mahura

Prospect Update: Jackson LaCombe

Prospect Update: Mathew Hill

Prospect Update: Jack Kopacka

Prospect Update: Trevor Janicke

Prospect Update: William Francis

Prospect Update: Bo Groulx

Prospect Update: Roman Durny

Prospect Update: Isac Lundestrom

Listen to our hockey podcast by clicking below or visit us at Podomatic, Rumble, Spreaker, or YouTube.

 

Support us by becoming a DucksNPucks patron! Members can win game tickets, a $200 Cool Hockey gift card, and more!

Want to start your sports media career? Then Join The Puck Network!

DucksNPucks is part of The Puck Network, which covers the entire NHL. There are openings to cover your favorite team(s) and earn school credits! If you are interested, then apply by filling out the form here: Join Our Team. What are you waiting for? Start your sports media career TODAY!

December 20th, 2020