West Notes: Zellweger, Mintyukov, Suchanek, Canucks, Ritchie

The Ducks received trade interest in young defensemen Olen Zellweger and Pavel Mintyukov, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in his latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link).  The 21-year-olds are believed to be a big part of Anaheim’s future but were in and out of the lineup at times, something that Friedman notes resulted in both players going to management about their playing time.  Zellweger had 20 points in 62 games last season while Mintyukov had 19 in 68, a drop of nine points from his rookie-season performance.  Despite the trade interest, Friedman relays that Anaheim doesn’t have any interest in moving either youngster.

More from out West:

• Still with the Ducks, prospect goaltender Tomas Suchanek has fully recovered from the torn ACL sustained last summer just after development camp, relays Derek Lee of The Hockey News. The 22-year-old impressed in his first professional season back in 2023-24 where he put up a 2.92 GAA and a .910 SV% in 29 games with AHL San Diego, earning him an entry-level contract along the way.  As things stand, Suchanek seems likely either to be the backup with the Gulls behind Ville Husso or starting at ECHL Tulsa to give him a shot at more playing time.
• The Canucks showed strong interest in center Christian Dvorak earlier this week, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK reports (Twitter link). Dvorak ultimately signed a one-year, $5.4MM contract with Philadelphia while Vancouver is believed to have put a three-year pact on the table worth around $4MM per season.  The 29-year-old had 33 points in 82 games with Montreal last season while winning nearly 56% of his faceoffs.
• Wild prospect Ryder Ritchie announced on his Instagram page that he has committed to play for Boston University for the upcoming season. The 18-year-old was a second-round pick by Minnesota last year, going 45th overall.  Ritchie spent last season with WHL Medicine Hat, collecting 61 points in 53 regular season games and averaging a point per game in 18 playoff outings.  He then capped off the campaign with four goals and an assist in four Memorial Cup appearances.