Prospect Update: Ian Moore

By Thomas Harrington

Drafted by Anaheim in the third round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, defenseman Ian Moore finished his NCAA career this past season. He then joined the San Diego Gulls for a few games before signing his entry-level deal with Anaheim and making his NHL debut towards the end of the season.

Moore played his senior year at Harvard University, where he was one of the team’s co-captains for the second straight season. He played in 32 games and scored three goals and 14 points. He led all Harvard defensemen in assists and points, while finishing tied for 4th on the team in assists and fifth in points. Moore had a career high three points against Yale in late February.

With his college career over, Moore joined the Gulls on an ATO contract and played in nine games with them, scoring a goal and five points. Despite appearing in so few games, he finished the season tied for fifth among San Diego defensemen in assists and tied for sixth in points. His 0.56 points per game were second only to Tristan Luneau. Moore joined the Gulls in late March and recorded his first two assists in his third career game, and scored his first career goal in the following contest. He was used primarily on San Diego’s third defensive pairing.

On April 12th, Moore signed his entry-level contract with the Ducks and joined them for the final three games of the regular season. He played the most with Jacob Trouba and Drew Helleson in his two games. Moore made his NHL debut against Colorado and recorded his first career assists against Winnipeg in the final game of the regular season. He played between 11 and 15 minutes in those three games. Moore looked good in limited NHL action.

I had two expectations for Moore last summer, and he hit one of them but missed on the other. For the first, I wanted him to play in a majority of Harvard’s games, and he only missed one game all season. Second, I wanted him to hit the 20-point mark. Moore had finished his sophomore campaign with 19 points, and I was hoping he would be better than that in his final year of college hockey, but he wasn’t quite able to get there. However, he did tie his career high in goals and did have the second-most assists of his college career.

With his NHL debut under his belt, the question is where Moore will play next season. He could follow in Cutter Gauthier’s steps, who made his NHL debut at the end of the 2023-2024 season and then played 82 games for the Ducks this past season. Or he could follow Nikita Nesterenko’s route, who made his NHL debut at the end of the 2022-2023 season and has split time in each of the last two seasons between the NHL and AHL.

Personally, I think he’s more likely to follow Nesterenko’s path than Gauthier’s. The Ducks already had too many young defensemen on their roster this past season, and I think Luneau is the most likely to spend next season in Anaheim. However, I think Moore will be one of the first injury callups from San Diego and could be looking at a fulltime NHL spot in the 2026-2027 season.

I have two expectations for Moore this coming season. First, with the Gulls, for him to consistently play in their top four and play almost every game. San Diego’s blueline could be crowded next season, so showing that he’s one of the Gulls’ top defensemen will go a long way to showing his potential. Second, for Moore to get called up and play in the NHL. I think he’s likely to spend more time in the AHL than the NHL, but as long as he gets called up at some point during the season, I’ll be happy.

Moore has one year remaining on his entry-level deal and will be a restricted free agent next summer. If he can spend most, if not all, of next season in Anaheim, he’ll likely get a one-way deal for two or three years. However, if he spends most, if not all, of next season in San Diego, he’ll likely get a two-way deal for one or two years. Either way, I fully expect him to be extended a year from now.

The next prospect update will be on forward Kyle Kukkonen.

Related Articles:

Prospect Profile: Tim Washe

Prospect Profile: Jeremie Biakabutuka

Prospect Profile: Herman Traff

Graduated Prospect: Sam Colangelo

Graduated Prospect: Drew Helleson

Graduated Prospect: Cutter Gauthier

Graduated Prospect: Nikita Nesterenko

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July 12th, 2025