Anaheim Ducks are No. 12 in 2025 NHL prospect pool rankings

Welcome to Scott Wheeler’s 2025 rankings of every NHL organization’s prospects. You can find the complete ranking and more information on the project and its criteria here, as we count down daily from No. 32 to No. 1. The series, which includes in-depth evaluations and insight from sources on nearly 500 prospects, runs from Jan. 8 to Feb. 7.

The Ducks have in essence swapped out graduates Cutter Gauthier and Olen Zellweger for newcomers Beckett Sennecke and Stian Solberg since last year’s ranking. I’d consider that a wash and yet they’re slotted a few spots lower. That’s in part because some other teams’ pools have improved but it’s also worth noting that I felt the pools ranked from 6-12 this year were all tightly bunched. The Ducks’ group would sooner move up than down and I debated them in the top 10.

2024 prospect pool rank: No. 5 (change: -7)

1. Beckett Sennecke, RW, 18 (Oshawa Generals)

Sennecke is a high-skill individual player with length (up over 6-foot-4 now) who last year, after an up-and-down start to his draft season, became a game-changer after the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game and finished on an emphatic note with an excellent playoff performance with the Gens, regularly pulling people out of their seats. This season, he has followed that up by becoming one of the leading scorers in the OHL.

He’s one of the most exciting pure-skill prospects in the sport. One of the more productive rookies in the OHL in his 16-year-old year, Sennecke was a standout on a young Oshawa team two years ago, earning Second All-Rookie Team honors and playing both wings successfully (he’s a right-handed shot but often played the left wing with would-be Avalanche draft pick Calum Ritchie, although he has played mostly right wing since). He looked a little skinny when I first went to see him play two years ago, and he has still looked that way in repeat viewings in Oshawa, Moncton (where I know scouts were keen to watch him closely at the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game and where I thought he was one of White’s most noticeable players with the puck and worked hard, which was the start of a positive trend in his game), Plymouth for the World Junior Summer Showcase and Ottawa for Canada’s selection camp for the World Juniors (where I thought he played really well and deserved to win a job on the team), but that’s driven by a growth spurt that sprouted him up and his room for physical growth is exciting now.

His stride and shot, which both lacked power at 16, have also made clear progress. His release, which has always been naturally quick, now has some oomph, and his skating has really smoothed out and is an asset now, which has helped his dynamic rush game.

Sennecke can definitely handle the puck. He’s got extremely soft hands and confidence on it, even under pressure spinning and weaving off the wall or attacking right into defenders with his stick skill — regularly finding his way out of tough spots and traffic with craft and creativity. The puck just sticks to him. He also moves well in control, side-stepping checks and sticks nicely. He’s impressively dexterous and does a good job catching bad passes and handling the puck in his feet. But he does have a habit of playing one-on-one a little too much at times, which has frustrated some at times but also more often thrills in sequences of skill on the puck. He’ll dangle past a defender multiple times a game, but also sometimes turn the puck over trying to be a hero when there are better plays. There are also times when he needs to empty the tank on the backcheck, but he has made more of an effort to finish his checks and battle through contact over the last 12 or so months (his flat games are fewer and fewer now and I’ve seen more and more games where he has battled and competed). He has legitimate high-end talent on the puck and his feet and stick move in and out of unison to shade away from opposing reach-ins niftily. He also sees through coverage well and — when he’s not so focused on making the individual play — can really pass it through gaps in coverage. He’s still got some work to do and some development in front of him, but the potential reward could be one of the more skilled tall wingers in the NHL. With a little more muscle and maturity, his game could continue to take off. He’s still got some work to do to win more battles and round out his game defensively but he has made important strides on both fronts in the last 12 months and he’s got first-line talent.

BECKETT SENNECKE OH MY GOODNESS 😱

The @AnaheimDucks‘ third overall pick in 2024 makes not one but TWO disgusting skate to stick moves here.

(🎥: @Oshawa_Generals) pic.twitter.com/5rBxpoId06

— NHL (@NHL) December 7, 2024

2. Tristan Luneau, RHD, 21 (San Diego Gulls/Anaheim Ducks)

A player I’ve long had a lot of time for, Luneau was the first pick in the 2020 QMJHL draft and looked like a surefire first-rounder through the Youth Olympics (where he was an alternate captain) and into his strong rookie season in the QMJHL (where he won the league’s defensive rookie of the year award). And while it took him some time to get back to that status after a knee procedure cost him the summer, preseason and first three games of the regular season in his draft year, he hit his stride in the second half of his post-draft season, was the QMJHL’s defenseman of the year two years ago and was clearly the league’s most complete defenseman by a long shot (logging huge all-situations minutes and driving offense in a big way while playing a matchup role against the opposition’s best). Last year, in his rookie pro campaign, I thought he looked like a stud in the AHL and NHL early on, and he was clearly a cut above all of Canada’s other defensemen in practices and the Red-White scrimmage in Oakville for World Junior Selection Camp before a serious infection hospitalized him and derailed his season (he would have been Canada’s No. 1 D and changed the look of that World Juniors team in Gothenburg). This year, though he hasn’t made the full-time jump to the NHL that I think he was on track to make by now pre-infection, Luneau has responded nicely from the lost time and has played big minutes for the Gulls in the AHL (he’s averaging over 22 and often playing 25-plus).

Luneau’s game isn’t dynamic in the obvious sense, but he’s a balanced and smooth-skating (without being explosive, something some scouts worried about but I’ve often argued is closer to a real strength than anything else) right-shot defenseman who can run a power play, is a plus-level passer, has developed his shot into a real weapon and reads the play at as high a level as just about any defenseman in his age group (with and without the puck at both ends). His skating has really looked very comfortable, flexible and smoothed out when healthy over the last couple of seasons. He plays a poised and polished two-way game that lends itself to driving play. And while he’s a high-floor (he should be a strong third-pairing guy at minimum) type, I think he’s got second-pair upside if he can stay healthy. His size (6-foot-1, about 200 pounds), maturity, roundedness and discreet offensive game and skating have put him, when healthy, on a path toward becoming an efficient, all-purpose, two-way guy. He has proven he can control play and log significant all-situations minutes.

3. Stian Solberg, LHD, 19 (Färjestad BK)

Prior to this year, Solberg was a tricky one as a player who had, pre-draft, played exclusively in Norway at both a junior and then pro level that seldom produces talent. But he has also played the better part of the last five (!) seasons against men. And after excellent playoffs for Valerenga and an even better showing playing first-pairing minutes against NHLers for Norway’s national team at men’s worlds, his stock was at its highest (he was the biggest riser on my board in the second half of the season) as the draft arrived. He also then signed with Farjestad in the SHL, where, split between Sweden’s top pro level and the Champions Hockey League, he has registered double digits in points as a teenage defenseman and has played to positive defensive results. (The more I watched Norway’s pro level last year, the more I found it to be of higher quality than I thought, too, which does help with my comfort level about his projection.)

His game has some real identity and form to it at an early age as well.

One of the most competitive prospects in the sport, Solberg plays really hard and firm on both sides of the puck, with a mean, strong, physical presence that has seen him make life hard on opposing players whenever he has played against his peers internationally and even against men in Norway and Sweden. He’s really physical in man-to-man coverage, sometimes too much so. It’s tough to take him one-on-one and then he can skate the other way, though he can also be a little too eager on that front. His reads and decision-making need some tightening at times, as he can be sloppy/turnover-prone, but his game has grown more mature as time has gone on, leaving me less concerned about his brain. He’s also a strong skater and advanced athlete with an athletic 6-foot-2 build that is already over 200 pounds and is really strong/sturdy. Players with his makeup — a hard-nosed, highly engaged defenseman with good size/athletic tools who’s shown enough offense — are always going to be valuable. His style should really work on North American ice/in the North American game when he eventually comes over, too. I see a potential second-pair ceiling/third-pair floor as a hard-to-play against D with some secondary offense that gives the Ducks’ future blue line something different from Olen Zellweger and Pavel Mintyukov. I thought about ranking him No. 2 here.

4. Lucas Pettersson, C, 18 (MoDo/Östersunds IK)

Pettersson is a well-liked player in the 2006 Swedish age group who has played well and worn a letter for the national team, was the first draft-eligible player to play in an SHL game last season and really saw his counting stats increase in the second half of last year at the J20 level to get picked No. 35 (he ranked almost exactly there at No. 36 on my board as well). He had a bit of a slow start at U18 worlds last spring but I thought he got better as the tournament progressed and re-emerged as one of Sweden’s top forwards (he played significant minutes, was among their leading scorers and was robbed several times and hit multiple posts, preventing better production but still finishing with eight in seven on a team-high 26 shots). This year, he has played predominantly at the pro level, splitting time between the SHL (where he has played limited minutes) and HockeyAllsvenskan on loan to Östersunds (where he has played important minutes and has been quite productive for an 18-year-old). Though he didn’t make the Swedish World Junior team, he was in the mix and I expect him to be an important part of next year’s team in Minnesota. He considered joining the Saginaw Spirit in the OHL this year after they drafted him in the CHL Import Draft as well but ultimately decided to honor the remaining year on his contract with MoDo (though I do wonder if he’ll come over and play for the Spirit next year, which I think could be good for him).

Pettersson’s a smart and well-rounded two-way center who has some talent and understands how to get the most out of his game. He’s a good skater (maybe a very good one). He’s a patient player who protects and shields pucks well, waiting for his linemates to play off him so that he can put them in good spots and win his shifts. He makes decisions quickly on the ice and shoots it quickly when he gets it in good spots, with an accurate snap shot and a confident one-touch shot. He’s got great hands and an ability to delay and hesitate on defenders, freezing them off the rush so that he can cut past and gain an advantage. He also uses his fairly fast skating to apply pressure and force turnovers, intercept passes and create breaks for himself. Plus, he’s a capable penalty killer. I’m a fan and while I debated ranking him a spot or two lower here, I believe he’s got third-line contributor potential with the right development.

5. Yegor Sidorov, LW/RW, 20 (San Diego Gulls)

Sidorov has really grown on me in the last year and has become a real riser. He scored 65 goals and 111 points in 82 combined regular season and playoff games in the WHL last year, finishing tied for fourth in goals in the regular season with 50 and leading the playoffs with 15 in 16 games with Saskatoon to play his way onto the Eastern Conference’s First All-Star Team in the WHL. I wanted to see how it translated at the pro level before I jumped fully on board, as he was a dangerous shooter and chance-creator in junior but he wasn’t a perfect player by any means and gave a lot back defensively. This year, though, after making the jump to the AHL, Sidorov has seen his minutes steadily increase. He started the year playing 11-12 minutes per game for the Gulls and is now playing 18-20 as a go-to forward for them offensively as a 20-year-old rookie. He hasn’t been a liability off the puck either and his effort level and tenaciousness have both been quite present in his game. He’s got a lightning-quick release, extremely quick hands, he’s dangerous on the flank on the power play going downhill into his snapper/curl-and-drag and he’s a good enough skater to create with them. I could see him follow the path that NHLers like Eeli Tolvanen, Daniel Sprong, Pavel Dorofeyev and Morgan Frost did to slowly become a secondary skill guy/PP2 type in a middle six.

6. Tarin Smith, LHD, 18 (Everett Silvertips)

Smith, like Solberg, was another tricky one pre-draft who has begun to crystallize over time. Last year, before the Ducks drafted him in the third round, Smith had a very productive rookie season on a decent Everett team after starting the year in a very limited role as he worked his way back to game action following a lost season the year prior to shoulder surgery. He eventually led their D in points with 49 points in 75 combined regular-season and playoff games and featured prominently on the power play. Throughout the year, he showed legitimate skill, making some high-end plays. But even though his role grew as the season went on, he never actually played a particularly big one for the Silvertips, averaging 15-16 minutes in the playoffs. This year, though, he has really taken an important step in his responsibility to become a top player on one of the top teams in the WHL. And while the Silvertips evenly distribute their time on ice across their top four D, he does narrowly lead that group at just under 24 minutes per game (and often closer to 30 of late). He’s also playing at just below a point per game to excellent defensive results. Smith’s a 6-foot-2 defenseman with plenty of tools to continue to build up. He’s creative and confident. Defensively, he plays an upstanding, physical game that has slowly become more polished and still has some developmental potential. He’s got a pro frame and he’s a strong athlete who moves well. There’s clear talent and a pro makeup and I think he’s got a chance to climb into the NHL conversation in time. After an up-and-down couple of years, this has been a really positive one for him.

7. Tyson Hinds, LHD, 21 (San Diego Gulls) 

I thought the third round was a little high for Hinds back in 2021, given his track record and the work he would have to do to add some finesse and feel to his game offensively, but he looks kind of exactly like what you’d hope a third-round draft pick would look like now.

He was an outstanding QMJHL defenseman who exceeded expectations and worked from an expected No. 5-7 role at the World Juniors into a No. 4 one by the tournament’s end. As a rookie pro last year, he handled a top-six job in the AHL well from what I saw. And as a sophomore this year he has emerged as a go-to five-on-five player and penalty killer for the Gulls, playing 20 minutes per game.

He’s got two-way value as a defender who can break up plays or skate the puck up ice. He’s got an excellent stick defensively. He can really skate north-south to play in transition as a transporter through neutral ice or trackback to get into position and catch opposing skaters. He’s also 6-foot-3 with more room still to add muscle (while already being naturally strong). He probably tops out as a third-pairing guy and there might be an outcome where he’s just a No. 7/8 D but his softer skills are more B-grade now (they’re never going to be strengths) and he has tended to steer play and drive results across levels. Without looking like a high-end prospect earlier in his career, he’s now a comparable player to some in his age group who did because he makes stops, he’s got length and he can skate (which is more and more what teams are looking for in their depth D). I’ll be interested to see if he can become an NHL option for the Ducks given they already have Mintyukov, Zellweger and Luneau with Solberg on the way (plus Jackson LaCombe now established), but I could see him getting a call at some point and being ready to play.

8. Maxim Massé, RW, 18 (Chicoutimi Saguenéens) 

Massé was the first forward taken in the QMJHL’s 2022 draft (No. 3) and lived up to the selection (which wasn’t the consensus choice at the time), playing to nearly a point per game and nearly 30 goals as a 16-year-old and the leading goal scorer (second in points) on a young Chicoutimi team to win the CHL’s rookie of the year award. He also had five goals and six points in five games at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup the summer between his 16-year-old year and his draft year. He hasn’t taken a pronounced step forward since, though.

He has earned high praise from around the QMJHL, however. Last year, though his production only took a modest step, he scored 36 goals and led Chicoutimi in scoring by 15 points with 75 points in 67 games. At U18 worlds, he played more limited minutes but played well in them (I think it had more to do with the way a couple of other lines really clicked than him) and still managed to be productive. I thought he had one of the better performances on a thinner Team Red up front at the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, too. This season, though he missed a chunk of time in October and November due to an ankle injury, Massé has been Chicoutimi’s most productive player when he’s been in the lineup, especially in the goal column.

Massé possesses a natural and versatile shot and above-average skill across the board. But it’s the completeness of his game that stands out for a player his age. He can penalty kill, he’ll go to the dirty areas and make plays around the net, he battles and he’s just a well-rounded player who stays around it and goes to the right spots, whether that’s swinging to the wall to pick up cycled pucks before defenders do or popping out into the slot at the right time. With continued work on his below-average skating (his pace will determine whether he’s just a good mid-level pro or actually has a path to the NHL), he’ll have a chance to be an NHL player. He reminds me a little of recent, well-rounded QMJHL draft picks such as Dawson Mercer and Zach Dean, though I think he has more skill than the latter did at the same age and doesn’t have the pace that the former did.

9. Nathan Gaucher, C, 21 (San Diego Gulls)

Gaucher is a big, strong kid who can really build a head of steam (his feet can look heavy early in his acceleration patterns but when they even out and he gets going, he’s quite fast) and push through the middle of the ice in transition or attack off the wall inside the offensive zone. At the junior level, there were games where he really imposed himself and just looked bigger and stronger than everyone else, combining his ability to drive with and without the puck to wreak havoc. Though his statistical profile doesn’t pop, Gaucher has been an important part of good teams, winning two World Junior golds with Canada and a QMJHL title and Memorial Cup with the Quebec Remparts. As one of the youngest full-time players in the AHL last season, he also played to solid results and looked like a pro in my viewing. He hasn’t taken a step in his second AHL season this year, though, and is still playing bottom-six minutes with the Gulls.

Gaucher has some secondary finishing ability but he has found it harder to create his own looks against men. He’ll play to the middle lane and jump defenders to the inside, but he can also rip a puck in from midrange. Now it’s just about getting the puck on his stick more. I see all of the pro tools that scouts loved in him pre-draft. He’s also good in the circle, on the forecheck, on the cycle, in front of the net and on the penalty kill because of his heaviness and skating. He lacks touch, though (he bobbles pucks and his hands can look rigid). All told, I still think he can become a solid fourth-line forward (he can play center and wing), but he needs to continue to develop his soft skills and find a way to play a bigger offensive role at the AHL level first.

10. Carey Terrance, C, 19 (Erie Otters)

An excellent skater, Terrance’s statistical profile doesn’t jump out at you but if you look a little deeper you realize that his 30 goals and 47 points both led the low-scoring Otters in scoring two years ago, and that led them in goals again last season despite going to the World Juniors with Team USA (which, while he was an extra, was a nice nod to him as an 18-year-old). He also didn’t look the least bit out of place on the second line alongside a really strong core group of 2005s and 2006s at the national program when he was the only non-NTDP skater on USA’s team for U18 worlds in Switzerland two springs ago and played well at his second World Juniors in a depth/speed role for them as part of this year’s gold medal-winning team. That he hasn’t taken a step offensively in Erie (where he’s now the Otters’ captain) this season does make me question whether he’s going to provide enough offense to translate the rest of his appealing makeup beyond the AHL, though. That the Ducks haven’t signed him yet suggests they may have the same questions as well.

Terrance has legit straight-line speed in races and covers ground quickly on the backcheck and forecheck. It’s fun to watch him get after it and drive down ice because he’s just such a smooth skater. He doesn’t have great hands when he really gets going, but his athleticism puts him on or around the puck often and allows him to be opportunistic, and he does show some skill when he slows down. I like his effort level. He’s a good penalty killer. He can get out in transition a couple of times a game. He can play center or the wing. His speed also allows him to beat defenders wide or lose them on cutbacks along the cycle. While I’ve seen signs of creativity and vision, the development of his playmaking into a more consistent element could be the difference between an AHL future and any chance of becoming a call-up option/fourth-liner who adds the desired speed to a line.

11. Calle Clang, G, 22 (San Diego Gulls)

After a superb post-draft season in HockeyAllsvenskan (which won him the league’s top young player award and was even more impressive because of how much better he was than his tandem partner Mattias Pettersson) four seasons ago, Clang’s jump to the SHL three seasons ago as a teenager with Rogle was also a success. His numbers in the last two and a half seasons, though, have hovered around .900 in the SHL and then the AHL. He progressed up levels quickly and the 2022-23 Rogle team and 2023-25 Gulls haven’t been strong teams in their leagues, which has contributed to the blasé numbers.

Clang can get himself into trouble occasionally with how active he is in the net, pulling himself off his lines at times. He can look a little old-times with a bit of a kicking style, too. But he’s really quick on his feet (without being explosive through his pushes), he makes a lot of recovery saves, he’s competitive in the net, he stays with pucks and he’s got good hands. When he plays compact, he’s tough to beat. With the right coaching/development, I think he’ll become a No. 2 or No. 3.

12. Sasha Pastujov, LW/RW, 21 (Tulsa Oilers/San Diego Gulls)

Pastujov is a player with undeniable talent but divergent opinions on his game. I see clear gifts and sense offensively and a dual-threat player who is equally as capable of making the play that leads to a goal as he is at finishing the play himself. Some scouts see a skating kink and mediocre acceleration and top speed and worry about his ability to make good on his talent. Last year, his rookie pro season was a tough one to evaluate because he missed rookie camp and main camp due to injury and then suffered a lower-body injury which kept him sidelined for two months from late November to late January. In my viewings, he actually had some nice moments when healthy (including an assist in his season debut and a hat trick coming out of the injury). This year, the Ducks then started him in the ECHL and it got me wondering if they’d stopped viewing him as a potential NHL option for them someday. But after tearing it up in Tulsa, he has been the Gulls’ leading scorer since returning to the AHL, rejuvenating his outlook.

His skating does continue to need work but I don’t think it’s ever been as big an issue as it has often been made out to be (in the public or private sphere) and he has made important progress. He’s an inventive playmaker who can do a lot with the puck, he’s got excellent touch through feet and sticks and into space (which reduces the need to be fast). He also mixes in fakes and stutter steps to create transition separation or go inside-out on defenders. He can run a power play and hold pucks, he’s dangerous around the net because of his ability in tight spaces and he’s a superb passer through bodies who can slow the play down and dictate with his poise or speed it up with his ability to quickly react to openings in coverage. Mix in a statistical profile that has suggested legit prospect (first as one of the top scorers in his age group at the national program and then with a junior-finishing 117 points in 76 combined regular-season and playoff games two years ago), no issues with work ethic (his competitiveness isn’t a strength but he engages himself enough for me), a defensive game that has come a long way, and there’s reason to be optimistic that he’s at least talented enough to become a AAAA guy. There’s a risk he becomes just a tweener, though. While he’s more talented than some of the players in front of him here, his ranking reflects the lack of a natural NHL role for him. I could eventually see him playing some games when the NHL club has a skill guy go down and wants a little more offense from a call-up.

13. Nico Myatovic, LW, 20 (San Diego Gulls)

Myatovic turned a lot of scouts into fans in his draft year while playing up and down the lineup with a stacked Thunderbirds team that won the WHL title (and mostly down it once they loaded up) by still managing to score 30 goals. Last year, on a low-scoring and rebuilding team, he then played huge minutes (averaging over 20 per game as a forward) to just under a point per game. He missed three months with a lower-body injury and got banged up a couple of more times, resulting in a disjointed post-draft season. This year, as a rookie in the AHL, he’s still learning the league and figuring out how he can impact play, though he has looked more comfortable alternating.

His statistical profile isn’t glossy but he’s got plus-level size (6-foot-3 with a frame that he has added lean muscle mass to, raising his playing weight to 199 pounds), skating (he’s a very smooth straight-line skater) and work ethic and there is a belief that despite being on the “older” side (he was a late ’04 in a predominantly ’05 draft), he’s still early in his development. He’s the kind of player who can play with a variety of linemate types and in a variety of roles and still be successful because of his toolsy, smart game. I’m not sure he’s got NHL talent but his game is projectable in other ways and there are some who believe he’s got the makings of a reliable useful bottom-six player. And though No. 33 was a little high for me on draft day, he was a player other teams had ranked in that range.

14. Austin Burnevik, RW, 20 (St. Cloud State University)

Burnevik has had a positive progression in the two seasons since he went undrafted out of the NTDP. He was always a useful bottom-six player at the program but he has taken a couple of important steps since then. Last season, he made the smart decision to go to the USHL and scored 40 goals (second in the league) and 71 points (tied for seventh) as Madison’s leading scorer by 18 points. This season, he has also made an immediate impact at St. Cloud State, playing his way onto the first line and top power-play unit and producing just under a point per game as a freshman so far. That earned him a spot on USA’s gold medal-winning World Junior team, though he wasn’t much of a factor for them.

Burnevik’s a 6-foot-4, 200-pound winger who stays around it, finds ways to get his stick onto chances inside the offensive zone, has some decent puck protection skill out wide to his body and has good feel around the net and off both of his forehand and his backhand on the cycle/in the slot. His skating is a limiter, though, and while he’s competitive enough it’s not a defining quality of his game. He’s relevant as a prospect and worth following but will have to learn to play with more pace in order to give himself an opportunity to be more than just a middle-of-the-road pro.

15. Tomas Suchanek, G, 21 (San Diego Gulls)

Suchanek’s a 6-foot-1, 185-pound goalie who was repeatedly passed up in the draft but eventually earned a pro deal with the Ducks organization for last season after grabbing people’s attention with his excellent play at the 2023 World Juniors in Halifax and Moncton (where he led the Czechs to a silver medal, led the tournament with a .939 save percentage and was named to the tournament all-star team — he was also on my ballot) and strong back-to-back seasons with Tri-City in the WHL. Last year, after performing well both in the ECHL and AHL, he then turned that pro deal into an entry-level contract. I think he was going to be the guy in San Diego this year before he underwent surgery for a ruptured ACL in September, essentially costing him his season because of the six-to-eight-month timeline that comes with it. I still felt he deserved a mention here, though. Suchanek’s game is all about staying with pucks. He’s mobile but he’s ultra-competitive and fights to get to second and third chances or hold firm on scrambles. He plays a challenging, aggressive style to play sharp angles and relies on his feet and his battle level to recover. I think he’s got what it takes to become a solid No. 3 goalie but there’s no telling if the lost time this year will set him back.

The Tiers

As always, each prospect pool ranking is broken down into team-specific tiers in order to give you a better sense of the proximity from one player — or group of players — to the next.

The Ducks’ pool is divided into three tiers: 1, 2-3, 4-15+.

Considered but not ranked were goalies Damian Clara (who is a comparable prospect to Clang for me but has had a difficult year), North Bay forward Ethan Procyszyn, Rimouski forward Alexandre Blais (who was on my draft board last year and will get to play in the Memorial Cup this year), Gulls forwards Jan Mysak (an old favorite of mine) and Coulson Pitre and Gulls defensemen Noah Warren and Rodwin Dionicio.

(Photo of Beckett Sennecke: Chris Tanouye / Getty Images)