Ducks Goaltending Prospect Departs Sweden for Finland

Damian Clara has transferred to Finnish club Kärpät after his contract with Färjestad in the SHL was terminated.

After a terrific season with Brynäs in 2023-24 where they were promoted to the SHL, it was only right that Italian goaltender and Ducks prospect Damian Clara would get the chance to prove himself in the SHL.

Unfortunately, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for the 20-year-old Clara in 2024-25. While he was the starter for Brynäs, that was not the case with Färjestad. He shared the net with former NHLer Maxime Lagacé and both goaltenders struggled to grab a hold of the starting job this season. Now, Färjestad has added Anders Lindbäck—who played for Brynäs last season with Clara—to the mix.

In their statement regarding Clara’s departure, Färjestad’s general manager Rickard Wallin revealed that the Ducks were unhappy with the results and development path that Clara was on this season.

There were rumors on Friday following Clara’s departure that a move to Liiga in Finland could be in the works. On Saturday, his move to Kärpät was confirmed by the Finnish club.

“(Clara) is expected to arrive in Oulu tomorrow, Sunday,” Kärpät’s sporting director Mikko Myllykoski said in the club’s official press release (translated from Finnish).

Clara will now compete with Tomi Karhunen and Niclas Westerholm for the starting goaltender job. Like Färjestad, both goaltenders have struggled to provide quality performances with consistency as both have save percentages below .900.

“It’s sad when things didn't go as expected, but I’ve been able to learn a lot during the season (with Färjestad),” Clara said to The Hockey News’ Derek O’Brien.

Liiga is not unfamiliar territory to Ducks goaltending prospects. Current Ducks goaltender Lukáš Dostál played parts of three seasons with Ilves before coming over to North America. In 64 games for Ilves, he had a 41-13-8 record with a 1.76 GAA and .929 SV%.

“I had a great time playing (in Finland),” Dostál said. “I spend my summers there, so I always like to come back.”

The hope will be that Clara can follow that same development path and find some of the consistency that he displayed last season while playing for Brynäs.