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The Anaheim Ducks announced yesterday that they’ve signed forward Leo Carlsson to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Carlsson was selected second overall by the Ducks in last month’s NHL Draft. The forward is 18 years old and scored 10 goals and 25 points in 44 games this past season, while playing in Sweden’s highest professional league.

NEWS: We have signed Leo Carlsson to a three-year entry-level contract! #FlyTogether | @EandELaw https://t.co/4UeDGCmeVW

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) July 12, 2023

The biggest question with Carlsson heading into the year is where he’ll spend the season. Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek was previously noncommittal about Carlsson playing in the NHL this season during his draft day interview with Elliotte Friedman.

The options for Carlsson would be to either return him to Sweden for another year, or bring him to North America to play with either the Ducks or the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. His entry-level contract will also be eligible to slide, if he doesn’t play at least 10 NHL games next season.

I think there’s a chance we see him get his nine-game trial run with the team, before the Ducks make a decision. There’s no point in rushing him, and allowing his contract to slide for a year does make sense, but the Ducks could also use a boost to their top-nine, if he’s NHL-ready.

Carlsson’s long-term fit will be another interesting topic to track. The Ducks do have two young centers in Trevor Zegras and Mason McTavish, but it’s likely one of them gets shifted to the wing. Anaheim already experimented with Zegras on the wing last season under Dallas Eakins, and once Carlsson is ready for a full-time role, we could see that shift become more permanent.

So we’ll see what the team’s plan is with the center. Carlsson is set to help lead the Ducks back to a competitive position, but it’s a matter of how quickly he’ll make the jump to the NHL.

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In other news, the Ducks also announced that Brent Thompson has been named as an assistant coach. Thompson has spent the last nine years in the AHL with Bridgeport, and had been an assistant coach with the New York Islanders before that.



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