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Lucas Pettersson

Ducks Loan Damian Clara, Lucas Pettersson To Brynäs IF

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The Ducks have loaned goalie Damian Clara and forward Lucas Pettersson to the SHL’s Brynäs IF for 2025-26 as they continue their development, the Swedish club announced yesterday.

While Pettersson’s was previously assumed, Clara’s is noteworthy. The Italian netminder signed his entry-level contract last summer, and while the Ducks first loaned him to the SHL’s Färjestäd BK and then the Liiga’s Kärpät for 2024-25, he was a candidate to jump stateside and join the AHL’s San Diego Gulls this season after he played two games there down the stretch.

There’s a bit of a logjam in Anaheim’s goalie pipeline, though. They’re one of the few teams projected to carry three netminders on their NHL roster (Lukáš Dostál, Ville Husso, Petr Mrázek). They also have three goalie prospects under contract who will play for either the Gulls or the ECHL’s Tulsa Oilers this year: Vyacheslav Buteyets, Calle Clang, and Tomas Suchanek. That meant there wasn’t a clear path for the promising Clara to get playing time statside next season, so they’ll instead get their youngest signed goaltender more reps overseas.

The 20-year-old Clara has played for Brynäs before, just not in Sweden’s top league. He spent the 2023-24 season there after Anaheim drafted him in the second round, playing a crucial role in helping Brynäs earn promotion from the HockeyAllsvenskan back to the SHL. The 6’6″ goalie posted a .913 SV% in 34 regular-season games before logging a stellar .931 SV% and 1.68 GAA in 11 qualification games to send them back to the top flight.

Brynäs had an exceptionally successful first campaign back in the SHL, winning the regular-season title and finishing as runners-up in the playoffs. Clara now hopes to bolster their encore performance. He’ll share the crease with former NHL netminder Collin Delia, and another former NHLer, Erik Källgren, is on their roster but is expected to be out until January after undergoing hip surgery.

He and Pettersson, who the Ducks nabbed in the second round of the 2024 draft, will get to play with former Anaheim winger Jakob Silfverberg. This will be Pettersson’s first season in Brynäs after the 19-year-old posted a 9-10–19 scoring line in 26 games for Östersunds IK of the HockeyAllsvenskan last season.

Ducks Sign Lucas Pettersson To Entry-Level Contract

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The Anaheim Ducks have signed 2024 second-round draft pick Lucas Pettersson to a three-year, entry-level contract. Pettersson split his season between Sweden’s SHL and HockeyAllsvenskan, and is expected to return to the SHL’s MoDo Hockey next year.

Pettersson had a quiet introduction to the pro flight. He earned a call-up to the SHL after netting eight points in eight games in Sweden’s U20 league – but struggled to find a clear groove in a fourth-line SHL role. Recognizing the struggles following numerous lineup changes, MoDo opted to send Pettersson to the HockeyAllsvenskan (HA) for the entirety of January. Having his feet under him launched Pettersson’s performance. He scored a hat trick in his first game on assignment, then proceeded to net 14 points in 12 HA games throughout January and early February.

Pettersson followed his hot streak in the HA with a quartet of international friendlies with Sweden’s U20 club. He scored three points in the four games, but didn’t stay lit when he returned to league play in mid-February. By the time he rediscovered his pace – with four points in three HA games to end February – MoDo opted to bring the dynamic forward back to the top flight.

When all was said and done, Pettersson ended his season with 19 points in 26 HA games, one assist in 29 SHL games, and eight points in eight J20 (U20) games. His 0.73 point-per-game scoring pace in the HA fell just behind 2025 NHL Draft stars Anton Frondell (0.86) and Victor Eklund (0.74) on the league’s U19 leaderboards. The trio posted the highest scoring paces since Noah Ostlund (0.70, 2022-23), Lucas Elvenes (0.95, 2017-18), and Elias Pettersson (0.95, 2016-17).

Lucas Pettersson earned high-end consideration for much of the 2024 draft season. He earned a second-round bid after posting 27 goals and 57 points in 44 J20 games, though some outlets had him ranked as high as an early-20s talent. He’s a flashy, agile forward with strong puck-skills and sharp offensive instinct. Those traits will need to become consistent and refined as he eyes a move to North America, but another year in the SHL could go far in preparing Pettersson to join an often Swede-friendly Ducks lineup.

Pacific Notes: Hiller, Canucks, Romani, Pettersson

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Speaking at his introductory press conference today (video link), Kings GM Ken Holland revealed that head coach Jim Hiller will remain with Los Angeles for next season.  Hiller just completed his first full season as head coach of the team with the Kings picking up 105 points in the standings, tying their franchise record set back in 1974-75.  However, they weren’t able to shake their recent playoff struggles, falling to the Oilers in the first round for the fourth straight year, leading some to wonder if Holland would opt to go in a different direction.  However, that won’t be the case and Holland added that he has no intention of rebuilding or retooling this roster, meaning that Hiller should have largely the same group of core players for 2025-26.

More from the Pacific:

  • At his introductory press conference today (video link), new Canucks head coach Adam Foote indicated that they intend to add two new assistant coaches to their staff. One will take Foote’s previous role running the defense while they hope the other will be able to help on the offensive side of things.  The two new hires will join assistant coach Jaroslav Svejkovsky and goalie coach Marko Torenius.
  • Still with the Canucks, prospect Anthony Romani announced on his Instagram page earlier this week that he has committed to Michigan State for next season. The 19-year-old was a sixth-round pick last year, going 162nd overall.  Romani battled injuries this year but picked up 35 points in 35 games between North Bay and Barrie in the OHL before adding 12 goals and 12 assists in 16 playoff contests for the Colts.
  • Ducks prospect Lucas Pettersson has signed a two-year deal with SHL Brynas, per a team release. The 19-year-old was an early second-round pick last June, going 35th overall after a strong showing in MoDo’s junior system.  This season, the center primarily played professionally, splitting time between the SHL with MoDo and Ostersunds of the second-tier Allsvenskan.  At their top level, Pettersson was limited to just one assist in 29 games while his team was demoted to the Allsvenskan for next season.  With Ostersunds, he fared much better with nine goals and ten assists in 26 contests.  By joining Brynas, Pettersson should be able to predominantly play at the SHL level next season, ideally in a more prominent role.

Pacific Notes: Chernyshov, Pettersson, Holtz, Barr

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Sharks 2024 second-round pick Igor Chernyshov has officially found a place to play this season. As he said was likely the case last week, he’s inked a scholarship and development agreement with the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League, per the club.

The 33rd overall pick in June was originally supposed to remain in his native Russia next season. He had one year left on his contract with Dynamo Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League, but he bought himself out of the deal last week and subsequently signed his entry-level contract with the Sharks.

Chernyshov, 18, will attend training camp for a brief period in San Jose before being returned to Saginaw, likely for the entire 2024-25 campaign. Doing so will slide the beginning of his entry-level contract to 2025-26.

The 6’3″, 203-lb winger had three goals and one assist for four points in 34 KHL games last season. He was much more productive in the junior ranks, posting 28 points (13 G, 15 A) in 22 games with MHK Dynamo Moscow.

More out of the Pacific Division:

  • When Chernyshov’s move to Saginaw was announced this morning, there was a brief thought that Ducks 2024 second-rounder Lucas Pettersson might join him in Michigan. That won’t be the case, however. Sources told Max Miller of The Hockey News and Scott Wheeler of The Athletic that he’ll remain in his native Sweden after being selected by the Spirit in the CHL Import Draft. Pettersson, 18, was selected two picks after Chernyshov in June. He’ll likely get some action in the pros with MoDo Hockey of the Swedish Hockey League, but could still spend a solid chunk of 2024-25 with their junior team. The 5’11” center was one of the Swedish junior circuit’s leading scorers last season, posting 57 points (27 goals, 30 assists) in 44 games for MoDo’s U-20 club.
  • The Golden Knights bought low on 2020 seventh-overall pick Alexander Holtz this summer, only parting ways with depth forward Paul Cotter and a 2025 third-rounder to acquire him and Akira Schmid from the Devils. Speaking to reporters, Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon said Holtz was “a player we had tremendous regard for as an amateur. We’re taking a swing at his upside and what a change can do sometimes for young players” (via James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now). McCrimmon thinks Holtz has “untapped potential that we feel we can unlock here to some degree with the opportunity,” he added. With Jonathan Marchessault and Chandler Stephenson among the key departures from Vegas’ forward group this summer, Holtz will be relied upon as a top-nine scoring option for the Knights in 2024-25 with the potential to challenge for top-six minutes. The 22-year-old had 28 points in 82 games in New Jersey last year.
  • The Ducks have added to their minor-league coaching staff, hiring Dave Barr as an assistant for the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, per a team release. Barr, 63, spent last season as an assistant with the Chicago Wolves during their one year of operating independently of an NHL affiliation. He has 12 years of experience as an assistant at the game’s highest level, spending time on benches for the Avalanche, Wild, Devils, Sabres, Panthers and Sharks from 2008 to 2020. Before joining the Wolves last season, he spent two years as the head coach of the Vienna Capitals in Austria’s ICEHL.

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