Prospect Update: Damian Clara

By Thomas Harrington

The Anaheim Ducks drafted goaltender Damian Clara in the second round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, 60th overall. He played primarily in the SHL with Brynas IF, but also played for the San Diego Gulls in the AHL and Team Italy at the Winter Olympics and World Championships. He played with fellow Anaheim prospect Lucas Pettersson and former Duck Jakob Silfverberg in Brynas.

Clara played in 33 games in the SHL and had a 17-15 record with a 2.52 goals against average, a .887 save percentage, and two shutouts. He was Brynas’ starter, with former NHL goaltender Erik Kallgren serving as his backup. Clara picked up a 25 save shutout in his first game of the season, and helped Brynas finish sixth in the regular season and qualify for the playoffs. When the playoffs started, Clara was the backup for the first couple of games, and Brynas fell into a 0-2 hole against Vaxjo. Clara started and won game three of that series, stopping 18 of 20 shots. Unfortunately, he lost game four and was the team’s backup in game five. Vaxjo prevailed, and Clara finished the playoffs with a 1-1 record, a 2.38 goals against average, and .865 save percentage.

The highlight of Clara’s season was his play at the Winter Olympics. Despite going 0-4 in the tournament, Clara played spectacularly for Italy. It started against Sweden, where Clara nearly pulled off the upset of the tournament. Sweden were the heavy favorites in this game, but only had a 3-2 lead after two periods. Unfortunately, Clara left the game with an injury part way through the third. By then, he had let in only three goals on 49 shots. Against Slovakia, Clara came in towards the end of the game, and let one goal in on eight shots. His only real bad game came against Finland, but all of Team Italy played poorly in that one, as they lost 11-0. Clara let six goals in on 38 shots. In his final game of the tournament, Clara faced off against Switzerland. He faced 51 shots and let in only three goals, as Italy lost 3-0.

After Clara finished his season in Brynas, he came to North America and joined the Gulls to end their season. He played in three games to end the season and had a 1-2 record, 4.04 goals against average, and a .868 save percentage. When the Calder Cup Playoffs started, Clara was supposed to be on the bench. Unfortunately, starter Calle Clang was injured at the end of the regular season, and Clara was named San Diego’s starter against Colorado. He went 0-2 with a 3.57 goals against average and a .877 save percentage in the series. Despite the poor record, he kept game one close, letting in only two goals in the 3-0 loss.

Clara played in three games for Italy at the World Championships, finishing with an 0-3 record, a 3.35 goals against average, and a .921 save percentage. He was one of three goaltenders to play for Italy at the tournament, and despite not picking up any wins, he was easily the best of the three. Clara finished the tournament with the ninth best save percentage, and every goaltender with a better save percentage than him won at least two games.

I had three expectations for Clara last summer, and he met all three. First, after playing in several European leagues during the 2024-2025 season, I wanted to see him stay in the SHL for the entire season, which he was able to do. Second, for him to put up better numbers in the SHL, which he was also able to do, improving his goals against average from 3.19 to 2.52 and his save percentage from .879 to .887. Finally, I knew that Italy wasn’t going to play great at the Olympics, but I still wanted Clara to have a solid tournament. He more than did that, especially in his game against Sweden.

Clara should be playing in North America this season, either in the AHL or the ECHL. With Clang and Vyacheslav Buteyets playing overseas next season, the competition for playing time in San Diego’s crease won’t be quite as challenging, but it will still be crowded. Either Ville Husso or Laurent Brossoit will likely be San Diego’s starter, leaving the backup position to be filled by either Clara or Tomas Suchanek. I expect both to get some games with the Gulls, but it will be interesting to see which of the two young goaltenders gets more time in the AHL. Given how the playoffs went last year, it looks like Clara will have a better chance to do so, but that’s far from a guarantee. Also, there’s a chance it may be more beneficial for him to be in the ECHL if it means getting more playing time.

With a new league on a new continent, here are my expectations for Clara this season. First, he’s played in five AHL games over the past two seasons, plus two playoff games, joining the team at the end of the year each time. This season, I’d like to see him play in at least 15 games with the Gulls. Second, I’d like for Clara to get at least one shutout in what will hopefully be his first full AHL season. Finally, if he does play in the ECHL, to put up very good numbers in that league.

Clara is still at least a couple of seasons away from making it to the NHL, but with Clang and Buteyets heading overseas, the odds of him making it the way Buteyets did last year have gone up. But to be in the NHL on a consistent basis, Clara needs to first show he can be a starter at the AHL level. That likely won’t happen this season, but the starting job in San Diego will very much be up for grabs in the 2027-2028 season. If Clara can grab it and play well for the Gulls for a season or two, we could see him make his NHL debut in the 2028-2029 or 2029-2030 seasons.

Per PuckPedia, Clara has two years left on his entry-level deal, and he’ll be a restricted free agent once it’s complete. As long as he’s put up solid numbers in the AHL, he should be re-signed by the Ducks. While it’s not a guarantee he’s Anaheim’s goaltender of the future, it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s part of Anaheim’s rotation for some time in the years to come.

The next prospect update will be on defenseman Tarin Smith.

Related Articles:

Prospect Update: Tyson Hinds

Prospect Update: Brady Turko

Prospect Update: Lucas Pettersson

Prospect Update: Darels Ujlanskis

Prospect Update: Eric Nilson

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September 7th, 2026