NHL Prospect Watch – Anaheim Ducks
In the lead-up to the 2023-24 NHL season, we’re taking a look at the current and former WHL talent in each NHL Club’s prospect pool. In this 32-part series, we’ll highlight the WHL players signed to an NHL contract or recently drafted, 25 years of age or younger with 50 or fewer NHL games played. Join us for a brand-new season of NHL Prospect Watch!
We begin with the prospect pool of the Anaheim Ducks.
Gage Alexander
Goaltender Gage Alexander enters his first full season of professional hockey this fall after playing in 16 games with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls in 2022-23. Alexander, from Okotoks, Alta., posted a 5-7-3 record with one shutout, a 26-save effort on home ice March 10 versus Henderson. Alexander began the 2022-23 season with the Swift Current Broncos, winning eight of his 15 appearances to start the campaign before signing an entry-level contract with the Anaheim Ducks in December of last year. The 21-year-old concluded his WHL career with 33 wins and three shutouts from his 60 regular season games played with Winnipeg and Swift Current. He was originally selected by the Ducks in the fifth round of the 2021 NHL Draft.
What a night for @Gagealexander01!
Congrats on your first career @theahl shutout 🙌 #LetsGoGulls | #HSKvsSD pic.twitter.com/hH7yFj4tcs
— San Diego Gulls (@SDGullsAHL) March 11, 2023
Connor Hvidston
A fifth-round pick by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2022 NHL Draft, forward Connor Hvidston doubled his year-over-year point total in 2022-23, scoring 21 goals and 65 points with the Swift Current Broncos. Hailing from Tisdale, Sask., Hvidston finished third among Broncos skaters in scoring last season and was one of five Swift Current players to record 20 or more goals during the campaign. The 18-year-old made his professional debut with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls this past spring, appearing in seven games. He scored his first professional goal April 8 versus the Calgary Wranglers. In two WHL seasons with the Broncos, Hvidston has registered 97 points (34G-63A) in 117 games.
Hvly Hvidston!
The @AnaheimDucks prospect gives the @SCBroncos the lead with a slick snapshot! pic.twitter.com/nNWVV4MabV
— The WHL (@TheWHL) November 12, 2022
Ben King
Hailing from Vernon, B.C., forward Ben King graduated from the WHL this past season with 240 points (106G-134A) from his 236 contests with the Swift Current Broncos and Red Deer Rebels. In 2022-23, King was limited to 30 regular season games with Red Deer, chipping in with 35 points before collecting four goals and 11 points from his 10 post-season outings. King was a fourth-round selection by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2022 NHL Draft on the heels of a 2021-22 WHL season that saw him lead the League in goals with 52.
BEN KING ENDS THE SERIES IN WHOA-VERTIME!@Rebelshockey | @AnaheimDucks#WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingTheFuture pic.twitter.com/cpyBmoPnFD
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 8, 2023
Nico Myatovic
A WHL Champion with the Seattle Thunderbirds in 2022-23, forward Nico Myatovic was selected in the second round by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2023 NHL Draft this past June. From Prince George, B.C., Myatovic set career bests with the Thunderbirds this past season with 30 goals and 60 points, finishing tied for second among Seattle skaters with his 30 markers. During the playoffs, Myatovic earned seven points, most notably a penalty-shot goal in the clinching Game 5 of the 2023 WHL Championship Series presented by Nutrien. In 147 career WHL contests, the 18-year-old has collected 91 points (37G-54A) after being selected by the Thunderbirds in the sixth round of the 2019 WHL Draft.
NICO MYATOVIC CASHES IN ON THE PENALTY SHOT!
The @SeattleTBirds go up by two early in the third period!#NHLDraft | #WHLChampionship | #FeedingtheFuture pic.twitter.com/HQtR6sQjPe
— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 20, 2023
Vojtech Port
Czech defenceman Vojtech Port was selected in the sixth round of the 2023 NHL Draft by the Anaheim Ducks after recording 17 points (4G-13A) in 48 games with the Red Deer Rebels and Edmonton Oil Kings this past season. Originally selected by Red Deer in the 2022 CHL Import Draft, Port found a home in Edmonton after an early-season move and stands primed to become a major contributor on the Oil Kings blue line this coming season. This past summer, the 18-year-old scored once in four appearances with the Czech U20 side in a summer evaluation series ahead of the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship in Sweden.
WATCH 📽️ | We caught up with @AnaheimDucks prospect Vojtech Port after he was selected in the 2023 #NHLDraft!#MeetTheFuture | @KubotaCanadaLtd | @EdmOilKings pic.twitter.com/btUSPAvVSB
— The WHL (@TheWHL) August 17, 2023
Egor Sidorov
Saskatoon Blades forward Egor Sidorov enjoyed a career year in 2022-23, parlaying his 40-goal campaign into a third-round selection by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2023 NHL Draft. From Vitebsk, Belarus, Sidorov led all Blades skaters with 40 goals last season, then finished second in team scoring with nine goals and 19 points from his 16 post-season appearances as Saskatoon reached the Eastern Conference Championship for the first time since 1994. Originally selected by the Blades with the 20th-overall pick in the 2021 CHL Import Draft, Sidorov has scored 73 goals in his 132 regular season and playoff outings with Saskatoon over the past two WHL seasons.
WATCH 📽️ | @BladesHockey forward Egor Sidorov meets with media after being selected 85th overall by the @AnaheimDucks in the 2023 #NHLDraft. pic.twitter.com/QNU9nknpRB
— The WHL (@TheWHL) June 29, 2023
Brayden Tracey
Forward Brayden Tracey skated in 62 contests for the AHL’s San Diego Gulls in 2022-23, scoring 10 times and totalling 28 points in his second full season of professional hockey. Tracey, who hails from Calgary, Alta., made his NHL debut for the Anaheim Ducks during the 2021-22 season; the first-round pick of the Ducks in 2019 has 129 AHL games under his belt heading into the 2023-24 campaign. As a WHLer, Tracey excelled with the Moose Jaw Warriors and Victoria Royals, winning the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as WHL Rookie of the Year in 2019 after leading all WHL first-year skaters with 45 goals and 81 points with the Warriors. In 145 WHL games with Moose Jaw and Victoria, Tracey averaged over a point per game, concluding his WHL career with 165 regular season points (67G-98A).
We mic'd up Brayden Tracey in a recent game.
For more Brayden Tracey, tune in for a new Gulls All Access tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. PT on @fox5sandiego. pic.twitter.com/WkUj4OxFc1
— San Diego Gulls (@SDGullsAHL) March 30, 2023
Jaxsen Wiebe
Forward Jaxsen Wiebe won a WHL Championship with the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2022 and earned a free-agent NHL entry-level contract with the Anaheim Ducks in March of this year as a member of the Prince George Cougars. From Moose Jaw, Sask., Wiebe played in over 190 regular season and playoff games with the Red Deer Rebels, Oil Kings and Cougars after being originally selected by Red Deer in the seventh round of the 2017 WHL Draft. This past season, Wiebe set career bests with 14 goals and 39 points from his 45 contests with Edmonton and Prince George. He added three goals during the post-season, a total that included an overtime winner during the Cougars’ first-round series versus Tri-City. As an Oil King, Wiebe hoisted the Ed Chynoweth Cup in June of 2022, then scored a hat-trick with Edmonton in an overtime victory over host Saint John at the 2022 Memorial Cup.
ACTION JAXSEN!!! 😼@PGCougars | @AnaheimDucks#WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingTheFuture pic.twitter.com/rvu2FykY5p
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 2, 2023
Olen Zellweger
A double gold-medalist with Canada’s World Junior team in 2022 and 2023, defenceman Olen Zellweger heads into the 2023-24 campaign having split last season between the Everett Silvertips and Kamloops Blazers. Zellweger, a second-round selection by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2021 NHL Draft, became the first WHL defenceman in six years to reach the 30-goal plateau, scoring 32 times with Everett and Kamloops en route to claiming the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy as WHL Defenceman of the Year for the second year running. Zellweger also earned Canadian Hockey League Defenceman of the Year honours while competing with the host Blazers at the 2023 Memorial Cup. In 200 WHL regular season and playoff contests with Everett and Kamloops, Zellweger counted 63 goals and 221 total points. The product of Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. made his professional debut with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls during the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs, recording an assist in his debut performance.
Huge congratulations to our guy Olen Zellweger, who was just named CHL Defenceman of the Year, the first Ducks prospect to earn the honor! ⁰⁰Our prospects Pavel Mintyukov and Tristan Luneau were also finalists for the award.
⁰#CHLAwards | @blazerhockeyhttps://t.co/bcChnd1Y2n— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) June 4, 2023