Damian Clara’s season gave the Anaheim Ducks plenty to chew on, and the young goalie checked off several of the boxes he was supposed to. The second-round pick from the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, taken 60th overall, spent most of the year in the SHL with Brynas IF, then came over to North America for brief stints with the San Diego Gulls in the AHL and with Team Italy at the Winter Olympics and World Championships.
In Brynas, Clara was the starter, and the numbers were better than the year before. He appeared in 33 SHL games and finished 17-15 with a 2.52 goals against average, a .887 save percentage, and two shutouts.
His first game of the season set the tone early: a 25-save shutout. With former NHL goalie Erik Kallgren behind him, Clara helped Brynas finish sixth in the regular season and punch a playoff ticket.
The postseason didn’t break his way, but he still had his moments. Brynas fell behind 0-2 against Vaxjo, and Clara got the start in Game 3.
He answered with a win, stopping 18 of 20 shots. He lost Game 4, then returned to the bench for Game 5 as Vaxjo moved on.
Clara’s playoff line ended at 1-1 with a 2.38 goals against average and an .865 save percentage.
His most eye-catching work came at the Winter Olympics, where Italy lost all four games but Clara stood out anyway. Against Sweden, he had the kind of performance that can turn heads even in defeat.
Italy trailed just 3-2 after two periods before Clara left partway through the third with an injury. By then, he had allowed three goals on 49 shots.
He later came in late against Slovakia and gave up one goal on eight shots. Finland was the rough night for the whole team, an 11-0 loss in which Clara allowed six goals on 38 shots.
He closed the tournament against Switzerland, facing 51 shots and allowing three goals in a 3-0 loss.
After Brynas wrapped up, Clara returned to San Diego to finish the Gulls’ season. He played in three games and went 1-2 with a 4.04 goals against average and a .868 save percentage.
Then came the Calder Cup Playoffs, where he was originally supposed to sit behind Calle Clang. Clang’s injury at the end of the regular season changed that, and Clara suddenly found himself starting against Colorado.
He went 0-2 in the series with a 3.57 goals against average and a .877 save percentage, but Game 1 was respectable enough - he allowed only two goals in a 3-0 loss.
Clara also logged three games for Italy at the World Championships, going 0-3 with a 3.35 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. Italy used three goalies in the tournament, and Clara was clearly the best of the group. His save percentage ranked ninth in the event, and every goalie ahead of him won at least two games.
Looking back at last summer’s goals for Clara, he hit all three. He stayed in the SHL for the full season after bouncing around European leagues in 2024-2025.
He improved his SHL numbers, lowering his goals against average from 3.19 to 2.52 and bumping his save percentage from .879 to .887. And while Italy was never expected to shine at the Olympics, Clara still delivered a strong tournament, especially against Sweden.
The next step is North America, where he should spend this season in either the AHL or the ECHL. San Diego’s crease will still have competition, even with Calle Clang and Vyacheslav Buteyets overseas next season.
Either Ville Husso or Laurent Brossoit will likely be the starter, which leaves the backup spot for Clara or Tomas Suchanek. Both should see time with the Gulls, but how the minutes shake out in the AHL remains open.
Clara may have the edge after the way last year ended, though that is hardly settled. There’s also a real possibility that more playing time in the ECHL would help him more.
With that in mind, the expectations are pretty clear. Clara has played in five AHL games over the past two seasons, plus two playoff games, always arriving late in the year.
This time, the goal is at least 15 games with the Gulls. A shutout would be another good sign in what would ideally be his first full AHL season.
And if he ends up in the ECHL, the bar there is simple: strong numbers.
He is still at least a couple of seasons away from the NHL, but the path is opening a bit with Clang and Buteyets heading overseas. Even so, the key hurdle remains the same - Clara has to prove he can be a starter in the AHL before he can be trusted in the NHL on a regular basis.
That probably won’t happen this season, but the starting job in San Diego is there to be won in 2027-2028. If Clara claims it and handles that role well for a season or two, his NHL debut could come in 2028-2029 or 2029-2030.
Per PuckPedia, Clara has two years left on his entry-level deal and will become a restricted free agent when it expires. If he keeps posting solid AHL results, the Ducks should bring him back. He may not be Anaheim’s goaltender of the future for certain, but he looks like a player who could be part of the club’s rotation for a while.
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