NHL draft: Ducks select Nico Myatovic to open 2nd round
Call it a story of two distinct drafts.
One year ago, the Ducks took highly regarded defensemen with three of their first four selections. In Nashville, they flipped the script and waited until the fourth round before taking a defenseman at No. 97 (Konnor Smith of the Peterborough Petes) on Day 2 of the NHL draft on Thursday.
That particular path wasn’t only because their prospect pipeline is nicely stocked with defensemen, but it also had to do with the attributes of the 2023 draft class.
“It was both – in terms of strength of the draft, but also there was an intent to bring speed and natural goal-scoring,” Ducks assistant general manager Martin Madden said Thursday. “That’s what those three guys do.
“They can skate. They play with intensity. They shoot the puck and they go to the net. In a quick summary, that’s what those three guys are about.”
The first of the three is a center who could be a franchise-changing player. Leo Carlsson of Sweden went No. 2 to the Ducks on Wednesday. They followed up Thursday in the second round by taking 6-foot-2, 182-pound left wing Nico Myatovic of the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League with the No. 33 pick, and 6-0, 175-pound center Carey Terrance from the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League at No. 59.
Madden said he was convinced of Carlsson’s “growth potential and game” for some time and equally impressed by his quiet confidence. Those sentiments were reinforced after watching the 18-year-old play for Sweden at the World Championships this spring.
And what about the odds of seeing Carlsson in the Ducks’ lineup this fall?
“He wants to give it his best shot,” Madden said. “He wants to come in and try to earn a spot, but we’re taking a long-term view of this and we want to put him in a position where he’ll be successful. Uncomfortable but successful.
“The point is he wants to be an NHL player and he’s going to have the summer to fight for an NHL job.”
There was a significant difference in the seasons experienced by Myatovic and Terrance. Myatovic had 60 points (30 goals, 30 assists) in 68 regular-season games and the Thunderbirds went on to reach the Memorial Cup final in Kamloops, British Columbia. Terrance was on a struggling team but stood out by recording 47 points (30 goals, 17 assists) in 67 games for the Otters.
“What we learned about his play there is his character,” Madden said of Terrance. “At no point did he quit. He was always competing from the first minute of the game to the last minute. And it didn’t matter what the score was. He was using his speed, trying to use all of his abilities to make an impact.
“At times, that can work against you a little bit and it did because he ended up playing too much center, too many minutes. At times, it looked like he was trying to do too much. But he finished the year on a great team with the (U.S.) national program and was a key contributor for them at the Worlds (U-18s).”
The Ducks’ third pick in the second round was an intriguing one and the hope is that it could shore up their goaltending prospect pool. They used the 60th overall selection to take 6-foot-6 Italian-born goaltender Damian Clara, who has been playing in Sweden, primarily with the junior team, Färjestad BK. Clara is said to be the first Italian-born goaltender to be drafted in the NHL.
Players like that require an investment of time and development, especially if the staff can mold that athleticism. It’s a bet on a physical athletic package and a home run if everything falls into place.
“He’s an athlete,” Madden said. “I said to (scout) Jan-Ake (Danielson) after we saw him for the first time, ‘This kid could be a volleyball player.’ He’s so fluid in his movement for a 6-6 guy. That’s what attracted us to him – the poise and calmness of his game and the athleticism. He’s got some work to do technically but that will come. He left home to go to Austria. And then left Austria (for Sweden). He’s always been pursuing his dream and that counts for a lot.”
The other five picks were forwards Coulson Pitre of the Flint Firebirds (No. 65) and Yegor Sidorov (No. 85) of the Saskatoon Blades in the third round; Smith in the fourth; defenseman Rodwin Dionicio of the Windsor Spitfires (No. 129) in the fifth; and defenseman Vojtech Port of the Edmonton Oil Kings (No. 161) in the sixth.
