Anaheim Prospects We Could See In The NHL

By Thomas Harrington

When Anaheim made the San Diego Gulls their AHL affiliate, it became easier than ever for the Ducks to call up players when needed. It could be for an injury fill-in, for a sick player, or because they are producing at such a rate in the AHL that they deserve the call-up. Regardless of reason, you can expect to continue to see a number of San Diego players make their way to Anaheim at some point this season. Dozens of players have gone back and forth between Anaheim and San Diego ever since this affiliation started. Overall, nine players played for both San Diego and Anaheim last season. Six of them were Anaheim prospects: Nathan Gaucher, Tyson Hinds, Tristan Luneau, Tim Washe, Ian Moore and Vyacheslav Buteyets. Here are the prospects we could see play in Anaheim this season.

I will primarily be including players signed to NHL contracts. College and unsigned European players will only be included if I think they could make their NHL debut at the end of the season. Moore, Sam Colangelo, and Jackson LaCombe are all former NCAA players who signed their entry-level deals at the end of their college careers and then joined the Ducks. However, all three had played four years of college hockey first, so don’t expect to see 2nd year college players like Drew Schock or Anthony Allain-Samake below. Most players from the 2025 and 2026 drafts will also not be included because Anaheim rarely has prospects head to the NHL so soon after being drafted.

So players like Lasse Boelius, Eric Nilson, and Mathis Preston won’t be included either. I’ll start by naming the prospects among the goaltenders, defensemen, and forwards that I think are most likely to be called up from San Diego. I’ll then go over the dark horse candidates from the Gulls, junior players who may get a few games at the start of the season, and wrap it up by looking at players who could make their NHL debut after their college or European seasons are over.

In net, it’s highly unlikely any of Anaheim’s prospects will make their NHL debut this season. However, it was also unlikely to happen last year, but Buteyets was recalled because of a string of goaltending injuries in both Anaheim and San Diego. If such a thing happens again, either Tomas Suchanek or Damian Clara could get called up from the minors, but that will hopefully not be needed this season.

It’s on defense where Anaheim is all but assured to have at least two prospects in their rotation. Currently, Jackson LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov, Nick Jensen, Drew Helleson, and Moore are the NHL veterans on Anaheim’s back end, leaving space for both Luneau and Hinds. Luneau has been knocking on the NHL’s door for a few years now, and isn’t technically even a rookie. However, I still count him among Anaheim’s prospects because of how few NHL games he has played overall. Hinds really showed at the end of the last season and into the playoffs that he’s ready for a real shot at the NHL, and he should have it this season. The only other defensive prospect from San Diego who I think has a real shot to make their NHL debut this year is Stian Solberg. Even with Hinds in the lineup, the Ducks only have three left-handed defensemen, so if there’s any kind of injury, then Solberg is likely to get the call.

Anaheim’s forward group also has room for a prospect or two. Up front, the team has Leo Carlsson, Mikael Granlund, Alex Killorn, Frank Vatrano, A.J. Greer, Ryan Poehling, Jeff Malott, Beckett Sennecke, Nikita Nesterenko, Tim Washe, and Sam Colangelo under contract. Troy Terry will start the year on injured reserve and Cutter Gauthier has yet to sign. Once those two are back in the lineup, it will be a little more challenging for Anaheim’s forward prospects to get NHL time, but if they play well enough, they still could get playing time over the forwards listed above.

Centers

There are two centers in San Diego who I expect to get the bulk of the callups to Anaheim this year, if not spend the entire year in the NHL. The first is Nathan Gaucher. He struggled to begin last season, but had a strong second half and made his NHL debut late in the season, getting in three games with the Ducks. While it’s unlikely he’s with the Ducks for the entire year, I do think he has a very good chance of easily eclipsing the three games he played a year ago. The other prospect we could see is Roger McQueen. As Anaheim’s top prospect, if he’s playing well enough and showing he’s ready, the Ducks will absolutely make sure there’s room for him on the roster. I do think he’s going to spend some time in San Diego, but there’s a chance he’s with the Ducks for a majority of the season.

Wingers

Anaheim has two other forward prospects who could also see time in the NHL this season, though I think both McQueen and Gaucher will likely be the first two choices. Those players are Anton Wahlberg and Sean Farrell. Both players were acquired over the summer. Wahlberg has the body of an NHL player, the question is if he’s ready for that challenge. It wouldn’t surprise me if he did make his NHL debut, but I think he’ll spend most of the season in San Diego. Farrell actually made his NHL debut in the 2022-2023 season but hasn’t been back since. He’s one of Anaheim’s older prospects, and that age and previous NHL experience could earn him a callup or two this year.

Defensemen

With the more obvious candidates out of the way, here are my dark horse picks to possibly make their NHL debuts this season. On defense, with Luneau on the roster, the Ducks boast four right-handed shots. However, if enough injuries strike the team, or if some of them are struggling, then Noah Warren has a chance to make his NHL debut. He’ll never be a top scorer, but has the potential to give a team relatively safe minutes on the bottom pair. At forward, I have two dark horse candidates, Lucas Pettersson and Judd Caulfield. Of the two, I think Caulfield has a better chance. If he’d been under contract last season, I think he should have been called up to Anaheim at some point. He’s one of Anaheim’s oldest prospects and was San Diego’s most consistent forward last season. This is Pettersson’s first year in North America, and I think he’ll need some time to adjust. But if he can step in and become one of the Gulls’ top players, he could be in Anaheim sooner than anticipated.

Anaheim has a number of prospects in Canadian Juniors, but there are only two who I think have a chance to make their NHL debut this year, and one of them I actually expect him to. When he was drafted this summer, Nikita Klepov was leaving the OHL for the NCAA. However, over the summer, Anaheim signed him to his entry-level deal, meaning Klepov was no longer eligible to play in the NCAA. As a result, he’ll either be in the NHL or the OHL. While I don’t expect him to play the entire year in Anaheim, I do expect Klepov to get at least the nine-game tryout this season. It was recently announced that Marcus Nordmark, Anaheim’s second first round pick from this summer, will be playing for the London Knights of the OHL. If he has a good enough training camp, there’s an outside chance he makes his NHL debut as well, but I think Klepov is much more likely to get NHL games this year.

The Ducks have several players playing in the NCAA this season, but only one senior, Michael Callow. However, when his senior year ends, I expect Callow to join the Gulls, not the Ducks. But there are a few prospects who may end their college career early to turn professional: defenseman Tarin Smith and forwards Maxim Masse and Austin Burnevik. None of them are guaranteed to turn pro this year, but I think all three have a chance. After being one of the top scoring defensemen in the WHL this past season, Smith is going to college for at least a season, possibly more. Masse was the top forward in the QMJHL this past season and will also be playing in his first NCAA season. Burnevik will be entering his third year of college hockey and scored 20 goals as a sophomore. If any of them have a great year in the NCAA, I could see them signing their entry-level deal and joining Anaheim when the season ends.

The Ducks ended their longest postseason drought in franchise history. Now the challenge is to make the playoffs an annual event and for the team to push deeper and deeper. Anaheim has had a lot of prospects come up and make an impact over the past few seasons. Some of those players are still with the team while others have moved on. Hopefully some of Anaheim’s current prospects will join them within the next few years and help the Ducks go on a meaningful playoff run again.

Related Articles:

Anaheim Top 10 Rookies

Ranking Anaheim’s Prospect Positions

Prospect Update: Roger McQueen

Prospect Update: Stian Solberg

Prospect Update: Tristan Luneau

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September 10th, 2026