Graduated Prospect: Ian Moore

By Thomas Harrington

The Anaheim Ducks selected defenseman Ian Moore in the third round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, 67th overall.

After being drafted, he spent a year in the USHL and then four years at Harvard University in the NCAA. He was Harvard’s captain for his final two seasons. At the end of the 2024-2025 season, he turned pro, playing for both the Ducks and Gulls. This past season, he played a handful of games in San Diego, but spent a majority of that time in the NHL.

Moore started the season in San Diego, but was quickly called up to San Diego. He was briefly returned to the Gulls in February during the Olympic break, and was then called right back up to Anaheim. Moore only played in four games with the Gulls and was scoreless.

With the Ducks, Moore played in 67 games and scored four goals and 12 points. In a surprising twist, he was actually used as a fourth line winger in about half of those games. While Moore looked more comfortable on the backend, he played surprisingly well on the team’s fourth line when he was called on. He scored his first career goal in a game against Dallas in early November, in his seventh game of the season.

Moore played in 10 playoff games for the Ducks. He started out playing on the team’s fourth line, and was then scratched for a couple of games. He was inserted back into the lineup on defense, and scored his first career playoff goal from the backend. Moore was paired with Olen Zellweger, and the two injected some much needed offense from the blueline late in the series against Vegas.

I had two expectations for Moore last summer, and technically, he didn’t meet one of them. First, I wanted him to play in a majority of San Diego’s games and be part of their top four rotation. I did not expect him to spend most of the year in the NHL with Tristan Luneau spending most of the year in the AHL; I thought it would be the other way around. Second, I wanted Moore to get called up at some point during the season and just play a few games with the Ducks. I didn’t see him playing in nearly 70 NHL games. Safe to say even though he missed my first expectation for him, he had a strong rookie season and will hopefully get better going forward.

Right now, Moore’s spot in Anaheim’s lineup is looking very secure. The Ducks’ defense will look very different next season; gone are Radko Gudas, John Carlson, and Jacob Trouba. Moore will be competing for playing time against the recently signed Nick Jensen, Drew Helleson, and likely Luneau as well. The Ducks could still make moves to improve their defense, either via the rest of the free agents or through a trade. Regardless of what happens, Moore should be part of Anaheim’s rotation, but it remains to be seen if he’ll be a fixture on defense or play as a forward as well again.

Moore was recently signed to a two-year contract extension and he’ll be a restricted free agent when it’s complete. He had a solid rookie season. If he can step up and become a true top four defenseman over the next two years, Moore could be looking at a significant raise in two years. While I don’t think he’d command a max deal, a contract for four or five years could make a lot of sense for both sides.

The next graduated prospect will be Tim Washe.

Related Article:

Prospect Profile: Anton Wahlberg

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July 7th, 2026