The Athletic's Scott Wheeler recently released his biannual "Top 100 Drafted NHL Prospects Rankings," which included five Anaheim Ducks prospects
The Athletic's Scott Wheeler recently released his biannual "Top 100 Drafted NHL Prospects Rankings," which included five Anaheim Ducks prospects
Twice a year, Scott Wheeler from "The Athletic" releases his rankings of the NHL's top 100 drafted prospects. His latest included five Anaheim Ducks prospects, tied for the second-most of any team.
The San Jose Sharks, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Montreal Canadiens each have six prospects on the list. The Ducks, Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings, Utah Hockey Club, Seattle Kraken, Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, and Winnipeg Jets each have five.
Anaheim has five players in this ranking despite young players like Leo Carlsson, Pavel Mintyukov, Mason McTavish, Jackson LaCombe, and Trevor Zegras having already "graduated" into full-time NHL roles, an impressive feat.
Wheeler last released his rankings on March 4, and an influx of 2024 draftees debuted in the latest version on Tuesday.
Cutter Gauthier is the highest Ducks prospect in this ranking at #19, followed closely by 2024 third-overall pick Beckett Sennecke at #25 and Olen Zellweger at #36. Stian Solberg at #65 and Tristan Luneau at #77 round out the Ducks' crop of prospects in this ranking.
To be eligible for these rankings, a player must be 23 years old or younger and hasn't yet established themselves as a full-time NHL player, according to Wheeler's opinion.
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Gauthier (5 to 19), Zellweger (23 to 36), and Luneau (48 to 77) all found themselves lower in this version of the rankings when compared to March's, seemingly due in large part to a preference toward the 2024 draft class.
Gauthier will likely play in an elevated role for the Ducks in 2024-25, one season after he saw himself as a Hobey Baker finalist, scoring the most goals in a single NCAA season (38) since 2005-06 and co-leading the 2024 World Junior Championship in scoring with 12 points in seven games en route to a gold medal.
Zellweger's 37 points in 44 games with the San Diego Gulls earned him honors as an AHL all-star for the first half of the 2023-24 season. He made his NHL debut on Jan. 23 and from March 3 on, he was a full-time NHL defenseman and will likely remain in the NHL moving forward. He scored nine points in 26 NHL games.
Seeing Gauthier and Zellweger each drop over ten spots after the seasons they had might be difficult to digest for those who follow the Ducks and those players closely.
Luneau was forced to miss most of the 2023-24 season due to an infection in his knee after winning the QMJHL's Defenseman of the Year Award in 2022-23. He only played seven games in the NHL, tallying a goal and two assists, and six games in the AHL, tallying two assists.
Despite being selected with the third-overall pick, Sennecke ranks 14th among 2024 draftees. For the most part, that tracks with Wheeler's final draft rankings released on June 3, which had Sennecke ranked 16th among draft-eligible players. His spectacular second half of the 2023-24 season and phenomenal playoff run didn't move Wheeler as much as it did the Ducks, apparently.
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Solberg ranks seventh among 2024 draft-eligible defensemen and 11th among all left-shot defensemen eligible for Wheeler's rankings, consistent with the majority of pre-draft rankings industry-wide.
Gauthier and Zellweger will almost certainly play the entire 2024-25 season in the NHL.
Luneau's near future is more uncertain as missing significant time in 2023-24 may have slowed his development. The Ducks arguably have seven more NHL-ready defensemen on their roster, which could render Luneau destined to start the 2024-25 season in the AHL.
Barring an unexpectedly stellar rookie camp, training camp, and preseason from Sennecke and/or Solberg, they're likely to play the 2024-25 season outside of the AHL or NHL. They could earn a short stint to start the season, but will likely return to their clubs in the fall. Sennecke would return to the Oshawa Generals of the OHL while Solberg would start his SHL career, playing for Färjestad BK.
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