The Ducks’ five-day rookie camp came to a close on Monday night with a 2-1 overtime defeat against the Los Angeles Kings.
Anaheim showed all their colors over the three games that they played in the tournament: a close win, a blowout loss and a narrow loss.
Cutter Gauthier, Sam Colangelo and Tristan Luneau showed why they’ve already been given NHL games so early into their pro careers, with each of them playing large roles.
Gauthier and Colangelo both had multiple points and were held out of the final game, but showed chemistry as linemates in both of those games.
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“Played against Sammy a little bit in college when he was Northeastern so (I) kind of know his game,” Gauthier said. “He’s a big boy, he’s smart and he can finish too.”
After playing wing in his lone NHL game, Gauthier was back in the middle for rookie camp, a position he spent most of his collegiate career at.
“That’s the advantage of guys who can play multiple positions,” San Diego Gulls head coach Matt McIlvane said. “So we could slide Cutter in there.”
Luneau had just one point in three games but he was a fixture on the Ducks’ blue line, playing in all situations. This was Luneau’s first taste of 5v5 action in a competitive setting in almost a year after he missed the last four months of the 2023-24 season due to a staph infection.
“I think what I saw from Tristan in these games, through this tournament, was steady progress,” McIlvane said. “Our key is a head start for main camp and I think that’s what he got.”
Anaheim’s second game of the tournament saw the first game action for Russian goaltender Vyacheslav “Slava” Buteyets (boo-THAI-yets), who signed his entry-level contract (ELC) in May.
The lopsided result (a 7-2 loss to the Macklin Celebrini-less San Jose Sharks) was more about sloppy play in front of Buteyets and players beginning to force the issue as the game got out of hand rather than a poor performance from the goaltender.
Related: Takeaways from the Ducks 7-2 Loss Against the Sharks in Rookie Faceoff
“We left him out to dry a lot,” McIlvane said. “(The Sharks) certainly had some great shots that went in, but there’s too much around the net—penalty kill included—where poor Slava has no chance. I thought he presented himself as large. I thought he made a lot of great saves and he didn’t get enough help in front of him.”
Yegor Sidorov scored in each of the first two games, powering home a one-timer from Gauthier in the first game and collecting a nice pass from defenseman Noah Warren before deking through the defense and past the goalie for his second.
Sidorov’s tenacity coupled with his natural scoring ability make him an intriguing player to watch. As he curls around the offensive zone, occasionally hitting the opposing defender with a quick cutback, he often uses his free hand to hold off his opponent and controls the puck with just one hand. In the past, he has even gotten dangerous shots off from this position as well.
“Speed is going to be everything because it’s a lot faster than juniors,” Sidorov said when asked what he’s focusing on ahead of his first season as a pro. “But I think I’m ready for it.”
“He calls himself a 200-foot player because he’s been coached to call himself a 200-foot player,” McIlvane said. “But he is becoming that. You could see in the game (against the Sharks), he was getting frustrated and started really hitting. And then he’s got this other bit where he’s really dangerous with the puck. He’s got a terrific shot and a nose for the back of the net. We’ve seen a couple of pretty goals from him and he’s got that natural ability that not everyone has.”
The goalies were the stars of the show in the Ducks’ final game of the tournament. Both teams played both of their goaltenders, with each goalie playing about half of the game. The Kings’ Carter George and Erik Portillo combined with Buteyets and camp invite Mike McIvor to stop 57 of 60 shots.
Anaheim did not lack scoring chances in this one either, with George denying both Nico Myatovic and camp invite Ruslan Gazizov from close range. Portillo and McIvor both also stopped a penalty shot apiece but McIvor had the save of the game, presenting a glove side robbery which kept the Ducks from going down by two.
“Over the last couple of days, just been going hard at practice (and) trying to keep up with the pro guys,” McIvor said. “Finally got into some game action and I thought I had a good performance.”
“Slava was excellent and then Michael went in there—it’s not easy to go in cold—but he made one of the best saves I’ve seen in my life.”
