Ducks Assign Damian Clara, Lucas Pettersson To AHL
The Anaheim Ducks have announced a pair of additions following the end of Brynäs IF’s season in the SHL. Anaheim has assigned forward Lucas Pettersson and goaltender Damian Clara to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. The duo will join San Diego as they make a final push for the 2026 Clarke Cup playoffs with six games left on the schedule. The Gulls currently sit in the final spot of playoff contention in the AHL’s Pacific Division.
Clara served as Brynäs’ starter for much of the year. He finished the year with17 wins and a .887 save percentage in 33 games. The performance was a slight uptick from the .879 save percentage he posted in 21 SHL games last season. He boosted his stat line with a transfer to Finland’s Liiga at the end of last season, where he posted one shutout and a .910 save percentage in 10 games.
Clara garnered plenty of attention while starting for Team Italy at the 2026 Winter Olympics. He played in four games before sustaining a leg injury that knocked him out of the rest of the tournament. Clara faced an average of 33 shots per game at the Olympics and still left the tournament with a .911 save percentage. That is the fourth-highest save percentage ever recorded by a U22 goalie with three-or-more appearances in an Olympic tournament.
Pettersson rotated throughout Brynäs’ middle-six this season and finished the year with 20 points in 41 games. He was a red-hot scorer in tournament play this season, netting four goals and six points in six games at the 2026 World Junior Championship and seven points in 10 games during the Champions Hockey League tournament. The 2024 second-round pick has long been praised for his confident puck-movement and strong shot. He racked up 57 points in 44 U20 games during his draft year but had a slow start to his pro career last year. Pettersson racked up 19 points in 26 HockeyAllsvenskan games and one assist in 29 SHL games as a first-year pro. He vastly improved on that production this year and could bring an interesting boost in skill to San Diego’s lineup.
Clara will offer another starting option while Ville Husso is on the NHL roster. He will compete with Calle Clang and Tomas Suchanek for minutes. Clang has notched 17 wins and a .896 save percentage in 33 games this season, while Suchanek has five wins and a .883 save percentage in 14 games. Meanwhile, Pettersson will look to pull some minutes away from Judd Caulfield and Sam Colangelo in the Gulls’ middle-six.
Ducks Recall Tyson Hinds
With Radko Gudas and Pavel Mintyukov continuing to battle lower-body injuries, the Ducks have brought up some extra defensive depth heading into tonight’s game against Calgary. The team announced (Twitter link) that blueliner Tyson Hinds has been recalled from AHL San Diego.
It’s the first recall of the season for the 23-year-old and third of his career although he’s still looking to make his NHL debut. Hinds was a third-round pick by the Ducks back in 2021, going 76th overall out of QMJHL Rimouski. Moved to Sherbrooke soon after, Hinds had a big jump in production in 2022-23, his final junior season, where he tallied 54 points in 56 games.
However, that offensive output hasn’t carried over to the AHL. Over his three professional seasons, Hinds has collected a total of 47 points. A career-best 19 of those have come in 2025-26 as Hinds has five goals and 14 assists through 62 appearances with San Diego so far this season.
Even with the injuries, Anaheim still has six healthy blueliners, unless another player’s availability is in question for tonight. If so, Hinds’ recall would fall under emergency status and not count against their post-deadline limit. If not, he will be one of their five allowable post-deadline regular recalls.
Radko Gudas, Pavel Mintyukov, Cutter Gauthier Ruled Out Friday
- While Ducks captain Radko Gudas hopped back into the lineup against Toronto earlier in the week after ending Leafs captain Auston Matthews‘ season with a knee-on-knee hit, he wasn’t fully recovered from a lower-body injury of his own that he sustained back on March 26 against the Flames. After racking up 17 penalty minutes against the Leafs, he bowed back out of the lineup for Wednesday’s loss to the Sharks. He won’t be able to go tonight against the Blues, either, head coach Joel Quenneville said (via Derek Lee of The Hockey News). Neither will fellow rearguard Pavel Mintyukov nor leading scorer Cutter Gauthier, for that matter, a blow for their hopes to gain some separation from the streaking Oilers for the Pacific Division title. Mintyukov has also missed two of the last three with a lower-body issue, while Gauthier will miss his second straight game with the upper-body injury he sustained against Toronto in an early collision with teammate Leo Carlsson.
Latest On Radko Gudas, Pavel Mintyukov
Shortly ahead of tonight’s game at San Jose, the Anaheim Ducks revealed that Radko Gudas and Pavel Mintyukov wouldn’t play due to lower body injuries.
For Gudas, it more or less confirms the suspicion that the 35-year-old laced them up not yet healthy in order to answer the bell against the Maple Leafs. It’s a commendable act from the Ducks’ captain, especially as Gudas didn’t throw a punch in his scrap with Max Domi, stemming from the controversial hit which ended Auston Matthews’ season. Nonetheless, the Czech stay-at-home man will look to get healthy in time for the playoffs.
Ducks’ Cutter Gauthier Suffers Upper-Body Injury
Anaheim Ducks star forward Cutter Gauthier suffered an upper-body injury in the team’s overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs last night. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reports Gauthier will not travel with the team on their upcoming trip to San Jose for their game against the Sharks, but adds that the Ducks are “hopeful he returns this weekend.”
While it’s certainly fortunate for the Ducks that Gauthier appears to have avoided a more serious injury, losing Gauthier for any period of time takes one of the team’s best players out of the lineup. The 22-year-old winger has had a breakout sophomore season, leading the team in scoring with 38 goals and 65 points in 73 games played.
The only player in franchise history to score more goals in a season before age 23 is Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Paul Kariya. Gauthier is, without question, one of the most promising young players on a team filled to the brim with high-upside skaters aged 25 or younger.
That’s what makes Gauthier’s injury so significant, even if it only ends up costing him a game or two. He’s the Ducks’ most lethal scorer and his loss will be felt as the team looks to secure its place atop the Pacific Division. As the Ducks are hopeful Gauthier will return at some point relatively soon, it’s likely the team will also hope that the injury he’s suffered won’t be something that lingers and hampers him even slightly after he’s been cleared to return to the ice.
With Gauthier out of commission, the Ducks will be forced to turn to other players to fill Gauthier’s role, which was most recently on the team’s third line alongside Ryan Poehling and Jeffrey Viel. Veteran Frank Vatrano, a healthy scratch, could draw into the lineup in Gauthier’s place. It would be a real opportunity for Vatrano to get his season back on track, at one game at a time. The 32-year-old has endured a nightmarish campaign, one where he’s scored just four goals and eight points in 46 games played, a career-worst scoring rate.
Radko Gudas Returns To Lineup
A third pairing defender who chips in on the penalty kill, the Czech native’s Ducks are essentially a lock for the postseason, where he’ll be eager to add to his 57 career playoff games prior to free agency this summer.
Anaheim Ducks Recall Nathan Gaucher
3/29/26: According to the AHL transaction log, Gaucher has been recalled to the NHL by Anaheim. However, since he is not in San Diego’s lineup tonight, he wouldn’t be eligible for recall. The only exception would be if the Ducks recalled him under emergency conditions.
3/29/26: Gaucher has been reassigned back to the AHL, according to the league’s official transactions wire. His NHL debut will have to wait, as he didn’t dress for either of the Ducks’ two games played while he was on their NHL roster.
Though he returns to the AHL without having played in his first NHL game, Gaucher’s recall was not without at least some benefit. He received the pro-rated portion of his NHL salary ($855K) during the recall, a notable albeit brief pay bump. Gaucher’s AHL salary is $82.5K and he did not receive a signing bonus this season, nor is he slated to receive one next league year.
3/25/26: A recent first-round pick by the Anaheim Ducks could be making his NHL debut relatively soon. According to Derek Lee of The Hockey News, the Ducks are expected to recall forward Nathan Gaucher from the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, with an official announcement coming later.
Gaucher, 22, has been playing in the Ducks organization for a few years now. Anaheim selected Gaucher with the 22nd overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft after he scored 31 goals and 57 points in 66 games for the QMJHL’s Québec Remparts, with a +30 rating. The 2022-23 campaign was Gaucher’s best at the major junior level, scoring 22 goals and 46 points in 44 games with a +35 rating, with another seven goals and 16 points in 18 postseason contests en route to a Memorial Cup title.
Since then, he has played professionally in the Ducks’ organization, exclusively for the Gulls. Unfortunately, his development, primarily on the offensive side of the puck, has stagnated somewhat. Throughout his three years in the AHL, Gaucher has registered 30 goals and 70 points in 185 games, but has set a new career-high this season.
Given his production in San Diego, it’s somewhat difficult to project Gaucher’s long-term path in the NHL. He’s an aggressive forechecker who isn’t afraid of physicality, with the vision to find his teammates relatively effortlessly. A good comparison would be Martin Pospisil of the Calgary Flames, a strong player who excels at moving the puck in a bottom-six role while averaging over three hits per game.
Latest On Radko Gudas
- Friedman also reported on Saturday Headlines that injured Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas is pushing to play the team’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night. Gudas is dealing with a lower-body injury and was sidelined for Anaheim’s last game. His timeline to return is still in question. What isn’t is Gudas’ desire to play against the Maple Leafs, per Friedman. Tomorrow’s contest will be Toronto’s first against the Ducks since Gudas’ highly controversial hit on Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews. Gudas was suspended five games for the play, returning to action March 22.
Radko Gudas, Pavel Mintyukov Out With Injuries
The Anaheim Ducks were playing fairly shorthanded in today’s loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Ahead of the game, the Ducks announced that defensemen Radko Gudas and Pavel Mintyukov would miss due to lower-body injuries.
The lack of defensive depth showed tonight, but not to a significant degree. The Ducks have typically averaged 28 shots against this season, and allowed 34 shots to the Oilers tonight, who also had three power plays. Anaheim didn’t indicate how long either defenseman was expected to miss with their respective injuries.
Ducks Sign Herman Traff To Entry-Level Contract
The Anaheim Ducks are bringing one of their recent third-round picks to North America. According to a team announcement, the Ducks have signed winger Herman Träff to a three-year, entry-level contract. He’ll join the AHL’s San Diego Gulls on an amateur tryout agreement for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign.
Shortly after Anaheim’s announcement, PuckPedia released the contract details of Träff’s entry-level deal:
- 2026-27: $850K salary, $94K signing bonus, $85K minors salary
- 2027-28: $900K salary, $91K signing bonus, $85K minors salary
- 2028-29: $950K salary, $85K signing bonus, $85K minors salary
Although it won’t harm anything to keep a closer eye on Träff in the AHL, it’s a somewhat surprising development. Träff is 20 years old and has managed only 36 games of experience in the SHL. Because of that, especially in a new continent, playing full-time in the AHL will serve as a large step for Träff.
Still, he likely would have earned a look in the SHL next season, regardless. He was dominant this year, scoring 23 goals and 41 points in 51 games for the HockeyAllsvenskan’s IK Oskarshamn. Träff’s last appearance in the SHL came last season with HV71, when he scored three goals and seven points in 25 games as a 19-year-old.
Fortunately, Träff’s season should last a little while longer. The San Diego Gulls are three points up on the Tucson Roadrunners for the final postseason spot in the AHL’s Pacific Division, and have 11 games remaining to increase the gap.
At the very least, even if the Gulls don’t make the postseason this year, Träff will take part in meaningful hockey right away. Still, unless he is particularly dominant down the stretch this season and at next year’s preseason, Träff will likely begin next season with the Gulls and remain there for some time as he continues his development.