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2022 NHL Prospect Watch – Anaheim Ducks – WHL Network

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With the 2022-23 NHL season on the horizon, we’re putting a focus on current and former WHL players looking to make their mark at the next level.

The 2022-23 NHL Prospect Watch series will feature some of the current and past WHL talent recently drafted or signed to NHL contracts, and having appeared in fewer than 50 NHL games.

Our series begins with a look at the prospect pool of the Anaheim Ducks.

Gage Alexander
A fifth-round pick by the Ducks in the 2021 NHL Draft, goaltender Gage Alexander set career bests with 18 wins and two shutouts in 2021-22 for the Winnipeg ICE. The product of Okotoks, Alta. posted a .910 save percentage during the 2022 WHL Playoffs, making his first five post-season appearances in the process. But Alexander will suit up for a new WHL Club this winter; He was dealt to the Swift Current Broncos in July.

Glenn Gawdin
A WHL Champion with the Swift Current Broncos in 2018, Glenn Gawdin joins the Anaheim Ducks after spending the past four years in the Calgary Flames organization. Gawdin, from Richmond, BC, collected 50 points in 62 games last season for Stockton of the AHL, earning two NHL appearances with the Flames to increase his career NHL games played total to nine. Gawdin spent his entire WHL career with Swift Current, capping it off with an Ed Chynoweth Cup and a nod as the 2018 WHL Playoffs MVP.

Connor Hvidston
Tisdale, Saskatchewan’s Connor Hvidston heard his name called by the Ducks at the 2022 NHL Draft, going to Anaheim in the fifth round. In his first WHL season in 2021-22, Hvidston scored 13 goals and totaled 32 points for the Swift Current Broncos. Ten of those 13 tallies came in the second half of the season. Hvidston was originally selected by Swift Current in the seventh round of the 2019 WHL Draft.

Bryce Kindopp
Former Everett Silvertips captain Bryce Kindopp made his NHL debut for Anaheim in 2021-22, playing 6:06 and earning two shots on goal January 4 against Philadelphia. Kindopp, who hails from Lloydminster, Alta., played 67 games for the San Diego Gulls of the AHL this past season, scoring 12 times and totaling 29 points. As a WHLer, he spent parts of six seasons with the Silvertips, scoring 39 and 40 goals, respectively, in his final two campaigns in Washington state before turning pro in 2020-21.

Ben King
The WHL’s goals leader in 2021-22 with 52 tallies, forward Ben King was selected by the Ducks in the fourth round of the 2022 NHL Draft. From Vernon, BC, King came within one marker of tying the WHL record for game-winning goals in a single season this past year, finishing the 2021-22 regular season with 15 game-winning tallies. A former first-round selection in the WHL Draft, King has collected 205 points over 206 WHL regular season games with the Swift Current Broncos and Red Deer Rebels.

Austin Strand
A WHL Champion with the Seattle Thunderbirds in 2017, defenseman Austin Strand joins the Anaheim Ducks organization after spending the past four seasons across town with the Los Angeles Kings. Strand, from Calgary, Alta., collected two assists in eight NHL contests with the Kings this past season, and over the past two seasons has played in 21 NHL games for Los Angeles. He added seven points over 34 contests with Ontario of the AHL in 2021-22. Strand split his time in the WHL between the Red Deer Rebels and Seattle Thunderbirds, topping out with a 25-goal season for the Thunderbirds in 2017-18.

Brayden Tracey
Calgarian Brayden Tracey made his NHL debut for the Anaheim Ducks on January 9, 2022 versus Detroit, earning just over nine minutes of ice time in his first NHL contest. Tracey, who was selected in the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft by the Ducks, scored 11 times and totaled 31 points in 55 games with San Diego of the AHL in 2021-22, his first full professional season. Tracey played four seasons in the WHL from 2017-18 through 2020-21 with the Moose Jaw Warriors and Victoria Royals; He won the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as a Warrior in 2018 after finishing his rookie campaign with 36 goals and 81 points.

Sean Tschigerl
Forward Sean Tschigerl was a fifth-round selection by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2021 NHL Draft, and heads to camp with the NHL Club later this month after setting career highs with 23 goals and 58 points last season for the Calgary Hitmen. Tschigerl, who hails from Whitecourt, Alta., finished tied for the WHL lead in short-handed goals in 2021-22 with five. The former fourth-overall selection in the WHL Draft has collected as many short-handed goals (seven) as power-play markers over his 150-game WHL career.

Olen Zellweger
Defenseman Olen Zellweger has had a summer to remember ahead of Anaheim Ducks training camp. He led all WHL players, and all tournament defensemen at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship with 11 points, helping Canada capture a gold medal last month at the tournament in Edmonton. Zellweger, from Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., was a second-round selection by the Ducks in the 2021 NHL Draft, and enters the 2022-23 season as the reigning WHL Defenseman of the Year after leading all WHL blueliners with 64 assists and 78 points. for the Everett Silvertips. Zellweger made his professional debut last spring with the San Diego Gulls, earning an assist in his lone AHL playoff contest.