After acquiring his rights at the deadline, the Anaheim Ducks have signed Calle Clang to a three-year entry-level contract. The young netminder spent this year with Rogle of the Swedish Hockey League, where he’ll likely return next season.
Clang, 19, was part of the return for Rickard Rakell from the Pittsburgh Penguins, who drafted him 77th overall in 2020. The 6’2″ netminder was excellent in his first real taste of SHL action, posting a .914 save percentage in the regular season and helping Rogle win a Champions League title by going 5-1. He’s also been at each of the last two World Junior tournaments, though he has still yet to see a minute of action at the event. Still, he certainly should be in the mix for the rescheduled tournament this summer, and now has his NHL future locked up with Anaheim as well.
Another Swedish netminder who plays deep in his crease, Clang has all the measurables and upside to become a legitimate NHL option down the road. While that’s still a way off, it could raise some interesting questions for the Anaheim organization.
The team already has John Gibson in place and signed through 2026-27 and Lukas Dostal as its presumptive goaltender of the future. With high hopes for Clang, things could get interesting for the new front office led by Pat Verbeek in the coming years. It’s the fact that they targeted a goaltending prospect at all that could raise eyebrows, especially given the lottery ticket options they already have in Olle Eriksson Ek and Roman Durny. Both of those prospects are scheduled for restricted free agency, however, with Durny especially a potential non-tender candidate after missing nearly the entire season with a groin injury.
Regardless of what comes down the road, getting Clang signed was obviously a priority for this administration, as they held his rights until January 2024. As he was selected outside of the first round and is still signed for Rogle next season, he’ll have to be returned to Sweden unless he somehow makes the Ducks roster out of camp.
Best goalie specific name I’ve ever heard!
That would be such a bad name for a baseball fielder or basketball player.
Can see them trading Gibson in the next year or two