The Anaheim Ducks are suddenly navigating a goaltending crisis, and the latest move reflects just how thin things have gotten between the pipes. The team has recalled 23-year-old Vyacheslav Buteyets from AHL San Diego, while placing Lukáš Dostál on injured reserve with an upper-body injury that’s expected to sideline him for two to three weeks.
That leaves Anaheim without either of its top two netminders. Petr Mrázek, who had been filling in as the No. 2, exited Sunday’s matchup against the Blackhawks in the third period after suffering a lower-body injury.
He’s already been ruled out for Monday’s game against the Blues. So, with both regular options unavailable, the Ducks are turning to Ville Husso as the starter and dressing Buteyets as the emergency backup - marking the young Russian’s first time suiting up for an NHL regular-season game.
Buteyets’ rise to this moment has been anything but conventional. He began the season in the ECHL with the Tulsa Oilers, where he posted a strong .924 save percentage and a 2.81 goals-against average through seven games.
That performance earned him a call-up to San Diego in mid-November, but the transition hasn’t been seamless. Since joining the Gulls, he’s started three games in a six-day span and has struggled with a 3.72 GAA and a .878 SV%, going 1-2-0 over that stretch.
Despite the rocky AHL numbers, there’s still plenty of intrigue around Buteyets. At 6-foot-4, he brings a prototypical NHL frame and has shown flashes of upside in his brief North American career.
Drafted in the sixth round in 2022, he signed a two-year entry-level deal in 2024 after two solid seasons with Chelmet Chelyabinsk in Russia’s VHL, where he built a reputation as a poised, technically sound goaltender. Last season with Tulsa, he logged 36 appearances and posted a .905 SV%, a respectable mark that helped him earn a spot on the Ducks’ radar.
Still, make no mistake - this isn’t the scenario Anaheim envisioned for Buteyets’ NHL debut. The organization would prefer to let him continue developing in the minors, getting consistent reps and adjusting to the North American game at a more manageable pace. But injuries have fast-tracked his ascent, at least temporarily.
Looking ahead, the Ducks catch a bit of a scheduling break: they don’t have a back-to-back until December 15 and 16. That gives them a window to ride Husso for a stretch of games while monitoring Mrázek’s recovery and waiting for Dostál to return.
If Dostál’s timeline holds, he could be back in time for at least one leg of that mid-December back-to-back. Until then, expect Anaheim to lean heavily on Husso, with Buteyets on standby as an emergency option - a valuable insurance policy, but not yet a go-to solution.
For Buteyets, this is a chance to soak in the NHL atmosphere, even if he doesn’t see game action. For the Ducks, it’s a test of depth and resilience in the crease - and a reminder that in the NHL, goaltending depth can go from surplus to scramble in a matter of days.