The Anaheim Ducks have missed the playoffs every year since 2017-18 and in doing so, have drafted in the top ten for seven consecutive seasons and procured one of the NHL’s deepest and most potent prospect pools.
Despite several young players having graduated and become full-time NHLers, such as Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Mason McTavish, Pavel Mintyukov, and Olen Zellweger, the Ducks still have an impressive pipeline of potential impact and depth prospects yet to make the jump.
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For this exercise, only players who haven’t lost rookie status are eligible for a ranking, and to be clear, these are my (Patrick Present) subjective rankings.
Honorable Mentions: Yegor Sidorov, Herman Traff, Tarin Smith, Lasse Boelius, Calle Clang
Top Ten:
10. Nathan Gaucher, 21, C, San Diego Gulls (AHL)
9. Ian Moore, 23, RHD, San Diego Gulls (AHL)
8. Sasha Pastujov, 22, W, San Diego Gulls (AHL)
7. Tomas Suchanek, 22, G, San Diego Gulls (AHL)
6. Eric Nilson, 18, C, Michigan State University (NCAA)
5. Lucas Pettersson, 19, C, Brynas IF (SHL)
4. Stian Solberg, 19, LHD, San Diego Gulls (AHL)
When making this list, there was a sizable gap between the four players at the top and the prospects ranked at five and beyond. While there will certainly be very good NHLers that I ranked between five and ten, and even some after ten, the Ducks’ top four prospects are expected to become impact players at the NHL level and even core pieces of the franchise when they hope to be perennial contenders.
Coming in at the four-spot is a player sure to become a fan favorite (if he isn’t already) with his consistent physical play and knack for scoring big goals from the blueline: Stian Solberg.
Solberg’s defining quality is how difficult he is to play against on a nightly basis. He punishes opponents when they look to get to the high-danger areas of the ice, and he finishes every hit after his check distributes the puck. Every inch of ice in the offensive zone comes at a cost when being defended by Solberg.
He’s a powerful skater with an advanced knowledge of angles, even after making the jump from European ice surfaces to North American ones in 2024-25. Everything he does on every shift is done at full effort, whether it’s netfront battles, puck retrievals that lead to crisp breakout passes, or everything in between.
He makes decisive, smart decisions with the puck and is quick to join a rush from the weak side when it’s available. His shot selection drives his offense at the blueline, as he consistently gets a heavy shot through traffic, and when a lane opens below the top of the circles, he leans on his stick and buries pucks more often than not.
At the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, the Ducks traded picks 31 and 58 to jump up to 23 and select Solberg, who was awarded the moniker “most violent player in the draft.”
He spent the majority of his 2024-25 season, his first outside of his native Norway, playing for Färjestad BK of the SHL, where he totaled 12 points (3-9=12) in 47 games before his role decreased as the playoffs approached. To ensure more ice time and get a head start on the transition to a smaller ice sheet, as well as a different style of game, the Ducks organization deemed it best he finish his season in San Diego with the Gulls of the AHL.
“I don't think they valued him enough in Färjestad to deserve to keep him around for longer, that’s just my personal take,” Ducks assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting Martin Madden said. “I think he proved in his short stint in San Diego, and right now at the World Championships, that he has a really valuable role already. He can have an impact when you trust him with ice time.”
He fit in seamlessly, as his signature style is as conducive as it gets to North American professional hockey. He tallied five points (2-3=5) in ten AHL games to end the season before heading to Europe to play in his second consecutive IIHF World Championship representing Norway, where he scored six points (4-2=6) in seven games, including a hat trick against the United States.
The only area of his game that will need polishing before he makes his NHL debut is rush defending. He does well to angle and seal on the wall, especially on the smaller ice surface, but when pucks move up ice, he could stand to close gaps sooner to not be so flatfooted against an opposing transition attack.
Solberg will projectably assume a sizable role with the Gulls in 2025-26, likely killing penalties and featuring on the power play. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that he plays NHL games at some point during the upcoming year as well. The organization has a lot of faith in him as a future impact contributor to their team.
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Photo Credit: INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / MATT ZAMBONIN
