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Ducks Sign Carey Terrance To Entry-Level Contract

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The Anaheim Ducks have signed 2023 second-round draft pick Carey Terrance to a three-year, entry-level contract set to begin in the 2025-26 season. Terrance has spent this season captaining the OHL’s Erie Otters, who are about to take on the London Knights in the OHL Playoffs. Terrance is expected to participate in that series at some point, though he’s working his way back from a scary upper-body injury sustained on February 14th. Terrance and star 2025 NHL Draft prospect Matthew Schaefer are currently participating in Erie’s practices in no-contact jerseys ahead of round two.

Terrance seemed to have a strong step on the season prior to his injury. He had scored 20 goals and 39 points in 45 games, just shy of the scoring pace that led him to 52 points in 56 games last year. But his step back in scoring lined up with a clear improvement in his defensive game. Terrance looked far more comfortable in commanding the center role this season, and provided the safety-net and defensive-zone control needed to let aggressive offensive pieces like Sam Alfano, Malcolm Spence, and Schaefer drive down the ice. Anaheim certainly wanted to lean into those traits when they selected Terrance with the 59th-overall pick in 2023. He scored an impressive 30 goals and 47 points in 67 OHL games – and nine points in eight games with the U.S. NTDP – that season, showing clear upside as a forechecker with a snappy wrist shot.

Two seasons later, Terrance has rounded out those attributes while maintaining his strong goal-scoring. He’ll look to return hot for the Otters in a win-or-go-home playoff series against the top team in the OHL. Should the series go downhill, Terrance would be eligible to make his AHL debut without burning a year of his entry-level contract.

Radko Gudas Won't Require Offseason Surgery

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  • Contrary to a report from yesterday evening, Anaheim Ducks’ captain, Radko Gudas, isn’t headed for the operating room this off-season (Tweet Link). The initial was generated to contextualize Gudas’s “struggles” this season, but it doesn’t appear to be based on much accuracy. Gudas has essentially only struggled with his possession quality this year, as his physicality and defensive metrics (both of which he’s excelled at his entire career) have improved.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Ducks Recall Ville Husso

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The Ducks have recalled goaltender Ville Husso from AHL San Diego after John Gibson left last night’s start with a lower-body injury, according to the AHL’s transactions log. In a corresponding move, the team reassigned prospect Damian Clara to replace Husso on San Diego’s roster. He was previously on loan to Liiga’s Kärpät.

Anaheim has recalled Husso frequently since acquiring him from the Red Wings in February, constantly as a fill-in for the oft-injured Gibson. This is Gibson’s third injury-related absence in the past six weeks, including a three-gamer in February and a seven-gamer last month. While the latter was due to a lower-body injury, it’s unclear if the injury he sustained last night against the Flames is related.

While Gibson’s absences have meant more playing time for the upstart Lukáš Dostál than for Husso, the third-stringer has made a start and a relief appearance for the Ducks since the move. He’s allowed five goals on 51 shots for a good .902 SV%, although his only decision was a 3-2 loss to Utah on March 12. When considering his nine appearances with Detroit, his numbers for the year are still underwhelming. The struggling 30-year-old has a 1-6-2 record, .874 SV% and 3.71 GAA in nine starts and two relief appearances across both clubs while allowing 7.0 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck.

A pending unrestricted free agent, Husso won’t earn anything resembling his current $4.75MM cap hit on the open market this summer. A two-way deal may even be necessary for him to land another NHL contract. He’s still been strong enough in the minors to command a No. 3 role, posting a 2.64 GAA, .910 SV%, and a 15-6-0 record in 22 appearances split between AHL Grand Rapids and San Diego.

With the Ducks now mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Husso remain up for the last two weeks of the campaign while Gibson gets an early start to his offseason.

As for Clara, the 20-year-old will get his first taste of life in North America to close his 2024-25 season. It didn’t go as well as he’d hoped overseas, posting a .879 SV% and 3.19 GAA in 21 appearances for Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League before his late-season transfer to Finland. It’s worth noting that was Clara’s debut against top-level European competition – his breakout 2023-24 campaign was spent in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan, helping Brynäs IF gain promotion back to the SHL for this season with a .913 SV% in 34 outings.

The 6’6″ Italian improved his play down the stretch, logging a 2.49 GAA, .910 SV%, one shutout, and a 3-7-0 record in 10 showings with Kärpät to end the season. He’ll almost certainly serve as Italy’s starting netminder for the 2026 Winter Olympics, which they’ll participate in as the host country. A second-round pick by Anaheim in 2023, he adds to a decent complement of young goalies in the organization behind Dostál that also includes Calle Clang and Tomas Suchanek – neither of whom are available to San Diego right now because of injuries.

Jacob Trouba Out Day-To-Day

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  • According to Derek Lee of The Hockey News, the Anaheim Ducks avoided a worst-case scenario with defenseman Jacob Trouba. Trouba suffered a scary injury in last night’s contest against the New York Rangers when he ran into former teammate Igor Shesterkin’s stick, causing Trouba to crash into the boards at a high velocity. Despite not joining the team for practice today, Trouba’s recovery timeline is only considered day-to-day, and he could feature for Anaheim in their upcoming contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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Nathan Gaucher Out For The Rest Of The Season

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Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice believes that defenseman Dmitry Kulikov could return to the lineup during the last week of the NHL regular season (as per Panthers Senior Digital Content Manager Jameson Olive). Kulikov is sidelined with an upper-body injury that has kept him out of the last three games, but he could return just in time for the playoffs.

The 34-year-old isn’t the producer he once was but has averaged 19:17 of ice time per game this season in 68 games. The 16-year NHL veteran has tallied four goals and nine assists this season along with a +13 plus/minus. However, he has struggled with the puck, committing 72 turnovers which eclipses his career high by nearly 20.

In other morning notes:

  • Anaheim Ducks AHL affiliate the San Diego Gulls, tweeted that forward Nathan Gaucher had successful shoulder surgery and will miss the rest of the 2024-25 season as he will need a 4-6 month recovery. Gaucher was the Ducks first-round pick in 2022 (22nd overall)  and had a labral tear in his left shoulder that could cause him to miss the start of next season while he recovers. The 21-year-old hasn’t found his offensive game in the AHL to this point in his young career, producing just eight goals and 11 assists this season in 56 AHL games. While the start to his professional career has been disappointing, Gaucher is just two years removed from representing Team Canada at the World Juniors and certainly possesses the physical gifts to make it as a top-nine NHL forward.
  • The Calgary Flames received some good news on the injury front last night as captain Mikael Backlund returned to the lineup after missing six games with an upper-body injury (as per Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg). The 36-year-old had last played on March 12th against Vancouver and should give an added boost to the Flames as they try and chase down a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Backlund is in his 17th NHL season and still provides solid two-way play for Calgary, even if his offensive numbers aren’t what they used to be. Backlund has just 11 goals and 13 assists this season in 65 games, but his deployment has been skewed towards the defensive side of the game this season, which makes sense given that he has received Selke Trophy consideration in seven of the last eight years.

Colangelo To Return From Upper-Body Injury

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  • The Ducks will have winger Sam Colangelo back in the lineup tonight against Boston, relays Eric Stephens of The Athletic (Twitter link). He had been out for the last two weeks with an upper-body injury.  Colangelo is in his first full professional season and has split time between Anaheim and AHL San Diego.  He has six goals and an assist in 20 games with the Ducks while being quite productive with the Gulls, tallying 19 goals and 16 helpers in 38 outings on the farm.

Ducks' AHL Affiliate Sign Moore To Amateur Tryout

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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.

Anaheim Ducks Reassign Ville Husso, John Gibson Returns

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Earlier today, Anaheim Ducks’ head coach Greg Cronin shared (and publicized by Derek Lee of The Hockey News) that netminder John Gibson has returned from his lower-body injury and would start tonight against the Nashville Predators. The Ducks announced they’ve reassigned goaltender Ville Husso to their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, now that Gibson has fully returned.

Gibson has been out of the lineup for the better part of two months with a pair of lower-body injuries. Since the calendar turned to February, Gibson has only managed four games played, posting a 1-1-0 record with a .891 SV% in that time. His start tonight against Nashville will be the first action he’s seen since March 5th.

Still, this season can’t be seen as anything other than a productive rebound for Gibson. He owns a 9-10-2 record in 25 starts this year with a .909 SV% and 2.82 GAA. The latter two statistics and his 5.9 goals saved above average represent his highest totals since the 2018-19 season. Although Lukáš Dostál has become the de facto starter in Orange County, Gibson has turned his career around after multiple disappointing campaigns.

Meanwhile, Husso returns to San Diego after debuting with the Ducks in the past week. Anaheim acquired Husso just before the trade deadline from the Detroit Red Wings for future considerations, and he’s filled in nicely for the team when Gibson has been out.

The native of Helsinki, Finland appeared in two games for Anaheim since being acquired, managing a 0-1-0 record and stopping 46 of 51 shots. His numbers aren’t as promising in the AHL, as Husso has posted a 3-1-0 record in four games with the Gulls with a .894 SV%.

Ducks’ Will Francis Signs AHL Tryout

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Ducks defense prospect Will Francis has signed an amateur tryout with AHL San Diego for the remainder of the season, the team announced. The 2019 sixth-round pick will get his first taste of professional hockey after four years at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

It’s been an incredibly trying road for Francis, 24, to get to this point. After playing out his post-draft season with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the United States Hockey League, he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He’s now entered remission three separate times in the last five years, keeping him sidelined for the entire 2020-21 campaign and the vast majority of the 2021-22, 2023-24, and 2024-25 campaigns. After beginning his third round of cancer treatments in October, he returned to play for the Bulldogs on March 8 and suited up in one of their NCHC quarterfinal losses to Arizona State.

A hard-nosed shutdown defenseman, the 6’5″, 216-lb Francis totaled one assist and 29 PIMs with a minus-six rating in 39 games for Duluth. Before his diagnosis, he posted 3-11–14 with a plus-nine rating across 69 major junior games with Cedar Rapids. While Francis’ NHL signing rights will lapse on Aug. 15, he’ll still get at least a few games within the Ducks organization.

Back in 2022, the Ducks’ website put together a profile on Francis during a development camp appearance with the club that’s more than worth the read. All of us at PHR wish him health as he takes the next step in his career.

Will Francis To Sign With Gulls

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  • Ducks prospect Will Francis will join AHL San Diego for their stretch run, reports Matt Wellens of the Duluth News-Tribune. The 24-year-old blueliner was a sixth-round pick back in 2019, going 163rd overall.  Francis is a three-time cancer survivor, missing time in three of his four collegiate campaigns at the University of Minnesota-Duluth due to the illness, limiting him to just 39 games overall, five of which came this season.

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