Tristan Luneau's 2023-24 Season is Likely Over

Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reported on Tuesday that Anaheim Ducks defenseman Tristan Luneau's season has come to an end.

Since he was drafted in the second round (53rd overall) in the 2022 NHL draft, right-shot defenseman Tristan Luneau has been nothing short of a pleasant surprise. His development in the Ducks’ prospect system was off to a tremendous start, but an infection in his knee caused him to miss the World Junior Championship at the end of December and early January and has now rendered it unlikely he’ll return to action in 2023-24, as reported by Renaud Lavoie on Tuesday.

“Everything indicates, barring an exceptional situation, that his season is over.” A source told Lavoie (translated from French)

Luneau was coming off a tremendous 2022-23 season where he led Gatineau Olympiques in scoring with 20 goals and 63 assists in 65 regular season games and added 17 points in 13 playoff games on a run that saw them lose in the semi-finals. That performance earned him QMJHL Defenseman of the Year honors.

The Anaheim Ducks took a deliberate approach to his development in the 2023-24 season. His path would be similar to the one the Seattle Kraken took with their top prospect, forward Shane Wright, in the 2022-23 season. He made the Ducks’ opening night roster and cracked the lineup twice in October before reassignment to the San Diego Gulls of the AHL on a conditioning stint.

Luneau played six games in the AHL and tallied two assists before his recall to the NHL on Nov. 22. He went on to play five more NHL games where he scored his first NHL goal and added two assists in that time. He then joined Team Canada’s World Junior selection camp in mid-December.

Luneau was set to anchor the blueline and serve as a power play quarterback for a potent Canadian squad at the World Juniors. The flu followed by the previously mentioned knee infection sidelined him from action while in Gothenburg, Sweden with his team. Luneau was hospitalized for a week before flying home to North America.

“When I got up two days later (after having the flu), my (left) knee was swollen,” said Luneau in an interview with Le Solei (translated from French). “It wasn’t normal and I knew something was happening.”

Luneau hasn’t resumed skating to date and continues to work with the Ducks staff in the meantime. Knowledge suggests the knee infection isn’t related to the injury Luneau sustained or the required surgery that followed in 2021.

With Jamie Drysdale no longer a part of the organization, Luneau is the Ducks' clear top U23 right-shot defenseman. He has a smart first pass out of the zone and the edges to evade forechecking pressure. He always makes smart plays at the offensive blueline whether passing or shooting. His shot typically finds it's way through to the net or to a teammate's stick for a tip. His vision shines when moving along the blueline or down the half wall. 

Luneau's a high-motor puck battler who defends as smart as he does hard. He typically gaps well against the rush and uses his stick to break plays up. He'll need to work on adjusting to the speed and strength of professional opponents and the smaller window of time he has to make plays at the highest level.

Luneau and the Anaheim Ducks have no reason to believe he won’t be ready for the team’s Rookie Camp or NHL training camp in September. The 20-year-old defenseman isn’t eligible to return to the CHL in 2024-25, so the next time he plays a game, it will be for the San Diego Gulls of the AHL or in the NHL with the Ducks.