Ranking Anaheim’s Prospect Positions

By Thomas Harrington

Now that the individual graduated prospects and prospect updates and profiles are complete, it’s time to rank the positional strength of Anaheim’s prospect system.

For more information on most of the players listed below, feel free to look back at the prospect profiles, updates, and draft reviews that have been published throughout the summer. Note: for players that can play multiple positions, they’ll be listed under the position that Anaheim lists them either on their website or on the development camp roster. Even if I think the player is better in a different position, I’ll still go with what Anaheim lists them as in order to be consistent. Also, I’ll be listing players with the leagues and teams that they are expected to be with this coming season, not with who they played for last year.

The Anaheim Ducks graduated three prospects this past season: Beckett Sennecke, Tim Washe, and Ian Moore. At the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, Anaheim chose a total of nine players: one center, three defensemen, three right wings, one left wing, and a goaltender. They also added a couple more older forward prospects via trade. Anaheim’s top two prospects are now center Roger McQueen and right wing Nikita Klepov. Last year, I had Anaheim’s center prospects as the team’s strongest prospect position, followed by right wing, defense, goaltending, and left wing. And this year, I have the exact same ranking of positions.

Centers

The center prospects retain the top spot for a couple of reasons. First, while the Ducks did lose one of their stronger center prospects in Washe to graduation, Anaheim’s top center prospect is also the team’s best prospect. That, combined with the amount of depth the Ducks have at center, keeps this group as the Ducks’ best positional prospect group. Besides Washe, the only other center prospects Anaheim lost were Jan Mysak and Kyle Kukkonen. Kukkonen did sign an AHL deal with the Gulls. Anaheim will have a number of center prospects in the AHL, including rookies McQueen, Lucas Pettersson, and Ethan Procyszyn, and veterans Nathan Gaucher, Anton Wahlberg, and Sean Farrell. There are varying levels of possibility that we see any of McQueen, Gaucher, Wahlberg, and/or Farrell in the NHL as well, while there’s a chance Procyszyn could spend time in the ECHL. Alexandre Blais and Eric Nilson will both be playing in the NCAA for the second season, Noah Kosick will be playing in his first season of college hockey, and Noah Read will be in his third OHL season.

There’s no question that McQueen is Anaheim’s top center prospect, a distinction he’s held since the Ducks drafted him last summer. It looks like he’s recovered well from his back injury and should fit nicely into Anaheim’s top six in the years to come, possibly as soon as this season. Gaucher may be the most NHL ready of this group, having played in three games with Anaheim last season. His ceiling is likely that of a third or fourth line player. Farrell isn’t far behind, having six games of NHL experience to his credit from a few seasons ago, and has a little more offense in his game. Wahlberg is another who could get some games with the Ducks sooner rather than later. He’s got the body of an NHL player; he just needs to learn to use it consistently.

Pettersson might have the second highest upside of this group, but given that he’s only just coming to North America, he’s not quite as far along in his development as the others are. Nilson is another center prospect with lots of upside. Both Pettersson and Nilson could be future second or third line NHL centers in a few years. Procyszyn and Blais both feel like they could make it to the NHL as bottom six forwards, but have a long way to go to get to that point. Read didn’t take a big step in his second OHL season. Right now, he looks more like a future minor league player than an NHL one. Kosick was one of the youngest players taken at the draft; he just turned 18 in mid-August. As such, it’s difficult to project where he’ll end up. Given that he’s a sixth round pick, the answer is probably not in the NHL, but the Ducks have found late round gems before.

Right Wingers

Anaheim’s right wing prospect group lost a couple of notable names, none bigger than Sennecke to graduation. That, coupled with the Sasha Pastujov trade, are what keeps this group from truly challenging the centers. The only other player gone from this group is Jaxsen Wiebe, but he spent all of last season in the ECHL. The addition of Klepov at the draft is what kept this group in the second spot. Initially, the plan was for him to go to the NCAA this year, but the Ducks opted to sign him to his entry-level deal, which means he can only play in the NHL or OHL this year. Personally, I expect him to make his NHL debut, but it wouldn’t shock me if he ultimately ends up back in the OHL later in the season. Anaheim also recently acquired right winger Cruz Lucius from Pittsburgh. Also, according to Anaheim’s development camp roster and their website, Herman Traff is now considered a right winger, after having been listed as a left wing last summer.

In the AHL, the Ducks will have Yegor Sidorov for his third season and Judd Caulfield for his fourth season. Caulfield is the only other right wing prospect who I think has a decent chance of making his NHL debut this season. Traff will be playing in his first full season in North America and will likely spend the entire year in San Diego. Coulson Pitre will likely split time between the AHL and ECHL, similar to what he did last season. Lucius will be making his professional debut and could also see time in both the AHL and ECHL. Maxim Masse will be leaving the QMJHL and heading for the NCAA, while Austin Burnevik will be playing in his third college season, and Michael Callow in his fourth. Brady Turko and Mathis Preston will both be returning to the WHL for the season, and Rian Chudzinski will be playing in his second season in the QMJHL.

Klepov is the top right wing prospect in Anaheim’s system, and by a significant margin. If he works out, the Ducks have a future top six winger on their hands. Masse’s play took a big step forward this year and he could become a good second or third line winger someday. Sidorov is one of the most skilled prospects that Anaheim has in San Diego but needs to work on his consistency and overall game. Burnevik showed this season that he knows how to use his size effectively and find the back of the net with the puck. He’s another player who could have a future as a middle six winger.

Preston is another player with middle six potential. He was ranked as one of the most highly skilled players in the 2026 Draft. Caulfield doesn’t have the ceiling that many of the other prospects have, but his work ethic and consistency could find him a spot in the bottom six someday. Traff’s game is similar to Caulfield. The biggest difference is how much younger he is and, as a result, he hasn’t advanced as much in his career. Pitre and Callow have the potential to become bottom six forwards, but both will need to rebound after difficult years. Chudzinski is another player with bottom six potential, and if he gets there, it will be for his physical play and forechecking ability. Turko had a nice second season in the WHL, but he didn’t take a huge step and looks more likely to be playing in the AHL rather than the NHL.

Defensemen

Anaheim’s defensive group is marked by the amount of depth they have among the prospects, though they don’t have the star power that other positions have. This group lost two players: Moore to graduation, and Jeremie Biakabutuka was not given a qualifying offer. Both Tristan Luneau and Tyson Hinds should be in the NHL this year, and there’s a decent chance that Stian Solberg makes his NHL debut. However, I’d expect him to spend most of the year in the AHL with Noah Warren and Konnor Smith. Smith could also see time in the ECHL again as well. Anthony Allain-Samake and Drew Schock will be playing in their second seasons in the NCAA, while Tarin Smith and Darels Uljanksis will be transitioning from the Canadian juniors to the NCAA. Jayden Kurtz and James Rieber will both be in the USHL this coming season, before heading to the NCAA the year after that. Alexis Mathieu will be in the QMJHL and Eric Frossard will be in the OHL, while Lasse Boelius will be playing overseas in the Liiga.

Luneau and Solberg are the two best defensive prospects that Anaheim has, but they play very different styles of hockey. Luneau has the higher offensive ceiling while Solberg is more known for his physical play. Both have the potential to be top four defensemen, and maybe even top pairing ones. Tarin Smith is another player with top four potential, though his upside definitely isn’t quite as high. The hope is that Kurtz will be the next Jackson LaCombe, but I think he’s more likely to become a second pairing player. Hinds will most likely be a bottom pairing player, but has a chance to become a team’s fourth best defenseman. Warren plays a similar style to Hinds and I think has a similar ceiling, but Hinds is further along in his development. Frossard is another player with third pairing potential. He doesn’t bring much offense but is very sound defensively.

Schock, Allain-Samake, and Boelius all bring an offensive element to their game and are very good skaters who could become bottom pairing players some day. Konnor Smith and Mathieu are two of the most physical prospects that Anaheim has. If they make it to the NHL, it will likely be as a sixth or seventh defenseman. Uljanskis has a similar ceiling in terms of position, but he has a more well rounded offensive and less physical game than the other two. Rieber will probably top out as a minor league player, but there’s a chance his skating could get him to the NHL someday.

Goalies

Anaheim didn’t lose any goaltending prospects over the past season, and even added another goaltender at the draft. Damian Clara and Tomas Suchanek will be fighting for the backup role in San Diego. It’s possible the Gulls carry three goaltenders, but it wouldn’t surprise me if both saw time in the ECHL as well. After playing in North America this past season, both Calle Clang and Vyacheslav Buteyets will be heading overseas this coming season. Clang is heading back to the SHL and Buteyets will be in Russia, hopefully in the KHL. Elijah Neuenschwander will also be playing overseas, likely playing in both the NL and SL, while the recently drafted Gleb Peshkov will be overseas in the MHL.

I still have Clara as Anaheim’s top goaltending prospect. He had a nice rebound season in the SHL while also playing well for Italy at the Olympics. I still think we’ll see him in Anaheim eventually, but it may be as a backup instead of a starter. Clang may have been the goaltending prospect who impressed me the most last season. He really showed what he was capable of when he became San Diego’s starter. He has a shot at making the NHL, but it does feel like the odds of that happening have decreased with him heading back to the SHL. Suchanek had a nice bounce back season after missing a year of action with an injury, but it remains to be seen if he’ll be able to get to the NHL. Neuenschwander is a very good but raw goaltender. He definitely has NHL potential. Peshkov had a strong season in the MHL. If he can continue playing at a similar pace, he may have an NHL future as well. Buteyets had a difficult season, and it would be a surprise to see him make it back to the NHL.

Left Wingers

Anaheim’s group of left wing prospects isn’t bad, but it lacks the depth that all of the other positions have, especially after Traff moved from left wing to right wing. However, the recently drafted Marcus Nordmark does raise the profile of this group significantly. It was just announced that he’ll be playing for London of the OHL this season. Nico Myatovic will be in his third AHL season, while Emile Guite will be leaving the QMJHL for the NCAA.

Nordmark easily has the highest ceiling of any player in this group. The question for him is, can he put it all together and become a top six winger in the NHL? Myatovic is probably the closest to making it to the NHL, but there’s no guarantee he gets there. If he does, it will be as a bottom six forward who gets penalty kill time. Guite has the second highest ceiling after Nordmark, but he’s going to need to take some real strides in all areas of his game to make it to the NHL, or become so good offensively that the Ducks have to have him in their lineup.

While Anaheim’s prospect group doesn’t have a Leo Carlsson or a Cutter Gauthier among it anymore, it still has a very good group of young players. There are currently some holes in Anaheim’s lineup, and some of these prospects will likely get a chance to fill them. Just remember, not every highly ranked prospect will work out, but there also could be a late-round surprise that does. The Ducks returned to the playoffs this past season. The hope is that some of these prospects won’t just become NHL players, but will help Anaheim continue to make the postseason and go on some deep runs.

Next up will be Anaheim’s top 10 rookies.

Related Articles:

Prospect Update: Roger McQueen

Prospect Update: Stian Solberg

Prospect Update: Tristan Luneau

Prospect Update: Emile Guite

Prospect Update: Tarin Smith

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September 9th, 2026