The Anaheim Ducks’ AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, today signed defenseman Ian Moore to an amateur tryout, per a team announcement. Moore spent four seasons playing collegiately at Harvard University. At the ivy-league school, Moore put up 56 points in 122 games and the 6’3, 200-pound defender was named team captain the last two seasons. He was drafted by the Ducks in the third round of the 2020 draft. With his college career over, Moore immediately becomes one of the franchise’s top defensive prospects, along with Tarin Smith, who has scored 58 points in 63 WHL games this season, and Tristan Luneau, who has scored 42 points in 46 AHL games.
More from the Pacific:
- San Jose Sharks’ veteran forward Alexander Wennberg is a game-time decision for tomorrow’s game, per Bay Area News Group’s Curtis Pashelka. Pashelka goes on to note that there is optimism he will be able to suit up. In 64 games this season, the 30-year-old Wennberg has put up 31 points. Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky added that the injury is something Wennberg has been dealing with for some time. Wennberg had been serving in a bottom-six role until the trade of Mikael Granlund to the Stars in February. Wennberg has since been serving as the team’s second-line center. He has one year remaining on his two year, $10MM AAV contract he signed last July.
- On Monday, the Los Angeles Kings honored former president and GM Dean Lombardi, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. After his first stint as a general manager fizzled out with the Sharks, Lombardi oversaw tremendous success in his time in LA, which resulted in two Stanley Cup winning teams. Lombardi saw success in developing draft picks (perhaps most notably with Drew Doughty) but also made aggressive trades for veterans like Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. Since being let go by the team in 2017, Lombardi has served as an executive with the Flyers. During Monday’s celebration, as Friedman notes, Lombardi took time to state that he believes the game is getting too expensive for some children to play. He called it a “grassroots problem” that excludes some athletes from being able to pick up the game.
Lombardi is correct. Alot of good atheletes who could be future stars will never get to play the game due to the cost.
Hell, the game was getting too expensive for kids to play over fifty years ago.
Luneau is a shoe-in. If Moore and Smith turn out to be NHL defensemen, the Ducks will be loaded on D! They already have Zellweger, Minty, LaCombe, and Helleson. Gudas and Trouba will be gone after next season (possibly at the trade deadline). Plus they already have decent D-men in San Diego: Hinds, Warren, Solberg, etc.