Isac Lundeström recently had surgery to repair a torn Achilles and is expected to be out until January at the latest. Lundeström suffered the injury while training back home in Sweden.
The 2018 first-round pick was settling into his role as a bottom-six center by the end of the season for the Ducks last season. The four goals, ten assists, and 14 points in 61 games last year are not exciting in the least bit, but goals were extremely hard to come by for the Ducks this past year with their lack of depth and an offense that did not have a system or identity with head coach Dallas Eakins.
Lundeström showed flashes of being able to be a decent two-way center last season, but with the Ducks’ all-around struggles, Lundeström was unable to perform consistently. Lundeström was a shoo-in to be the fourth-line center this season, and with the Ducks hiring Greg Cronin as their new head coach, Lundeström could have benefitted from an actual system put in place.
This now opens a door for some of the young centers in the Ducks’ prospect pool to impress general manager Pat Verbeek out of training camp to crack the NHL roster to start the season. Of course, the Ducks could use Sam Carrick as the fourth-line center as they have done in the past, but the three main competitors from the prospect side are second-overall pick Leo Carlsson, 2022 first-round pick Nathan Gaucher, and 2018 second-round pick Benoit-Olivier Groulx.
Carlsson is an obvious candidate, given all of the hype surrounding him and his two-way game. It is unknown if the 6’3 194 pound center will be playing next season in the NHL or AHL or going back to Sweden for another year. Verbeek has shown that he is patient with his prospects and will not bring them up to the NHL level until he thinks they are 100% ready. Because of this, it seems very unlikely that Carlsson will crack the NHL roster out of training camp solely because they need a fourth-line center, which goes for Gaucher and Groulx as well.
Verbeek had a quote that stood out from this nhl.com article.
“As I told some of these guys, ‘Listen, skill-wise and probably thinking-wise, you can play in the NHL. But strength-wise and speed-wise; you can’t, so those are the things that you’ve got to really get after in the summertime to make sure you’re ready for the NHL.'”
Carlsson’s hockey IQ is substantial, and there is almost no weakness in his game. His creativity and ability to read the ice make him such a dynamic player that he would have gone first overall in almost any draft in the last decade if not for Connor Bedard, Connor McDavid, and Auston Matthews. The only knock on Carlsson is he lacks separation speed, but his IQ and skillset have made it almost a nonissue.
Carlsson was going to compete for a spot out of training camp regardless, but the injury to Lundeström has made his path a bit easier. Unless Carlsson tears it up in training camp, the young phenom will likely return to Sweden to mature more physically.
Nathan Gaucher also has a legit shot at cracking the NHL roster out of camp. After an impressive rookie camp last year, Gaucher went on to dominate at the junior level, winning the QMJHL Guy-Carbonneau Award as the league’s best defensive forward.
In 44 games played in the GMJHL, Gaucher totaled 22-24=46 points and had the second-highest Face-Off Win percentage at 59.4%.
Gaucher is a shutdown center that will fit the mold to be a quality third-line center down the road. His game revolves around his 6’3 207, pound frame and incredible strength that allows him to be a strong net-front presence and hard to move off the puck. Gaucher’s body is as NHL-ready as it gets he is sure to use it to his advantage to try and win a spot on the Ducks come October.
Benoit-Olivier Groulx is the other horse in the race for the roster spot. Groulx already has 20 NHL career games under his belt and has spent the better part of the last three seasons in the AHL with the San Diego Gulls.
Groulx is another two-way forward that may not have the skillset that Carlsson or Gaucher possess, but still provides physicality and is responsible with the puck. Standing at 6’2 195 pounds, Groulx can be a versatile forward that finds himself in the middle of plays.
Given he has appeared in 20 games already at the NHL level, Groulx could be the route the Ducks go if Carlsson and Gaucher do not seem NHL-ready yet at training camp.
With the Ducks not expecting to contend in the 2023-2024 season, Pat Verbeek will not rush any of these guys to the NHL just to fill a roster spot. Their development is far more important to the long-term plan that the Ducks have than it is to fill a roster spot. These guys have to impress at training camp mightily and show that they are NHL-ready. With all of that said, it will be a lot of fun watching these guys battle at camp.
