With training camp in the rearview mirror and preseason now in full swing, fans are waiting to see how this season’s Anaheim Ducks team compares to last season’s. Here’s the Ducks’ news out of training camp.
No In-Season Extensions for Star Trio
General manager Pat Verbeek made it clear that the Ducks are not planning to negotiate contract extensions during the season with Troy Terry, Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale.
Terry is entering the final season of his three-year bridge deal, while Zegras and Drysdale are finishing out the last year of their entry-level contracts (ELCs). “We’re going to wait until the season goes,” said Verbeek. “That way, the players don’t have a distraction. It gives the players the full year to kind of just concentrate on playing hockey and then, at the appropriate time, we’ll talk with the agents and do what we got to do” (from, ‘Ducks will not work on in-season extension with Trevor Zegras,’ The Athletic, 09/22/22).
The Ducks have plenty of cap space to knock out deals for all three players at the end of 2022-23, and the expiration of deals for John Klingberg, Dmitry Kulikov and others should give them even more room to work with.
Ducks Not in Rush to Name Next Captain
For the first time in 12 seasons, the Ducks will begin the season without a captain after Ryan Getzlaf retired this offseason. Verbeek wants leaders to emerge, stating that the next captain should be a player that they intend on having around for a long time (from, ‘Ducks training camp takeaways: Trevor Zegras contract, captaincy, John Klingberg’s impact,’ The Athletic, 09/22/22).
Cogliano a Reason Behind Strome Signing with Anaheim
Ryan Strome was one of the Ducks’ marquee signings this offseason. One reason he signed with the club was his old friend, Andrew Cogliano.
“He said he wants to live here maybe one day when he’s done playing,” said Strome. “He couldn’t talk highly enough about it. He talked about some of the older guys that are still here, and that it would have been perfect for me. He’s been pretty bang on” (from, ‘Ryan Strome says Ducks are ‘on the right trajectory’,’ The Orange County Register, 09/23/22).
Cogliano spent parts of eight seasons with the Ducks after being acquired in the summer of 2011 and formed a formidable shutdown line with Ryan Kesler and Jakob Silfverberg during the Ducks’ playoff runs from 2013 to 2018. Strome, who spent most of his career up to this point playing with the New York Rangers, hopes to make an impact with his new team after signing a five-year, $25 million deal. “It’s a little bit similar to New York, the situation we were in there. Obviously, things turned out pretty well. This team is on the right trajectory. We’ve got a good thing brewing.”
Three Ducks Preseason Games to Be Broadcast on ESPN
The Ducks will have three preseason games broadcast on ESPN+. Coincidentally, all three games will be against the Los Angeles Kings, with the third matchup being the final game of the preseason. The Ducks will face off against the Kings on Oct. 2, 4 and 8, with the last game on Saturday at 1 PM PST.
Ducks Make First & Second Set of Training Camp Cuts
The Ducks made their first set of training camp cuts on Tuesday, reassigning Connor Hvidston, Tristan Luneau, Pavel Mintyukov and Sasha Pastujov to their junior teams. Hvidston, Luneau and Mintyukov were drafted this summer, with Luneau impressing during both the rookie tournament and his one preseason game.
Pastujov, who was drafted in 2021, is not eligible to be assigned to the San Diego Gulls in the American Hockey League (AHL) and will return to the Guelph Storm, where he put up 76 points (34-42–76) in 65 games last season. He could be loaned to the Gulls at the end of this season like Olen Zellweger was last season after his junior season ended.
Nathan Gaucher, the Ducks’ 2022 first-round pick, was also reassigned to the Quebec Remparts yesterday, with another series of roster moves likely to occur today or later this week. Gaucher did well in his two preseason games, assisting on Hunter Drew’s goal in his second game.
Ducks Sign Hinds to ELC
The defensive pipeline continues to grow for the Ducks as they inked another prospect to an ELC on Wednesday. Tyson Hinds, a 2021 third-round pick, is the latest to join the pipeline alongside Zellweger and Drew Helleson.
Related: 5 Takeaways from Ducks 2022 Training Camp
Hinds showed off his physicality with five hits in the Ducks’ preseason matchup against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday. He split time with Rimouski Océanic and the Sherbrooke Phoenix last season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and skated in 11 playoff games for the Phoenix, putting up four points.
One thing to note, Zegras left Wednesday night’s game after taking a high hit from Arizona Coyotes forward Jan Jenik. He did not return and was listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury at the time of publication. With four more games on the preseason slate, expect to see a few more familiar faces enter the lineup as we edge closer to the regular season.
