Ducks Cut Roster To 30

By Thomas Harrington

On Friday, the Anaheim Ducks cut three more players from their training camp roster, sending forwards Cruz Lucius, Lucas Pettersson, and Anton Wahlberg to San Diego. The Ducks also placed forwards Sean Farrell, Nathan Gaucher, and James Hamblin and defensemen Corey Schueneman and Jet Woo on waivers.

On Saturday, all five of them cleared and were then assigned to the Gulls. The Ducks now have 30 players remaining at training camp and the opening night roster needs to be set by Monday afternoon.

The Ducks acquired Lucius from the Pittsburgh Penguins last month. He was one of Anaheim’s better players at the recent rookie tournament. He played in one preseason game so far, going scoreless. I expect him to spend the entire year in San Diego, but it’s a good sign for his future that he spent so much time at training camp, even though he played in only one preseason game.

A second round pick from 2024, Pettersson was scoreless in one preseason game. He also played in both games at the rookie tournament and picked up a goal. This will be Pettersson’s first full season in North America, and he should spend the entire year in the AHL.

The Ducks acquired Walberg from Buffalo as part of the Olen Zellweger trade back in June. He was scoreless in two preseason games. Even though he wasn’t among the final cuts made, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Walberg make his NHL debut at some point this season. He has the body of an NHL player, he just needs to learn to use it effectively.

Anaheim acquired Farrell from Montreal back in July. He was scoreless in two preseason games. He actually made his NHL debut back in the 2022-2023 season, but hasn’t been back since. He’s another player who wouldn’t surprise me if Anaheim called him up at some point this season.

A first round pick from 2022, Gaucher was scoreless in two preseason games. He was one of San Diego’s better players in the second half of last season, leading to him making his NHL debut at the end of the year. While I don’t expect him to spend all year in Anaheim, Gaucher should find his way back to the Ducks at some point this season. Of the five players placed on waivers on Friday, Gaucher felt like the most likely to be claimed, so it was good to see him sneak through and remain with Anaheim.

The Ducks signed Hamblin, Schueneman, and Woo to two-way contracts on July 1st. All three of them were signed to bolster San Diego’s lineup. Depending on how things go, it’s possible any of them could get called back up to Anaheim this year, but I’d rather someone like Gaucher or Farrell get the call instead.

Anaheim needs to cut seven players over the next two days. Today’s final preseason game against Los Angeles could prove decisive in who makes the roster and who doesn’t. The final seven cuts will most likely come from this group of 10 players: Judd Caulfield, Nikita Klepov, Roger McQueen, Nico Myatovic, Travis Mitchell, Stian Solberg, Noah Warren, Laurent Brossoit, Sam Colangelo, and Nikita Nesterenko.

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September 26th, 2026