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)

Kicking off the top five is another Swedish center who, on paper, is a very similar player to Eric Nilson, but who might have the slight edge on the offensive side of the puck: Lucas Petterssson.

Pettersson does all the little things that coaches love in their centers: he stays above pucks in offensive-zone forecheck scenarios, angles well on the backcheck, and he doesn’t lose assignments in d-zone coverage. As a prospect, those aspects will set his floor relatively high and practically guarantee him a career in the NHL.

“I think he's really smart both ways. He's got enough skill and speed to think that he will produce offensively at the pro level, in the NHL level,” Ducks assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting Martin Madden told The Hockey News: Anaheim Ducks. “His two-way (play) is really, really, smart. Now, when you play that way, you need to be strong enough to play that way against men, right? So he just wasn't there yet last year.”

The aspects that will separate and elevate him, potentially to a top-six role in the NHL, will be the details of his offensive game. He’s an outstanding skater, both explosive and shifty with impressive four-way mobility.

He scans the ice well before pucks arrive and connects with his wingers when building attacks up ice. He has the hands to simultaneously invite attention and avoid defending sticks in transition to gain entry, along with the vision to make plays on the cycle.

The Ducks selected Pettersson in last year’s draft (35th overall in 2024) as the first Swedish player taken in what was considered one of Sweden’s weaker classes.

He bounced around Swedish hockey divisions in 2024-25, seemingly unable to find a fit until he was loaned to Ostersunds IK of HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second professional tier, where he scored 19 points (9-10=19) in 26 games while playing middle-six minutes.

He had a difficult time securing minutes on a nightly basis in the SHL while playing for MoDo Hockey last season, but he’ll head back to the SHL on loan in 2025-26 to play for Brynas IF alongside longtime Anaheim Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg.

“I think he found a good fit for him. I think he's going to be really well surrounded in Brynäs,” Madden said. “Yes, it's going to be in the SHL again, so he will need to earn his ice time, but I think he's better prepared for it now. He's had to deal with that tough first year.”

Like most prospects his age, his focus will be on getting bigger, stronger, and harder to play against. He’s now in the midst of an offseason without the distractions that come with the NHL combine and draft process, so those goals should be easier to attain.

Though Madden compared Pettersson to William Karlsson when the Ducks drafted him, to me, the duo of Pettersson and Nilson is reminiscent of a time when the Ducks had Karlsson and Rickard Rakell in their pipeline. Both are 200-foot players who can kill penalties and contribute offensively, but Nilson projects to have the edge on the defensive end like Karlsson, while Pettersson has more offensive skill and instinct, like Rakell.

Ducks Sign Drew Helleson to Two-Year Extension

Ducks Sign Lukas Dostal to Five-Year Extension

Ducks Sign Clang, Myšák to One-Year Deals

Photo Credit: Derek Lee-The Hockey News

The Chicago Blackhawks were only going to arbitration with one player. Arvid Soderblom needed a new contract as an active restricted free agent. 

The date for his hearing was July 28th, but that will no longer be necessary. Two days before the date, they avoided arbitration by agreeing to an extension. 

Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) on XChicago and Arvid Soderblom avoid arbitration 2 x $2.75M

According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Blackhawks and Soderblom have agreed to a two-year deal worth $2.75 million. He will remain with the club for at least two more years after a good year proving himself in 2024-25. 

The Blackhawks see Spencer Knight as their goalie of the future, but Soderblom is a nice backup to have. The modern-day NHL requires teams to have multiple sufficient goalies to play a fair amount of games. The Blackhawks now have that locked in. 

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

The New York Rangers have signed Conor Sheary to a professional tryout. 

The veteran forward will report to Rangers training camp in December and fight to earn a spot on the roster. 

Throughout Sheary’s 10-year NHL career, he has played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, Washington Capitals, and Tampa Bay Lightning. 

Sheary played under the Rangers’ new head coach Mike Sullivan, as they won a Stanley Cup together with the Penguins. 

He spent most of his time this past season with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League, where he recorded 20 goals, 41 assists, and 61 points in 59 games. 

In the last few years of Pierre Dorion's tenure as Ottawa Senators GM, fans and media would wonder during the summer if this was the year the long rebuild would finally be over. If not last year, was this the year? Is it over now?

Okay, how 'bout now?

Now?

Sens fans are thankful those days are over. Today, those questions can be replaced with: Are the Senators now a contender, ready to legitimately battle with the NHL's best?

Yes. Yes, they are.

Let's go back to July 1st. When Ottawa Senators GM Steve Staios was asked how he felt about his team for next season after his modest 2025 free agent shopping trip, the assumption was that he'd speak mainly about the acquisition of veteran NHL depth forward Lars Eller. 

"We feel good," Staios said. "Adding Lars Eller today was significant for us heading into the season."

But then he was quick to point out that the club's work at the trade deadline was part of why he feels good about the roster for next season.

"Looking back, (we also acquired) Dylan Cozens and Fabian Zetterlund (at the deadline), and Jordan Spence at the draft. We didn't have a lot to do in free agency this year as far as acquisitions. The work has actually been laid out in a bit of a slow roll."

Hearing an NHL GM who still has $4.3 million in cap space declaring that he didn't have a lot to do in free agency is an amazing show of confidence in his roster. And Staios has every right to be confident and satisfied with what he has.

Let's get ahead of the Montreal Canadiens fans who like to fill up our message board with chirps and questions, which we welcome. They're probably going to mention that the Senators were only a wild-card team last year. How can they suddenly be flirting with a roster that might be a finished product?

Well, for starters, making the playoffs will do wonders for their collective psyche. But they also weren't far from being labelled contenders last season, finishing with a record of 45-30-7. Teams with lesser records have won Cups before. The Florida Panthers, the reigning two-time Cup champs who everyone is trying to emulate right now, were just one point ahead of Ottawa.

Meanwhile, is Staios is right to include Cozens and Zetterlund as part of why he felt he didn't have much to do this summer, then the club should have been noticeably better after the deadline, right?

Oh, they were, my friends. As Everyday Sens packages up nicely, they were a lot better.

Ottawa prior to the trade deadline:
• 31-25-5 (18th)
• .549 P% (15th)
• 1.96 GF/60 (5v5)(28th)
• -2.18 Goals Above Expected

Ottawa after the trade deadline:
• 14-5-2 (2nd)
• .714 P% (4th)
• 2.61 GF/60 (5v5)(11th)
• 13.56 Goals Above Expected#GoSensGopic.twitter.com/cYQUw8jVmW

— Everyday Sens (@EverydaySens) July 19, 2025

When you consider what happened after the trades, March 7th instantly goes down in the books as one of the most successful deadline days in franchise history. Here are the standings on March 7th, the day of the deadline. The Sens were just hanging on by a thread to the final wild card.

After deadline day, the Senators totally floored it, putting up the second-best record in the NHL at 14-5-2 (.714) to close the season and run away with the Eastern wild card race. Here are the final standings.

5 on 5 scoring? That was worrisome through most of the season, but it saw a massive spike in the final quarter of the season. Goalie graveyard? Not anymore. The Sens will roll into a new season with a healthy former Vezina winner, and his new full-time backup didn't allow a goal in regulation in 4 of his 12 NHL starts last season.

Remember when the Senators' goal used to be a chance to play meaningful games at the end of the season? Last spring, they not only played in them, they thrived in them. Staios's deals at the deadline may have been the final additive that Ottawa's rebuilt engine needed to finally start purring. Spence and Eller now serve as nice bells and whistles to the final assembly.

Yes, it cannot be ignored that the Senators came out of the playoff gates slowly. But a lot of that can be chalked up to first-time jitters for the club's key young players. They've wanted it so badly for so long, and by the time they calmed down and found their poise, their room for error was gone.

Now they've experienced it. Now they've had a taste. Now they know. The Stanley Cup Playoff nets have the exact same measurements as they do back in Hickory.

I get it. It's summer. Time for golf, cottage or whatever. But Sens fans who aren't completely excited for the season ahead should probably put that on their to-do list very soon.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa
Image Credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images

This article orginally appeared at The Hockey News Ottawa, where you'll find all the latest Senators news:
2018 World Junior Trial Ends: Former Senator Alex Formenton Found Not Guilty
Croatia's NHL Trailblazer: Sens Prospect Bruno Idžan Takes NHL Road Less Travelled
Top 3 Ottawa Senators Bounce-Back Candidates For 2025-26
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Jack Studnicka and Nolan Foote, a pair of two-way forwards signed this off-season, could be valued additions to the Florida Panthers organization at both the NHL and AHL levels. 

The Charlotte Checkers have aspirations of working their way back to the Calder Cup finals. Although their top scorer, John Leonard, one of their top prospects, Justin Sourdif, and veteran Rasmus Asplund have left the organization, the team believes it possesses the depth to overcome the departures.

Jack Devine, the Panthers' top prospect, is expected to play the 2025-26 season with the Checkers, which will be a major boost. Additionally, Gracyn Sawchyn and Hunter St. Martin should provide young scoring. 

The most impactful moves may come from off-season signings. Studnicka and Foote are skilled wingers who, although they haven't translated all too well at the NHL level, have been efficient AHL producers.

Studnicka was a second-round pick (53rd overall) to the Boston Bruins in the 2017 NHL Draft. The 6-foot-1, right-handed winger has scored 57 goals and 162 points in 255 career AHL games, but has also notched six goals and 16 points in 107 NHL games. 

At the AHL level, Studnicka's skill and speed thrive, but at the NHL level, he's struggled to carve out a role. Studnicka can fit into the Panthers' bottom-six if needed throughout the season, but evidence has proven that he is better suited for the AHL game.

Foote, on the other hand, hasn't been given a real chance in the NHL yet, due to playing on a deeply skilled New Jersey Devils team. Throughout his AHL career, the 24-year-old has recorded 62 goals and 129 points in 191 games. In the NHL, he's scored six goals and nine points in 30 games. 

Foote was a first-round pick (27th overall) by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2019 NHL Draft. Injuries halted his development in the 2023-24 season, but there appears to be a scoring touch that hasn't been tapped into at the NHL level just yet. 

It's unlikely that Studnicka or Foote make too many appearances with the Panthers throughout the season, and when they do, their role will likely be limited. But strong AHL campaigns could earn them extensions and help the Checkers find success once again.

Panthers Prospect Pool Receives Solid Grade From Draft ExpertThe Hockey News' Tony Ferrari is currently putting together his 2025-26 prospect pool overview for each NHL team, and recently, he covered the Florida Panthers, who received a fair bit of praise.