The 2 pm PST deadline to sign Albin Sundsvik, Ben King, and Connor Hvidston on June 1 passed and they remained unsigned. The Anaheim Ducks relinquished their rights allowing King and Hvidston to enter the 2024 NHL Draft.

The Anaheim Ducks relinquished the exclusive signing rights to prospects Albin Sundsvik (23), Ben King (22), and Connor Hvidston (19). The Ducks had until 2 pm PST on June 1 to negotiate and sign them to entry-level contracts (ELC).

Three Ducks Prospects' Draft Rights Set to Expire June 1

Ben King and Connor Hvidston can now re-enter the 2024 NHL Draft. Albin Sudsvik is under contract for the 2024-25 season with Rogle BK of the SHL.

Ben King

The 2024 NHL Draft will be King's fourth year of draft eligibility. He went undrafted in 2020 and 2021 before the Ducks drafted him in the fourth round (107th overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft from the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL. 

In 2023-24, King played 61 games in the AHL for the San Diego Gulls. He scored 15 goals and 15 assists during his first season of professional hockey. 

King, standing at 6-foot-3 and 201 pounds, has the billing of a prototypical modern power forward. He uses a powerful stride to disrupt opposing breakouts and his frame to operate in tight areas of the ice. He possesses the small-area skill to extend plays low in the offensive zone, bury rebounds along with loose pucks around the crease, and provide a screen in front of opposing goaltenders before tipping perimeter shots. 

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Though King has significantly less development runway than most draft-eligible players in the 2024 draft, whichever team drafts him will acquire one of the more finished products who can play in the AHL immediately or even assume a depth role in the NHL.

Connor Hvidston

Hvidston was drafted in the fifth round of the 2022 NHL Draft from the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL as one of the youngest players in the draft class. He was five days from 2023 draft-eligibility.

Though he was drafted primarily as a defensive-minded forward, Hvidston pleasantly surprised many in the year following his draft (2022-23), as he produced 21 goals and 44 assists in 59 games while playing a well-rounded, 200-foot game.

2023-24 took a physical toll on Hividston as he missed 15 games with a back injury and an appendectomy.  He still managed to score 27 goals and 32 assists in 53 games. 

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Hvidston uses his 6-foot-2, 185-pound frame, and long reach to cleverly disrupt opposing breakouts or cycle opportunities and turn them into chances the other way. 

He reads rush defenses acutely and finds space to receive passes to get off his above-average release. 

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It will be worth monitoring where Hvidston is selected in the upcoming NHL draft. He is one of the more well-rounded and polished products likely to be selected in the middle rounds. He will be AHL-eligible in 2024-25.

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Ducks General Manager Pat Verbeek has proven not to be shy about severing ties with players under club control if he doesn't see them as a significant part of the Ducks' future. Forwards Sonny Milano, Sam Steel, and Max Comtois along with defenseman Simon Benoit are all notable examples of players whose rights were surrendered since Verbeek took over as General Manager.

Ben King and Connor Hvidston represent the first two players drafted to the Ducks by Verbeek, himself, who saw their rights expire. 

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