Ducks training camp preview: Who’s back, who left and who’s new

The Ducks had perhaps the most intense training camp in the league last season, with Greg Cronin bringing his experience at every developmental level to his first year as an NHL head coach.

The result only got them one more point in the standings from a season weighed down by injuries, penalties and tight losses, but changes in the team’s culture and work ethic were palpable. Now, following an offseason that was much more modest than most expected, including GM Pat Verbeek himself, the young roster will be back at it when training camp opens Thursday.

Forwards

Who’s back: Frank Vatrano, Troy Terry, Mason McTavish, Alex Killorn, Ryan Strome, Leo Carlsson, Brett Leason, Trevor Zegras, Isac Lundeström, Ross Johnston, Brock McGinn, Nikita Nesterenko and Pavol Regenda.

Carlsson showed tremendous promise despite being limited by load management and multiple injuries last season. He and McTavish anchoring the middle effectively for the Ducks will be paramount. Vatrano, who is in a contract year, had a career-best campaign last year while Terry’s was a tale of two halves after he struggled early and then turned on his boosters. Killorn also surmounted two stints on injured reserve to finish strong. Players like Leason, Nesterenko and Regenda can all elevate their responsibility this season. Both Vatrano and, especially, Zegras, have had their names churned about the rumor mill, but camp will open with both players as significant ingredients in the Ducks’ offensive mix.

Who left: Jakob Silfverberg, Max Jones, Ben Meyers and Benoit-Olivier Groulx

Franchise fixture Silfverberg retired from the NHL and returned to Sweden’s top league to play for his hometown team. Jones, a former first-round pick, and Groulx, one of the few French NHL’ers, were not tendered qualifying offers and went east, to the Bruins and Rangers, respectively. Meyers was acquired near the trade deadline for a fifth-round pick but opted to sign with Seattle in free agency.

Who’s new: Cutter Gauthier, Sam Colangelo, Robby Fabbri and Jansen Harkins

Gauthier and Colangelo made their NHL debuts at the very end of last season. Gauthier, a 2022 lottery pick of the Philadelphia Flyers, is by far the most scintillating addition for the Ducks as one of the most athletic and explosive prospects on the planet. Fabbri is a versatile, seasoned component for what was often a hapless bottom six last year, while Harkins adds tenacity.

Defensemen

Who’s back: Cam Fowler, Radko Gudas, Pavel Mintyukov, Olen Zellweger, Jackson LaCombe and Urho Vaakanainen

Fowler’s tenure and leadership endure, while Gudas provides an exemplar of toughness and persistence. Mintyukov and Zellweger will seek to realize even more of their formidable potential. LaCombe had a tough start to his first pro season at any level but found firmer footing, at times, late in the season. Vaakanainen hopes to have a fully healthy season for the first time in his young career.

Who’s back (for now): Gustav Lindström, a right defenseman claimed off waivers last year who filled a limited role admirably as a third-pairing right defenseman. He’s one of three players in camp on a professional tryout this fall, along with forwards Mark Pysyk and Boris Katchouk.

Who left: William Lagesson, Robert Hagg

Lagesson was a late-season placeholder off waivers that landed in Detroit as a free agent while Hagg took the 15 Freeway to Vegas. Both were essentially depth players last season, particularly Hagg. He played just five games and expressed some retrospective frustration about his situation in Anaheim to the Swedish newspaper Expressen.

Who’s new: Brian Dumoulin, Tristan Luneau

While Luneau isn’t entirely new to the Ducks – this is his third year in the organization and he played seven games for the parent club last season – his opportunity could be vast in 2024-25. A right-handed defenseman with a high motor and tremendous mobility, Luneau could figure significantly into the Ducks’ right side behind Gudas. Dumoulin, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with Pittsburgh, offers not only experience but versatility as a rearguard, like Zellweger, who’s capable of playing either side.

Goalies

Who’s back: John Gibson and Lukáš Dostál

Gibson has been the subject of trade rumors for years running but will return once more. That’s despite the emergence of Dostál last season, when he was a rare beacon of consistency for the struggling Ducks before capturing a gold medal at the World Championships alongside his Czech countryman Gudas.

Who left: Alex Stalock

Stalock, whose family was a supportive staple around the lower rungs of Honda Center when he dressed last season, called it a career this week. Drafted back in 2005, Stalock played for five NHL teams.

Who’s new: Oscar Dansk

The Ducks are brimming with prospect depth in goal, most notably the Italian national Damian Clara and their projected AHL starter Tomas Suchanek. With Suchanek sustaining a severe knee injury and Stalock not returning, the Ducks added Dansk, 30, to give them some experience in the minors between prospects Calle Clang and Vyacheslav Buteyets.