Prospect Info: 2024 Ducks Prospect Rankings #9

[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 ninth poll I am voting for Nathan Gaucher.

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)

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...

 

[Rasp]

It gets really tough now...
Dionicio looks great but can he develop enough to get a spot in our D?
Suchanek had an great year in the AHL and could be an NHLer but can he win a back up spot?
Sidorov is a goal scoring machine but can he step it up from WHL?

My vote has to go for Gaucher. Sure he is likely going to top out as a bottom 6 defensive C specialist but he could be great at the role and has leadership talent that we are sorely lacking. Players like him are going to make a big difference for our future cup push.

 

[Kalv]

Big Rod again.
Pettersson was a close choice before tho, imo a decent pick in the previous poll

 

[Anarchynate]

Going a little off the board. Massé. Had the second best shot in the draft after Eiserman. He just knows how to score just like Sidorov. Only bigger, stronger and has better skating.

 

[Arthuros]

You thought that this was Suchanek, but this is Dio!

 

[Hey234]

IMO there is a tier drop down here from the previous group. Lot's of potential for NHL players left but all have different flaws. Some are closer to playing but will probably bottom 6, bottom pairing, or AHL players: Nesterenko Gaucher, etc... Some have high upside but lower chance for reaching it: Sidorov, Dionicio, etc... Some had more recent struggles that puts doubt into their success: Helleson, Clang, etc... Others need more time to prove their value: Smith, Masse, Myatovic, etc...

The question is really which type of group of remaining but flawed prospects is more valuable? When things are close, my gut had always been to lean more on players who have a legitimate path to the NHL over players with lower chances of ever even making to the NHL.

In this respect, while I personally believe prospects, Terrance, Dionicio, Sidorov have more upside, it's hard to ignore that Nesterenko or Gaucher are much closer and have legitimate shots of playing in the NHL in the next 2 years. I pick Gaucher for now.

 

[forever1922]

Going a little off the board. Massé. Had the second best shot in the draft after Eiserman. He just knows how to score just like Sid. Only bigger, stronger and has better skating.

I was thinking about Massé in comparison to our older prospects. By Sid(ney Crosby), you are probably referring to Sidorov, and I agree.

I really like Massé, he could have high upside in our lineup sooner than most recent prospects. Compared to someone like Sidorov, both have the pedigree as junior scorers at this point, accurate shots, offensive instincts etc. But I think Massé has a much better all around game at the same age. Granted, Sidorov has clawed from an overage draftee to a legit NHL prospect.

Massé is like Perry in front of the net, but he obviously doesn't possess much of a mean streak, he does what he does to be effective, not just for his own pleasure. What he does have is the one timer and the wrist shot. But he does not carry the puck, ever.

He will not grab the puck in the corner and bulldoze his way to the net. Perry drives the net and expects a pass through legs, Massé instead disengages the check, steps back for the shot and fires onetimers, pretty much always aimed at the corners of the net. He can find quick passes and open ice for his shot with ease. He has very translatable scoring skills that way. And he plays a somewhat responsible game, even if he is greatly hindered by his acceleration.

And then there's his size, at 6'3", almost 200 pounds by now, he has very exciting size, which almost makes me expect that he would add some physicality and moves to help him around the net to add layers to his game. He certainly has all the tools right there.

Now, does that mean he is the #9 ahead of Dionicio, Suchanek, Gaucher, Sidorov? I don't know. But I think I'll give him the nod over Sidorov and Gaucher.

Dionicio, however, is strictly better at a more important role.

 

[Anarchynate]

I was thinking about Massé in comparison to our older prospects. By Sid(ney Crosby), you are probably referring to Sidorov, and I agree.

I really like Massé, he could have high upside in our lineup sooner than most recent prospects. Compared to someone like Sidorov, both have the pedigree as junior scorers at this point, accurate shots, offensive instincts etc. But I think Massé has a much better all around game at the same age. Granted, Sidorov has clawed from an overage draftee to a legit NHL prospect.

Massé is like Perry in front of the net, but he obviously doesn't possess much of a mean streak, he does what he does to be effective, not just for his own pleasure. What he does have is the one timer and the wrist shot. But he does not carry the puck, ever.

He will not grab the puck in the corner and bulldoze his way to the net. Perry drives the net and expects a pass through legs, Massé instead disengages the check, steps back for the shot and fires onetimers, pretty much always aimed at the corners of the net. He can find quick passes and open ice for his shot with ease. He has very translatable scoring skills that way. And he plays a somewhat responsible game, even if he is greatly hindered by his acceleration.

And then there's his size, at 6'3", almost 200 pounds by now, he has very exciting size, which almost makes me expect that he would add some physicality and moves to help him around the net to add layers to his game. He certainly has all the tools right there.

Now, does that mean he is the #9 ahead of Dionicio, Suchanek, Gaucher, Sidorov? I don't know. But I think I'll give him the nod over Sidorov and Gaucher.

Dionicio, however, is strictly better at a more important role.

Definitely Sidorov, not Crosby lol

 

[ScarTroy]

I’m probably more excited for Rodwin, but I went with Suchanek here.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

I went with Nesterenko. He had a sneaky good AHL rookie season. On the Gulls, he finished tied for 5th in scoring with 37 points (16g + 21pts), 4th in goal scoring, and 2nd in +/- with a +6. RD Hagg finished with a +7 as top +/- rating and one of only nine Gulls with a +1 or higher.

Nesterenko is developing into a nice 2-way winger who can skate. He can move up and down the lineup as a top-9 winger.

Get to Know Ducks Newest Prospect, Nikita Nesterenko | Inside The Rink

At 11:58 pst on Friday, March 3rd, the last trade of the 2023 trade deadline was submitted to the NHL offices, narrowly beating the buzzer. That trade sent RHD John Klingberg (50% salary retention) from the Anaheim Ducks to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for RHD Andrej Sustr, F prospect Nikita...

insidetherink.com

 

[Kalv]

Going a little off the board. Massé. Had the second best shot in the draft after Eiserman. He just knows how to score just like Sid. Only bigger, stronger and has better skating.

Sounds like he should be our #1 prospect by a landslide

Edit: if you meand Sidorov, that would make sense tho

 

[tomd]

I'm going to hold my nose and pick Gaucher. I'm expecting big improvement at the AHL level given that he will be healthy this coming year. Won't ever be anywhere near my favorite player but he's going to play ten years in the league and be really important in the playoffs.

I love Dionicio's upside but I can't pick a player in the top 10 who may never play in the NHL.

 

[Anarchynate]

Sounds like he should be our #1 prospect by a landslide

Edit: if you meand Sidorov, that would make sense tho

Yes Sidorov.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

Still going with Hinds but I have Gaucher right with wim.

 

[Ducks]

Suchanek. He's got high upside and a high floor. Everyone else has either high upside and low floor, or high floor and low upside. The gulls were bad again this past season, but imagine how bad they would have been without him in net. I get people picking Dionicio due to upside, and I'm excited about his upside too, but his skating needs to drastically improve to be able to perform at the NHL level. Suchanek on the other hand is more of a late bloomer than a player with high upside but major flaws.

Not criticising anyone else's choices, but Suchanek is at minimum going to be a backup in the NHL in a few years and he is still showing enough growth trajectory to be a solid starter at the NHL level down the road.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

The problem with most of these polls is people vote without explaining why.

I don’t understand what Dionocio has done that would have him over someone like Gaucher.

 

[TopShelfWaterBottle]

Tyson hinds was the gulls best defensive dman and is being groomed for the role with the ducks. Who knows his ceiling but he will be a sick one for sure

 

[Hockey Duckie]

The problem with most of these polls is people vote without explaining why.

I don’t understand what Dionocio has done that would have him over someone like Gaucher.

Hot Rod's offensive game literally exploded after he was traded to Windsor two seasons ago and that high scoring kept up all season this past year, including after being traded to Saginaw. In the playoffs with Saginaw, Hot Rod was its leading scorer with 17 points in 17 games. This proves his offense wasn't a fluke occurrence two seasons ago. We took a gamble on an overager in the 5th round and that offense looks very promising. There were two offensive defensemen who don't play defense very well selected in this year's top-10 of the 2024 draft in Yakemchuk at #7 and Parekh at #9 overall. It's kinda difficult not to be a bit excited about Hot Rod, especially if he improves his skating across the pond on a bigger ice surface.

Gaucher didn't have a great season in his first year as a pro, which prompted Verbeek to say he's a couple of seasons away from the NHL.

 

[Hinterland]

Hot Rod's offensive game literally exploded after he was traded to Windsor two seasons ago and that high scoring kept up all season this past year, including after being traded to Saginaw. In the playoffs with Saginaw, Hot Rod was its leading scorer with 17 points in 17 games. This proves his offense wasn't a fluke occurrence two seasons ago. We took a gamble on an overager in the 5th round and that offense looks very promising. There were two offensive defensemen who don't play defense very well selected in this year's top-10 of the 2024 draft in Yakemchuk at #7 and Parekh at #9 overall. It's kinda difficult not to be a bit excited about Hot Rod, especially if he improves his skating across the pond on a bigger ice surface.

Gaucher didn't have a great season in his first year as a pro, which prompted Verbeek to say he's a couple of seasons away from the NHL.

Yakemchuk being bad at defense is bs but I agree with the rest of your post. Dionicio was PPG both during OHL playoffs and Memorial Cup, led all defensemen in scoring during OHL playoffs despite playing only 17 games. You can't put up those kinda numbers if you're not a legit prospect.

He's probably still unlikely to ever reach it but you can't deny his (sky high) potential. It's gonna be interesting to watch him play against men next season.