Prospect Info: 2024 Ducks Prospect Rankings #12

[MMC]

Each poll will run for 48 hours except in the case of a clear landslide. I will go to the top 25 and include a final poll where you can pick 5 honorable mentions. In the twelfth poll I am voting for Tyson Hinds.

As always the list will define prospects as hockeysfuture does: NHL Prospect Criteria - Hockey's Future.

2024 Ducks Prospect Rankings:

1. LW - Cutter Gauthier (2024 acquired)
2. RW - Beckett Sennecke (2024 draftee)
3. D - Olen Zellweger (no change)
4. D - Tristan Luneau (+1)
5. D - Stian Solberg (2024 draftee)
6. G - Damian Clara (+16)
7. RW - Sam Colangelo (+18)
8. C - Lucas Pettersson (2024 draftee)
9. D - Rodwin Dionicio (2023 HM)
10. C - Nathan Gaucher (-2)
11. G - Tomas Suchanek (2024 acquired)

Our graduates and departures are:

Leo Carlsson
Pavel Mintyukov
Lukas Dostal
Jackson LaCombe
Connor Hvidston
Jacob Perreault
Pavol Regenda
Benoit-Olivier Groulx
Brayden Tracey
Blake McLaughlin
Gage Alexander
Ben King
Jack Perbix
Artyom Galimov
Albin Sundsvik​

Click to read more...

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Went with Nesterenko.

From Defend the Nest's 2024 Gulls season grades:

Nikita Nesterenko – A​

70 Games – 16 Goals, 21 Assists – 37 Points​

Last Year NHL* 9 Games – 1 Goal, 0 Assists – 1 Point​

After being acquired at the trade deadline last year along with Andrej Sustr (who was then traded for Andrew Agozzino in the off-season) and a 2025 fourth round pick for John Klinbergs one year contract, Nesterenko spent the remainder of the season in Anaheim. This year he was expected to be in close competition to make the big club out of camp but became a victim of the sudden increase in depth on the left side as the signing of Alex Killorn and health of Max Jones meant he was assigned to San Diego in one of the last round of cuts.​

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He never seemed to mope or lament his demotion after getting a taste of the NHL last season and quietly went about learning the new systems as well as working to create chemistry with line-mates even as the losses piled up and I am sure team morale was at an all time low.​

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His speed was obviously a cut above and combined with his hands he easily stood out as a player that was clearly too good for this level but I held back from giving him an A+ because he wasn’t always consistent. There were games where he took over; whether it be rushing from his own end through multiple layers of defenders on his own or reading and intercepting a play to translate that to a direct counter attack and then were games where he completely disappeared.​

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He was also one of the most defensively responsible forwards on the team, seen multiple times bailing out team-mates by using his speed to catch and snuff out partial breaks before they could turn into something more dangerous – finishing the year as a +6, the best among forwards.​

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This was the last year of a two year deal he signed late last year so he will need to be qualified and given a new deal this summer, with the recent NHL-only retirement of Jacob Silfverberg another winger spot has opened up but he still needs to compete with the likes of late-season acquisition Ben Meyers. Will we see Nesterenko back with the Gulls next year? It is hard to tell – he is most definitely too good for the AHL but it’s a matter of what opportunities there are in Anaheim.​

 

[tomd]

Moore (again)

 

[Anarchynate]

Massé

 

[Arthuros]

Nester.

 

[JAHV]

Warren

 

[Rasp]

Still some good names but feels like they each have under a 50% chance to make it.

Went Nester this time as he is the most developed and likely to make the jump this year

 

[Ducks]

I went with Nesterenko because he's the most NHL ready, despite some names on the list that I still think have higher upside. If he can become a defensively responsible middle six winger at the NHL level, then the Klingberg trade suddenly looks a whole lot better.

 

[forever1922]

Updide rules: Massé, highest upside over the others, it's close with Sidorov, Smith.

Some have made the notion that Massé is a bottom 6 forward, which I don't agree with. I think he is pretty one dimensional in the way he creates offense and his skating will likely limit him from improving the offensive creation and becoming a one on one threat. What he does well, and why I see him as a good complementary player is the rapid small area playmaking and shooting space creation. So often the guys with good shots fail to make it in the NHL because they just can't get shots off.

Hinds and Warren, even Moore have some NHL potential and then the fat stack of bottom 6 forwards from the past 2 drafts. Where does Tarin Smith rank in this? Do we not see him as having higher potential over the other two defensemen? Then again, he has a long way to go.

Nesterenko is interesting because from all accounts he improved through the season, however never got the chance, so it gives me a bit of pause regarding his status in the organization.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

Updide rules: Massé, highest upside over the others, it's close with Sidorov, Smith.

Some have made the notion that Massé is a bottom 6 forward, which I don't agree with. I think he is pretty one dimensional in the way he creates offense and his skating will likely limit him from improving the offensive creation and becoming a one on one threat. What he does well, and why I see him as a good complementary player is the rapid small area playmaking and shooting space creation. So often the guys with good shots fail to make it in the NHL because they just can't get shots off.

Hinds and Warren, even Moore have some NHL potential and then the fat stack of bottom 6 forwards from the past 2 drafts. Where does Tarin Smith rank in this? Do we not see him as having higher potential over the other two defensemen? Then again, he has a long way to go.

Nesterenko is interesting because from all accounts he improved through the season, however never got the chance, so it gives me a bit of pause regarding his status in the organization.

I'm not voting Nesterenko for a while because he seems like another player who every team has a prospect like him. I see him as a Holland/Sekac/Roy tier prospect whom probably ends up career AHLer or he turns into a 4th liner for another team like Noesen.

 

[Kalv]

Hinds for his defensive avilities. But next up Nester, based on the Defend the Nest report alone

 

[Trojans86]

The amount of young talent in our system is crazy. If a couple of these guys pop off and become legit nhlers we are going to be totally stacked.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Moore (again)

I like Moore. He's been touted by former GM Murray and current GM Verbeek. The problem I have isn't with Moore, but with Harvard. Harvard has stunted his offensive development and put him into a shutdown role. This past year, Harvard had a huge talent roster turnover and probably forced the coaches to focus more on being a defensive team that counters.

Pairwise Ranking, Harvard
2022-23: 7th
2023-24: 50th

I don't see Harvard changing their direction for the time being.

Moore has great speed, from what I recall at last year's Dev camp with the skate till you drop, timed runs. But if he isn't allowed to tap into that offense to develop into a 2-way D, then his potential drops for the time being. Here is Moore's EP stats.

We can notice Moore has offensive when in high school. He has shown some offense in the USHL and first two years at Harvard. The huge talent roster turnover, Harvard making Moore play a shutdown role, and Moore being injured last year was bad trifecta on Moore's overall development. I think once he gets to San Diego, then we might have a chance to unleash that offense so he can be a 2-way guy. We're hoping that Harvard doesn't coach the offensive ability out of him in his last two years in college.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Updide rules: Massé, highest upside over the others, it's close with Sidorov, Smith.

Some have made the notion that Massé is a bottom 6 forward, which I don't agree with. I think he is pretty one dimensional in the way he creates offense and his skating will likely limit him from improving the offensive creation and becoming a one on one threat. What he does well, and why I see him as a good complementary player is the rapid small area playmaking and shooting space creation. So often the guys with good shots fail to make it in the NHL because they just can't get shots off.

Hinds and Warren, even Moore have some NHL potential and then the fat stack of bottom 6 forwards from the past 2 drafts. Where does Tarin Smith rank in this? Do we not see him as having higher potential over the other two defensemen? Then again, he has a long way to go.

Nesterenko is interesting because from all accounts he improved through the season, however never got the chance, so it gives me a bit of pause regarding his status in the organization.

Masse is similar to the other top-end, top-6F scorers who can't skate in Pastujov and Sidorov. All three falling to the third round. Fans forget that Pastujov had some mocks having him selected late in the first round such as Recruit Scouting and the Sporting News.

Pastujov: Rd 3, 66th OA in 2021 draft
Sidorov: Rd 3, 85th OA in 2023 draft
Massé: Rd 3, 66th OA in 2024 draft

As for 6'1 D Tarin Smith, he's the shortest of defensemen you listed in 6'3 Hinds, 6'5 Warren, and 6'3 Moore. Smith doesn't use his body like Hinds and Warren. Smith might have equal offensive talent like Moore. All four will take time to develop, but Moore and Hinds are a bit further ahead. Anaheim can stash Smith in the WHL for the next two years since he recently turned 18 years old in March.

With Nesterenko, he was a rookie in San Diego and first, full pro season. He finished tied for 5th in scoring on the Gulls. Why would Nesterenko not playing at the NHL level for a significant portion of time give you pause when Anaheim had a plethora of bottom-6 players and they were in a rotation to get onto the ice? Nesterenko did get in three NHL games at the end of the season, where he was able to score a goal.

 

[Dirk316]

Just like the last 3 ratings the player I would last drop on waivers and that has the most trade value is Warren. By far the most upside as well

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Just like the last 3 ratings the player I would last drop on waivers and that has the most trade value is Warren. By far the most upside as well

Idk if he has the most upside,

I’d say masse, moore, hinds all have more upside than him and I think There are a few others that have similar/ more upside

Tarin smith has higher upside, but lower floor

 

[Dirk316]

Idk if he has the most upside,

I’d say masse, moore, hinds all have more upside than him and I think There are a few others that have similar/ more upside

Tarin smith has higher upside, but lower floor

My opinion is Warren's upside is Zadorov, Masse seems like Leason type, Hinds maybe like Havelid or similar.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

I feel kind of silly voting for Hinds again, voting for him so many times makes my support for him feel a lot more vehement than it is. I just think he’s a solid D prospect with a pretty good likelihood of hitting his moderate ceiling as a DFD.

 

[anezthes]

I feel kind of silly voting for Hinds again, voting for him so many times makes my support for him feel a lot more vehement than it is. I just think he’s a solid D prospect with a pretty good likelihood of hitting his moderate ceiling as a DFD.

You only have eyes for Hinds! Hindsight is 24/7!

...

Coat.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

I feel kind of silly voting for Hinds again, voting for him so many times makes my support for him feel a lot more vehement than it is. I just think he’s a solid D prospect with a pretty good likelihood of hitting his moderate ceiling as a DFD.

I have been voting Hinds since #7. I think most of these guys have a pretty wide range of outcomes whereas Hinds seems pretty certain to be at least a solid bottom pairing D, while not devoid of upside either

 

[Hockey Duckie]

I like Hinds' DFD potential very much. Hinds looked better than Helleson defensively and this was Hinds' rookie season. Although, Hinds did stumble in the last month of the season. That was probably him hitting the rookie wall.

Hinds	AHL	Splits	2023-24
Game Set	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-		PIM	shots
Total	71​	2​	8​	10​	-8​		42​	55​
Oct 13 - Mar 15	54​	2​	8​	10​	4​		32​	47​
Mar 16 - Apr 21	17​	0​	0​	0​	-12​		10​	8​

Here is Defend the Nest's end of season report on Hinds: (Please visit Defend the Nest's site to show support for his page. Thx!)

Tyson Hinds – C​

71 Games – 2 Goals, 8 Assists – 10 Points​

*rookie no previous year AHL numbers​

After some encouraging showings at the two previous rookie face-off tournaments Tyson Hinds came into his first full year in the AHL with more than a few eyes on him.​

A shaky start and more than a few in-game lessons somehow concluded in he and Drew Helleson becoming one of the Gulls most consistent and steady pairings by seasons end.​

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The Ducks second third rounder (acquired mid-draft from the Canadiens) in 2021 earned his first AHL point (an assist) in just his second game of the season but then would not see another point until early December some 18 games later when he scored his first AHL goal against the Rockford Icehogs.​

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His game has always been more defensively minded with his skating ability allowing him to contribute on the attack with the right timing. What I saw this season was the honing and sharpening of all of those skill sets as he grew more into the professional game. From the get-go he was frustrating opposing forwards with his reach and ability to snuff out plays along the boards but it took until the mid-way point to see him start to gain in confidence in the offensive zone. By seasons end he was consistently joining or jumping into a rush as well as confusing opposing teams defenses with how aggressively he would fore-check. The amount of times I saw him at or near the other teams goal-line and wondered “when did Tyson Hinds become Scott Neidermayer?” it soon became something I realised was a part of his game whether for good or bad.​

It seems as though McIlvane was trying to convert Hinds into a 2-way player during the season. There maybe more to Hinds' offensive game, but it might take some time to develop. Hinds' offense didn't surface until the middle of his D+0 season, which fit the Ducks' scouting trait of selecting late bloomers. Anaheim traded a 2022 3rd pick to move back into the 2021 3rd round for Hinds. Anaheim was rewarded as that offense kept growing for the next two seasons in the QMJHL and Hinds earning the QMJHL's best defensive d-man of the year (the Kevin Lowe trophy) for 2022-23.

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I chose Nesterenko ahead of Hinds because Nesterenko is further ahead in his development. Nesterenko feels like he can be a defensively responsible, middle-6, and glue guy winger in the NHL. Granted, Nesterenko is two years older than Hinds, but Nestrenko is meeting or exceeding his potential as a 6th round pick. The other factor of selecting Nesterenko is his skating speed on his 6'2 frame. I do value skating speed when projecting to the NHL level and reaching potential.

 

[Deuce22]

I like Hinds but barring a trade or injuries, don’t know how he sees the ice for the Ducks.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

I like Hinds but barring a trade or injuries, don’t know how he sees the ice for the Ducks.

An inevitability for this team.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

I like Hinds but barring a trade or injuries, don’t know how he sees the ice for the Ducks.

Hinds has played LD and RD throughout the AHL season. He might be used ahead of Helleson, Luneau, and Warren in case there is a need for RD help at the NHL level. Ahead of Luneau if the team wants to properly season Luneau for the first half of the season to be utilized as a PP1QB and, possibly, on the PK. We need defensive PK'ers at the NHL level and Hinds has the upper hand right now.

I'm comfortable with Hinds developing in the AHL next season. Defend the Nest blog rated Hinds with a "C " grade. All of our shutdown guys seemingly need more time to develop when compared to our OFD's in Minty and Zellweger. Luneau is the exception due to Verbeek's load mgmt and an unfortunate staph knee infection. We finally don't have to rush defensive prospects since we pushed three to the NHL last year with Minty, LaCombe, and Zellweger.

LD Solberg and LD Dionicio will probably be in Europe this season and then move onto the AHL the following season. Depending on their development, Hinds might be ahead of both after two years and could provide the Ducks a threshold for younger prospects to meet or exceed if they want to play at the NHL level, especially when LD Dumo's contract ends this year along with LD Fowler and RD Gudas' contract ends in two years. We have to project that far ahead.

 

[Deuce22]

Hinds has played LD and RD throughout the AHL season. He might be used ahead of Helleson, Luneau, and Warren in case there is a need for RD help at the NHL level. Ahead of Luneau if the team wants to properly season Luneau for the first half of the season to be utilized as a PP1QB and, possibly, on the PK. We need defensive PK'ers at the NHL level and Hinds has the upper hand right now.

I'm comfortable with Hinds developing in the AHL next season. Defend the Nest blog rated Hinds with a "C " grade. All of our shutdown guys seemingly need more time to develop when compared to our OFD's in Minty and Zellweger. Luneau is the exception due to Verbeek's load mgmt and an unfortunate staph knee infection. We finally don't have to rush defensive prospects since we pushed three to the NHL last year with Minty, LaCombe, and Zellweger.

LD Solberg and LD Dionicio will probably be in Europe this season and then move onto the AHL the following season. Depending on their development, Hinds might be ahead of both after two years and could provide the Ducks a threshold for younger prospects to meet or exceed if they want to play at the NHL level, especially when LD Dumo's contract ends this year along with LD Fowler and RD Gudas' contract ends in two years. We have to project that far ahead.

I think Solberg will pass Hinds soon. He’s already behind Mintyukov, LaCombe, Zellweger, and Luneau on the prospect tree. Unless Fowler or prospects are dealt, don’t see where he fits. Could see him being something like a pre-concussed Simon Despres, but don’t know if it will be in Anaheim.