Prospect Info: 2023-24 Ducks Prospects

[tomd]

Hotrod has three assists tonight.

and +4.

Port is -3 which is not the worst on the team by any stretch!

 

[All Mighty]

Dionicio is now 1+3 and is +5.

 

[All Mighty]

Saginaw plays London in the Memorial Cup Final on Sunday at 4:30pm PST.

 

[MMC]

he does tend to galaxy brain things like this

More like the fans are because they have a hard time accepting that either we simply don’t want to sign him or he doesn’t want to sign with us

 

[Ducksforcup]

He's indicated in interviews that he wanted to sign Connor, so like you said, either Connor doesn't want to or Verbeek wants to do an AHL deal.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

He's indicated in interviews that he wanted to sign Connor, so like you said, either Connor doesn't want to or Verbeek wants to do an AHL deal.

I don't believe an AHL deal is an option at this moment for Hvidston. He has to re-enter the draft if an ELC isn't signed with the Ducks, iirc. If he doesn't get drafted in his re-draft, then he becomes a UFA. Only then is he eligible to sign with an AHL club. But he can also still play in the CHL like Sean Tschigerl did after the Ducks didn't offer him an ELC and no one drafted him in a re-draft.

We have some hours to see if Hvidston isn't signed. If he doesn't sign, then maybe we'll find out if the team didn't offer an ELC or if Hvidston refused to sign. Verbeek did take his time to sign Colangelo to an ELC; made him go through the PTO path in the AHL first after his college career was over. ::: raising shoulders ::: We'll find out shortly.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1796684509473095815

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

I’m sure with the plethora of draft capital that we have, someone like Hvidston will be overshadowed anyway.

I still don’t understand the hype on this guy

 

[Hockey Duckie]

I’m sure with the plethora of draft capital that we have, someone like Hvidston will be overshadowed anyway.

I still don’t understand the hype on this guy

Hvidston is a fifth round, shutdown C/LW who started producing offensively like a late, first round pick (Gaucher) and an early second round pick (Myatovic) for the past two seasons. He also has been improving his goal scoring year after year: D+0 with 13 goals in 58 games, D+1 with 21 goals in 59 games, and D+2 with 27 goals in 53 games. To add cherry on top, he improved his FO win % from 45.5% to 51.9% this past season.

With the recent article, we know he's dedicated on improving his body as the Ducks stated he added 15 lbs during the summer, but an injury and surgery (appendectomy) negated all that improvement as he couldn't regain that weight.

If we're talking about draft capital, then having Hvidston in your arsenal adds to said draft capital. According to CapFriendly, we have 15 NHL contracts available.

Here's a small sample comparison between Hvidston and Myatovic as black aces (called to the AHL after thier CHL season was over):

Hvidston, AHL
2022-23: 7 games, 1g + 0a = 1 pt, and +0 rating (Youngest Gulls scorer in Gulls history)

Myatovic, AHL
2023-24: 12 games, 0g + 0a = 0 pts, and -8 rating

Hvidston would be a good dart to hang onto, especially when taken into account he's only three months older than Myatovic despite being drafted in different years.

 

[MMC]

Deadline has passed with no reported signings so unless they've just yet to make an announcement the Ducks no longer retain the rights to Hvidston, King, or Sundsvik

 

[DuckDuckGetz]

More like the fans are because they have a hard time accepting that either we simply don’t want to sign him or he doesn’t want to sign with us

For sure. Was just thinking more about the somewhat odd route he took with Colangelo

 

[All Mighty]

 

[tomd]

Ben King is too old to re-enter the draft and becomes a UFA.

 

[Static]

That's a bummer about hvidston. I suppose they didn't see enough progress this year after his breakout season last year. I'll be curious to see where he gets drafted in a few weeks.

 

[Masch78]

WTF is going on here. We draft two guys who did well, not great but good enough to deserve a contract. In Hvidstons case he is still very young. Both players can play up and down the lineup. I do not get it honestly. I wish there is an explanation but they will not say anything as usually.

"I feel bad for Connor," Jim Johnson said. ""He battled with injury, battled with his strength and his energy levels just weren't right, but he still ended up with 59 points and 27 goals. He can play in traffic, has a sky-high skill level and good hockey IQ. He's got great vision. His skating speed I believe is deceptive and he surprises guys."

When you have size and your development staff see sky-high skill and good hockey IQ together with good speed, then this is obviously a guy you do not sign being the Ducks.

Somehow it looks like there was a pool of players where they belong and just a few of them are up for a contract. So the org values Myatovic and Pitre higher. Pitre I do understand but I am still not a huge fan of Myatovic.

 

[Hinterland]

I guess the Ducks just ran out of contracts. They have 35 already, not counting the 10 RFA's. They only have 4 defensemen and 10 forwards on their NHL roster.

I'm still not sure why they signed Dionicio. They could have used that contract on Hvidston as well.

 

[AngelDuck]

I guess the Ducks just ran out of contracts. They have 35 already, not counting the 10 RFA's. They only have 4 defensemen and 10 forwards on their NHL roster.

I'm still not sure why they signed Dionicio. They could have used that contract on Hvidston as well.

I’m guessing because they value Dianicio much higher than Hvidson and wanted him in San Diego

I don’t understand the love affair with Hvidston. The ducks have a plethora of high draft picks and will need the contract slots to sign more talented players in the coming months

 

[Hinterland]

I’m guessing because they value Dianicio much higher than Hvidson and wanted him in San Diego

I don’t understand the love affair with Hvidston. The ducks have a plethora of high draft picks and will need the contract slots to sign more talented players in the coming months

I guess they do but they had another year to sign Dionicio.

Also, the main thing Dionicio needs to work on is skating. Therefore, playing pro hockey on the wider European ice would have made a lot of sense for Dionicio. AHL is still gonna be an important step up for Dionicio but it's gonna be much easier for him to defend on North American ice. Also, refing is a lot more loose and forgiving in NA compared to Europe. Ideal for a player lacking discipline.

I just feel like playing European pro hockey would have been a good challenge for Dionicio and extremely helpful to work on his weaknesses.

 

[JAHV]

Is it possible Hvidston is the one who didn't want to sign? The players have some agency in this, right?

 

[Gliff]

Is it possible Hvidston is the one who didn't want to sign? The players have some agency in this, right?

Yes. Freddie did this with Carolina and got drafted by Anaheim.

 

[All Mighty]

I guess they do but they had another year to sign Dionicio.

Also, the main thing Dionicio needs to work on is skating. Therefore, playing pro hockey on the wider European ice would have made a lot of sense for Dionicio. AHL is still gonna be an important step up for Dionicio but it's gonna be much easier for him to defend on North American ice. Also, refing is a lot more loose and forgiving in NA compared to Europe. Ideal for a player lacking discipline.

I just feel like playing European pro hockey would have been a good challenge for Dionicio and extremely helpful to work on his weaknesses.

Dionico has European Assignment clause in his contract. Even though he signed an NHL deal, he can still get assigned to a European club if the Ducks decide that’s what they want him to do.

 

[Hinterland]

Dionico has European Assignment clause in his contract. Even though he signed an NHL deal, he can still get assigned to a European club if the Ducks decide that’s what they want him to do.

Of course they can. However, my point was that, by signing Dionicio, the Ducks wasted a contract. They could have let him play a season for Biel and still sign him afterwards.

If Dionicio was happy to sign with the Ducks now he would have been unlikely to change his mind after a season in Switzerland. Not signing Dionicio right now would have allowed the Ducks to sign Hvidston instead.

 

[All Mighty]

Of course they can. However, my point was that, by signing Dionicio, the Ducks wasted a contract. They could have let him play a season for Biel and still sign him afterwards.

If Dionicio was happy to sign with the Ducks now he would have been unlikely to change his mind after a season in Switzerland. Not signing Dionicio right now would have allowed the Ducks to sign Hvidston instead.

I would put a lot of money on the fact that the Ducks won't be at the 50 contract limit (I'm guessing they don't qualify around half the RFAs). That is not the reason they chose not to sign him. If they actually cared about signing him to an NHL deal, they would have.

 

[Hinterland]

I would put a lot of money on the fact that the Ducks won't be at the 50 contract limit (I'm guessing they don't qualify around half the RFAs). That is not the reason they chose not to sign him. If they actually cared about signing him to an NHL deal, they would have.

I don't know but even if, you don't wanna head into Free Agency with too many contracts. You also don't wanna start a season with 50 contracts. It does limit your options. Flexibility is important.

Right now, only six NHL teams have more contracts than the Ducks but all six of them do have more players on their NHL roster. All six of them have significantly less RFA's to sign, too. The Ducks contract situation is definitely not ideal and something to watch...which is why the unnessecary Dionicio signing surprised me.

 

[Boo Boo]

Is it possible Hvidston is the one who didn't want to sign? The players have some agency in this, right?

I think this could definitely be a part of it- I think with the volume of players entering the organization through the draft these last couple years ( and the upcoming draft too) it’s going to be pretty easy for these guys to get lost in the ranks.