To date, the biggest signing the Anaheim Ducks have made this offseason has been the addition of unrestricted free agent forward Mikael Granlund.
The Ducks have made some organizational depth moves in the last two days, however, inking four players to AHL contracts to play for the San Diego Gulls.
On July 1, the Gulls announced they’d signed forward Judd Caulfield and defenseman Will Francis to standard player contracts.
Anaheim Ducks Fill Assistant Coaching Vacancies at NHL, AHL Levels
Breaking: Anaheim Ducks Sign Mikael Granlund to Three-Year Contract
On July 2, they announced they’d added forward Matthew Phillips and defenseman Nikolas Brouillard, both on standard player contracts.
Of these four signings, the clear feel-good story is that of Will Francis. Five years and three battles against acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Francis is now officially living out his dream of playing hockey professionally.
“It was super special,” Francis said after signing his deal. “It’s something that I’ve worked toward ever since I was drafted into the organization. They’ve been first class to me, and it’s just a great feeling, and I got to celebrate it at home with my family.”
Francis (24) was drafted in the sixth round by Anaheim (163rd overall in 2019) six years ago from the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in the USHL. He didn’t play any hockey during recovery in 2020-21 and, with two more diagnoses, only played a total of 39 games during his four-year NCAA career with the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
Francis made his AHL debut with the Gulls in April, playing three games at the end of the 2024-25 season on an amateur tryout.
“The biggest thing is just never stop believing in yourself,” Francis said. “To accomplish anything you want to accomplish in life, you've just got to start with that belief. I'd say that's something that's going to stick with me the rest of my life.”
Though four months younger than Francis, Caulfield (24) is an AHL veteran at this point in his career, having played 133 games for the Gulls over three seasons. He’s tallied 51 points (21-30=51) in that time, playing a versatile role up and down the lineup. Caulfield was a former fifth-round draft pick (145th in ’19) of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Phillips (27) is a slight winger (5-foot-8, 161 pounds) who’s been productive at every level of hockey at which he’s played except the NHL. He’s a nine-year veteran of the AHL and has totaled 300 points (124-176=300) in 339 games. He’s a former sixth-round draft pick of the Calgary Flames (166th in ’16) and has scored five points (1-4=5) in 34 games at the NHL level.
Brouillard (30) will return to San Diego for his second stint in his career with the Gulls. He played 167 games over three seasons with the Gulls from 2020 to 2023. He spent the previous two seasons with the Hartford Wolfpack in 2023-24 and the Coachella Valley Firebirds in 2024-25.
These four players will look to provide a stable and nurturing environment for a young Gulls team in 2025-26 that will consist of budding talents like Nathan Gaucher, Stian Solberg, Yegor Sidorov, and Nico Myatovic, among others.
Eight Anaheim Ducks Players Receive Qualifying Offers, Three Do Not
2025 Anaheim Ducks Draft Grades, Analysis
Ducks GM Pat Verbeek on John Gibson Trade
Photo Credit: Patrick Present-The Hockey News
