Ducks Rookie Faceoff Preview

By Thomas Harrington

This weekend, the Anaheim Ducks will play in the 2026 Rookie Faceoff, along with the San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings, Colorado Avalanche, Utah Mammoth, and Vegas Golden Knights. Anaheim will play in two games: against Colorado on Saturday and Los Angeles on Sunday. The Ducks will bring a total of 22 players to the tournament: 13 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goaltenders. In previous tournaments, it wasn’t uncommon to bring a roster closer to 30 players, but as was the case with last year’s tournament, Anaheim will only be playing in two games, so a smaller roster makes sense. The Ducks roster will be made up of one player from the 2021 draft, one player from the 2023 draft, three players from the 2024 draft, four players from the 2025 draft, eight players from the 2026 draft, one player acquired via trade, three players on AHL contracts, and one free agent signing. None of Anaheim’s prospects have any NHL experience, and most have little to no AHL experience.

Kyle Kukkonen is the lone representative from the 2021 draft, and Konnor Smith is the lone representative from the 2023 draft. Kukkonen just finished his college career but did not sign his entry-level deal with Anaheim. However, he has signed an AHL-only deal and could see time in both the AHL and ECHL this season. Konnor Smith will also likely see time in both leagues, having just completed his first full professional season. He played at last year’s tournament and appeared in both games. Most players at this tournament will play in both games, though it wouldn’t shock me if either Kukkonen or Konnor Smith ended up playing in only one.

Anaheim will have no players from the 2022 NHL Draft representing them at the tournament. Pavel Mintyukov has been a member of the Ducks for several years, while Nathan Gaucher, Noah Warren, and Tristan Luneau all have several years of AHL experience between them. Ben King and Connor Hvidston are no longer with the organization, while Michael Callow is still playing in the NCAA and unable to participate as a result. Vyacheslav Buteyets will be playing in Russia this season.

Forwards Lucas Pettersson and Ethan Procyszyn and goaltender Damian Clara will represent Anaheim’s 2024 draft class. Procyszyn played at last year’s tournament, appearing in both games. Beckett Sennecke, Stian Solberg, Maxim Masse, Tarin Smith, Alexandre Blais, and Austin Burnevik will not be attending. Sennecke has already graduated to the NHL, and Solberg also has a year of professional hockey under his belt. Masse, Tarin Smith, Blais, and Burnevik will all be in college this year. Both Masse and Tarin Smith played both games in last year’s tournament. Clara should start one of the games, while I’d expect both Pettersson and Procyszyn to play in both.

Forwards Roger McQueen, Noah Read, and Brady Turko and defenseman Alexis Mathieu will represent Anaheim’s 2025 draft class. Read, Turko, and Mathieu all played both games at last year’s tournament. Eric Nilson, Lasse Boelius, Drew Schock, Elijah Neuenschwander, Emile Guite, and Anthony Allain-Samake will not be attending. Nilson, Schock, Guite, and Allain-Samake will be in college while both Boelius and Neuenschwander will be playing overseas. Guite played in both games at last year’s tournament. I expect Read, Turko, and Mathieu to play in both games, but McQueen is the wild card. If he plays in one game and dominates it, Anaheim may decide to hold him out of the second game to avoid an injury right before the season. Or the Ducks could decide that an extra game will help him be more ready for the season to come.

Forwards Rian Chudzinski, Nikita Klepov, Noah Kosick, Marcus Nordmark, and Mathis Preston, and defensemen Eric Frossard, Jayden Kurtz, and James Rieber will represent Anaheim’s 2026 draft class. The only player not participating is goaltender Gleb Peshkov, who will be playing in Russia this season. Most of these players will likely play in both games. Similar to McQueen, the Ducks may decide to be more cautious with Klepov if they are worried about an injury before the season starts.

Forward Herman Traff is the lone player that Anaheim acquired via trade who will be playing in the tournament. With this being his first full season in North America, I would expect him to play in both games. Goaltender Tomas Suchanek is the lone player who Anaheim signed as a free agent. He played in last year’s tournament and should start one of the two games this weekend.

The three players signed to AHL contracts are forward Drew Elliott and defensemen Matt Basgall and Jackson Niedermayer, son of former Duck Scott Niedermayer. All three should play in at least one game. Depending on what Anaheim decides to do with McQueen, Klepov, and a couple other players, it could impact whether these three AHL players play in one or both games.

Colorado and Los Angeles will also be bringing some of their high-level prospects to the tournament. Some of the top prospects that the Avalanche will be bringing include forwards Nikita Prishchepov and T.J. Hughes and goaltender Ilya Nabokov. Some of the top prospects the Kings will be bringing include forward Liam Lefebvre, defenseman Henry Brzustewics, and goaltender Carter George.

Rookie tournaments are generally a lot of fun. Hopefully Anaheim’s prospects play well, but more importantly, hopefully no one on any of these six teams suffers any kind of injury. This tournament is designed to give each team a glimpse of their future, but it’s also to give these kids an idea of what it will take to make it in the NHL. 

Schedule

Friday, Sept. 11th – Practice (Great Park Ice) – 10 AM

Saturday, Sept. 12th – Ducks vs. Colorado Avalanche – 1 PM (Tech CU Arena, Colorado)

Sunday, Sept. 13th – Ducks vs. Los Angeles Kings – 3 PM (Great Park Ice, Orange Rink)

Related Articles:

Anaheim Prospects We Could See In The NHL

Anaheim Top 10 Rookies

Ranking Anaheim’s Prospect Positions

Prospect Update: Roger McQueen

Prospect Update: Stian Solberg

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September 10th, 2026