Prospect Info: 2024 Ducks Prospect Rankings #10

[forever1922]

Idk about that, he's a 2021 draft eligible, the only goalie from the 2021 draft to play in the NHL so far is Wallstedt for 3 games

Not quite what I meant, if I caught your point.

What I meant was, as Suchanek was a UFA, he could have chosen a team whose pipeline was bare. Ducks have Dostal clearly ahead of Suchanek and a glorified 1A prospect coming up in Clara, so he has to squeak between them to receive any NHL time.

Meanwhile you have a team like NJD desperate for any goalie to make their quest somewhat reasonable.

Edit. I'm not sure "UFA" term quite applies, let's just say undrafted prospect.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

Suchanek will get his chance to play in NHL with Ducks eventually. Never underestimate the Ducks to have injuries every year. Gibson is now 31, at some point his play may decline to where he just sits in the press box.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

I'm with Suchanek on this one, he is a very highly thought of goalie prospect around the league. Honestly I'm still wondering why he decided to stay with the Ducks. I guess a very loyal guy, grateful for the opportunity?

Curious where you’ve seen that.

 

[forever1922]

Curious where you’ve seen that.

Depends how concrete you want to get, no one is coming out and saying they tried to get him but didn't.

Anyway, here's why:

He was voted #14 goalie prospect on hfboards general. Ahead of multiple recent high goalie draft picks. That alone speaks volumes.

Multiple bloggers, for Flyers and Devils, at least mentioned him as a key target in their goalie search.

That's why it's interesting. Maybe teams are wary for whatever reason or maybe Ducks presented him with something and he stayed loyal.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

Depends how concrete you want to get, no one is coming out and saying they tried to get him but didn't.

Anyway, here's why:

He was voted #14 goalie prospect on hfboards general. Ahead of multiple recent high goalie draft picks. That alone speaks volumes.

Multiple bloggers, for Flyers and Devils, at least mentioned him as a key target in their goalie search.

That's why it's interesting. Maybe teams are wary for whatever reason or maybe Ducks presented him with something and he stayed loyal.

Or maybe the few dozen too-online people you’re talking about don’t actually represent being highly thought of by actual NHL teams.

 

[Ducks]

Gaucher needs to find some scoring to be more than a fourth liner in the NHL. So far he's been a pretty underwhelming 1st round pick.

 

[MMC]

Not quite what I meant, if I caught your point.

What I meant was, as Suchanek was a UFA, he could have chosen a team whose pipeline was bare. Ducks have Dostal clearly ahead of Suchanek and a glorified 1A prospect coming up in Clara, so he has to squeak between them to receive any NHL time.

Meanwhile you have a team like NJD desperate for any goalie to make their quest somewhat reasonable.

Edit. I'm not sure "UFA" term quite applies, let's just say undrafted prospect.

Idk that he’s as far away from cracking the NHL here as you think, if we don’t sign another goalie (I don’t expect us to), then there’s a good chance the team sees him as the next one up to the NHL as it stands, which would mean any serious injury would get him into games next season

 

[forever1922]

Idk that he’s as far away from cracking the NHL here as you think, if we don’t sign another goalie (I don’t expect us to), then there’s a good chance the team sees him as the next one up to the NHL as it stands, which would mean any serious injury would get him into games next season

Sure, he's the #3 at the moment. Do you see him getting more than a chance to be the backup? He literally has to beat everyone in order to rise in the rankings. That is Clara, Clang and Dostal. Sure, he already has edged Clang for now. Elsewhere, he would be groomed for another year in the NHL and given the keys to either the starter or the backup role depending on the performance.

From a simply economical stand point, it would be hard to resist making another roughly 500k for a year more in the NHL than getting competed to hell and back in the AHL for the Ducks - not knowing if you ever get that opportunity again. Suchanek is also not represented by just any agent, he's represented by Allan Walsh,

Another likely possibility is that the Ducks goaltending coach really helped him along, so he wanted to remain with him, not at all uncommon for goaltenders especially. Then there's also the Czechia factor with Dostal.

Or maybe the few dozen too-online people you’re talking about don’t actually represent being highly thought of by actual NHL teams.

I don't brush people's opinions aside. I would wager those people are more knowledgeable than the average reporter when it comes to such details. Those who will write about Suchanek the first time he makes an NHL appearance, accompanied by the mandatory typos in his last name.

If you would like to contribute to the discussion, by all means. You asked where i've seen that, to which I gave you the places that jumped to mind. That is not the sole reason why I think that is, which should be obvious to even the more casual follower, when someone follows the U20 performance with a season he did that teams take notice. Like, look at us now, we're putting him head to head with a recent 1st rounder. Are we what you describe?

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

If you would like to contribute to the discussion, by all means. You asked where i've seen that, to which I gave you the places that jumped to mind. That is not the sole reason why I think that is, which should be obvious to even the more casual follower, when someone follows the U20 performance with a season he did that teams take notice. Like, look at us now, we're putting him head to head with a recent 1st rounder. Are we what you describe?

I’m not brushing people’s opinion’s aside, I’m pointing out that some internet randos knowing who he is doesn’t equate to your original premise, which was that he could have had his pick of teams to sign with but stayed here. There’s no reason to think he was coveted by NHL teams.

Your premise doesn’t even work on its face. After his U20 performances he went undrafted and the best he could do was an AHL-only deal with San Diego and even they immediately sent him to Oklahoma. He had a great year and signed with the Ducks in March, before his AHL deal ever expired. Lots of goalies have decent AHL seasons.

He’s a good prospect and like @MMC said there’s reason to think he’s in the team’s near-term plans, especially since we don’t actually overbake prospects, so we don’t need to juice the narrative by pretending we won a contest to sign him or something. He’s already beaten the odds by being an undrafted goalie with an NHL contract, he probably signed the offer offer about 6 seconds after the Ducks sent it to his agent.

edit - he actually wasn’t even signed coming in to camp, he was an invitee to the rookie camp and parlayed that into a deal. So no, no one “took notice” of his junior exploits.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Sure, he's the #3 at the moment. Do you see him getting more than a chance to be the backup? He literally has to beat everyone in order to rise in the rankings. That is Clara, Clang and Dostal. Sure, he already has edged Clang for now. Elsewhere, he would be groomed for another year in the NHL and given the keys to either the starter or the backup role depending on the performance.

From a simply economical stand point, it would be hard to resist making another roughly 500k for a year more in the NHL than getting competed to hell and back in the AHL for the Ducks - not knowing if you ever get that opportunity again. Suchanek is also not represented by just any agent, he's represented by Allan Walsh,

Another likely possibility is that the Ducks goaltending coach really helped him along, so he wanted to remain with him, not at all uncommon for goaltenders especially. Then there's also the Czechia factor with Dostal.

I don't understand the thought of "gifting a prominent NHL position" right away for Suchanek?

Dostal is three years older than Suchanek and only this past season did Dostal secure the backup position in the NHL as a 23-year old. Dostal bided his time while Stolarz was the NHL backup. During that time, Dostal proved his consistent play in the AHL to where the Ducks felt comfortable to move on from Stolarz.

Suchanek went undrafted a few times to become a UFA. That should speak volumes. The Gulls signed him to an AHL contract, due to Dostal's recommendation. There were veteran Stalock, Clang, and Alexander under NHL contracts. Suchanek cut his teeth in the pros in the ECHL first and then got the promotion to the AHL club. He was amazing for a long stretch until his last 10 games of the season. Stalock wasn't being brought back and Alexander is behind Suchanek on the depth chart if Suchanek were to sign with the Ducks. Clara is set to play in Europe next year and could still be years away.

The goal for Suchanek is to be in the NHL and there is a pathway to be seen on that stage with Anaheim, especially since he knows where he is on the NHL/AHL depth chart going into next season as goalie #3 at the moment. While Suchanek's agent could search for other organizations, Suchanek doesn't have to cut his teeth again by remaining with Anaheim. He knows the coaches will be the same next season for the Gulls which means he knows the system already. Being friends with Dostal, Suchanek might also know how the NHL level works with Anaheim. That stability might be a great foundation for Suchanek to continue his development since there are less unknown factors to think about.

 

[JAHV]

I also find it hard to believe that there was or is a team out there who wants Suchanek as a backup at the NHL level. He's basically third string here, which is about as good as he was going to do given his pedigree and track record, which is impressive, but not mind-blowing.

 

[Ducks]

I also find it hard to believe that there was or is a team out there who wants Suchanek as a backup at the NHL level. He's basically third string here, which is about as good as he was going to do given his pedigree and track record, which is impressive, but not mind-blowing.

The narrative that other teams aren't interested in Suchanek is hard to believe. He's still a prospect and a late bloomer. While other teams may not have been interested enough to draft him 2 years ago, his performance at WJC and last season in the AHL has surely put him on the radar of other NHL teams. If he was unsigned today I'm sure he'd find a deal with another NHL team at this point. You don't make a 21 year old prospect your backup, so he'd be in the AHL developing as a starter just like he is for the Ducks right now.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

The narrative that other teams aren't interested in Suchanek is hard to believe. He's still a prospect and a late bloomer. While other teams may not have been interested enough to draft him 2 years ago, his performance at WJC and last season in the AHL has surely put him on the radar of other NHL teams. If he was unsigned today I'm sure he'd find a deal with another NHL team at this point. You don't make a 21 year old prospect your backup, so he'd be in the AHL developing as a starter just like he is for the Ducks right now.

Again, not what this is about.