The Ducks’ goaltending picture has shifted enough this year that Tomas Suchanek’s path is still very much a work in progress. After Anaheim signed the undrafted netminder at the end of the 2023-2024 season, he lost the entire 2024-2025 campaign to injury. This past season was about getting him back into games, and that meant time in both the AHL and ECHL.
Anaheim began the year with a crowded crease across the organization. Lukas Dostal and Petr Mrazek were in Anaheim, while Ville Husso and Calle Clang were in San Diego.
That left Suchanek and Vyacheslav Buteyets starting in the ECHL. Suchanek moved up and down between levels several times before settling in with San Diego after Mrazek was sidelined for the rest of the season and Husso moved into Dostal’s backup role.
He was called up to the Gulls in mid-January and finished the year in the AHL, backing up Clang during the regular season before serving as Damian Clara’s backup in two playoff games.
The numbers weren’t pretty, but the workload mattered more than the stat line. In the ECHL with the Tulsa Oilers, Suchanek went 3-8 with a 4.27 goals against average and a .884 save percentage.
In 15 games for the Gulls, he posted a 5-7-3 record with a 3.31 goals against average and a .879 save percentage. He returned to San Diego’s net in early December for his first AHL start in about a year and a half.
After the lost season, the main goal was simply getting him back on the ice. He ended up playing 27 games between the AHL and ECHL, which was the real win here. The production dipped from what he did in 2023-2024, but the bigger point was that he was finally playing again.
Looking ahead, Anaheim’s crease is largely spoken for. Dostal is set to start, Husso is the likely backup, and the Ducks also added Laurent Brossoit on a one-year deal.
Brossoit is expected to begin in the AHL, though a strong season could change that picture and push Husso to San Diego instead. Either way, one of Husso or Brossoit should be with the Gulls next season, and with Clang in the SHL, there’s another opening to sort out.
Suchanek, Clara, and Buteyets are all in the mix for that job.
The injury setback has pushed Suchanek’s NHL timeline back considerably, but getting healthy and back in games was the first box to check. If he can reclaim his place among Anaheim’s better goaltending prospects next season, he could still get himself back on track for an NHL debut in the next few years.
Goaltenders take longer to develop, and the position is notoriously hard to forecast. With Anaheim fairly settled in goal for next season, the earliest Suchanek might realistically see the Ducks is the 2028-2029 season.
He has one year left on his entry-level contract, which makes the coming season important. If he spends most of it in the AHL, Anaheim will likely tack on another year or two. If he continues to struggle, the Ducks could choose not to qualify him and let him reach free agency.
In Other News...
Ducks Prospect Crunch Just Created Another Tough Reality Check
The Ducks prospect pipeline is still drawing attention, but the reality around it is getting harder to ignore. Anaheim does not have much room for farmhands right now, and the names at the front of the line are familiar ones: Tristan Luneau and Stian Solberg are the closest to NHL readiness, while Roger McQueen sits among the organizations most important young talents. For a team trying to balance development with a roster that already has several young pieces in place, every step forward by a prospect only sharpens the squeeze.
Ryan Sheas situation elsewhere in the league is another reminder of how quickly teams are choosing cost and timing over longer-term commitments. The Ducks are facing their own version of that same roster math, with the front office and development staff having to decide who can actually fit into the next wave and who may be waiting longer than expected. For Anaheim, the issue is not just finding good prospects. It is finding room for them. [Read more 🡒]
Ducks Fans Just Got A Surprising Maxim Masse Update
Maxim Masse has been one of the more intriguing long-term names in the Ducks prospect pool since Anaheim grabbed him in the third round of the 2024 NHL Draft. He backed up that selection with a huge final junior season for Chicoutimi, pacing the QMJHL in goals and points while collecting major league honors that put him firmly on the radar as more than just a developmental flier.
For Ducks fans hoping to see him in orange and black sooner rather than later, the timeline is still a patient one. Masse is unsigned and Anaheim retains his rights for several more years, which gives the organization time to let his game breathe while he takes his next step in college hockey and keeps building toward the NHL. [Read more 🡒]
Ducks Just Locked In A Crucial New Direction For The Gulls
The Ducks have put a clearer shape around the San Diego Gulls next chapter, finalizing the AHL clubs coaching staff and giving the affiliate a more stable front office setup at the same time. Dave Manson, a longtime blueliner, is stepping into his first run as a bench boss as head coach, with Kelly Buchberger and Steve McCarthy joining him behind the bench. Anaheim also extended Gulls general manager Rick Paterson on a multi-year deal, signaling that the organization wants continuity in the development pipeline.
For a Ducks system that has leaned on San Diego as a proving ground, the timing matters. Mansons move into the top job brings a fresh voice to a group that will be expected to keep producing NHL-ready talent, while Patersons new contract keeps the personnel side aligned with that plan. Its the kind of behind-the-scenes reset that can shape a season long before the puck drops, and it gives Anaheim a more defined direction for the Gulls as the summer moves along. [Read more 🡒]