The Ducks announced they’ve reassigned winger Sam Colangelo to AHL San Diego. They’re now left with an open roster spot after activating Ryan Strome from injured reserve earlier in the week. Strome didn’t re-enter the lineup immediately after his activation but will do so tonight, per the team’s Aly Lozoff, prompting Colangelo’s demotion so as not to be carrying three extra forwards. Mikael Granlund is also making his return to the lineup tonight – on a line with fellow veterans Strome and Frank Vatrano – after missing eight games with a lower-body injury, although he never landed on IR.
Colangelo, 23, is waiver-exempt until he plays 28 more NHL games, but he was clearly the odd man out anyway. He’d served as a healthy scratch in six straight and hasn’t played since Halloween. The 2020 second-round pick broke camp with the Ducks for the first time this year after working his way into a semi-regular role down the stretch in 2024-25, notching 10 goals and 12 points in 32 games. The 6’2″ winger has been immensely productive since turning pro out of Western Michigan in 2024, putting up 22 goals and 40 points in 40 AHL contests last year as well.
That led to some rightful optimism that he could be an important depth contributor for Anaheim sooner rather than later, but the Ducks’ additions of Granlund and Chris Kreider over the summer pushed him down the depth chart somewhat. He’s also been overshadowed by 2024 No. 3 overall pick Beckett Sennecke snatching a spot in the top nine and rattling off 11 points through his first 16 NHL games, while Nikita Nesterenko, who also entered the season on the bubble like Colangelo, has churned out seven points in 14 games in a bottom-six role. Colangelo’s ice time has been correspondingly limited, averaging 10:12 through seven contests. When dressed, he’s only managed one goal and a -3 rating.
That’s not to say Colangelo won’t be a productive NHL piece someday, but the cards haven’t yet aligned for him to make the jump. He’ll now head back to familiar stomping grounds in San Diego, where, if the demotion sticks, he should expect to be atop their scoring leaderboard at season’s end.