Anaheim Ducks Select Nine Players in 2026 NHL Draft
Jun 27, 2026
By Nick Aguilera/SanDiegoGulls.com
The Anaheim Ducks welcomed some new faces into the organization over the weekend, selecting nine players in the 2026 NHL Draft being held at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.
Anaheim made noise on the first day of the draft, sending away former Gulls Olen Zellweger and Mason McTavish in two separate deals on Friday. Zellweger was moved to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for the 45th selection in this year’s draft and forward Anton Wahlberg, who spent parts of the past three seasons with the American Hockey League’s Rochester Americans. Wahlberg, 20, has posted 21-50=71 points in 140 career AHL contests. The 6-foot-3, 194-pound center from Malmo, Sweden could feature as key piece for San Diego next season. McTavish was sent to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for the 15th and 29th picks in this year’s draft. Anaheim also traded the 29th pick and a fourth-round selection to Vegas to move up to 28th.
Here’s every Anaheim pick from the 2026 NHL Draft and what each player could possibly bring to San Diego in the future. Per AHL rules, any player from a North American junior league or NCAA cannot join the Gulls until their age-20 season (ex. a player born in 2008 is eligible for the 2028-29 AHL season), while international players can enter the league at any time.
RW Nikita Klepov – 1st round, 15th overall
Klepov, 18 (6/27/08), led the Ontario Hockey League in scoring as a rookie with 37-60=97 points in 67 games for the Saginaw Spirit, the first rookie to lead the OHL in scoring since Patrick Kane in 2006-07. A Deerfield Beach, Fla. native, he is also the first American-born player to win the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the OHL’s top scorer since Jason Robertson in 2018-19.
The 6-foot, 186-pound forward brings plenty of offense to the table and has been hailed by scouts for his hockey IQ and playmaking abilities. Klepov won’t be eligible for AHL play until the 2028-29 season and will transition from Saginaw to Michigan State (NCAA) next season.
LW Marcus Nordmark – 1st round, 28th overall
Nordmark, 18 (5/4/08), broke into the Swedish Hockey League, Sweden’s top professional league, as a 17-year-old this season, skating in eight games for Djurgardens. He spent most of his time in the Swedish junior league, posting 14-24=38 points with a +24 rating in 25 games. The Stockholm native helped Sweden win gold at the 2026 World U-18 Junior Championship, tallying 3-1=4 points in six tournament games.
Nordmark has wowed scouts with his shot specifically and has a dangerous offensive game. The 6-foot-2, 187-pound forward is under contract with Djurgardens for next season, although if he plays in the SHL full-time isn’t guaranteed.
D Jayden Kurtz – 2nd round, 45th overall
Kurtz, 18 (12/30/07), is a rare high school selection out of Rogers, Minn. A 6-foot-3, 194-pound defenseman, he made his USHL debut with the Chicago Steel in 2025-26, earning 1-2=3 points in 16 games following his high school career, where he was a finalist for the top prep player in his home state. Kurtz will feature for Chicago again this coming season and is committed to the University of Wisconsin for 2027-28.
RW Mathis Preston – 2nd round, 50th overall
Preston, 17 (7/21/08), collected 18-26=44 points in 46 Western Hockey League games with Spokane and Vancouver in 2025-26. A Penticton, British Columbia native, he also represented Canada at the 2026 World U-18 Junior Championship, where he ranked tied for second in team scoring with 2-4=6 points in five tournament games. Preston broke into the WHL at 15 years old in 2023-24 and immediately scored four goals in five games. He followed that with a 45-point campaign in his age-16 season with Spokane, where he helped the Chiefs reach the WHL Championship Final with 9-7=16 points in 20 playoff games.
RW Rian Chudzinki – 3rd round, 82nd overall
Chudzinki, 18 (12/30/07), posted 21-17=38 points and a +30 rating in his first season in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League with the Moncton Wildcats. A rare American playing in the QMJHL, the Needham, Mass. native also helped Moncton reach the QMJHL Championship Final, tallying 6-11=17 points and a +13 rating in 21 playoff games.
Chudzinski’s name may sound familiar if you’re a football fan. His father, Rob, was head coach for the Cleveland Browns in 2013 and had two coaching stints with the San Diego Chargers, serving as tight ends coach from 2005-06 and assistant head coach and tight ends coach from 2009-10.
D Eric Frossard – 5th round, 146th overall
Frossard, 18 (1/12/08), is a hulking 6-foot-6, 205-pound defenseman from the Guelph Storm in the OHL. Last season, he posted 5-9=12 points in 51 games. He also skated in four playoff games for the Storm. A London, Ontario native, Frossard is committed to Notre Dame for the 2026-27 season.
G Gleb Peshkov – 6th round, 178th overall
Peshkov, 18 (11/5/07), is a 6-foot-2, 183-pound goaltender out of Kopeysk, Russia. He posted a 22-15-8 record with a 2.04 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage in 47 games with Taifun Primorsky Krai of the Russian junior league. Peshkov played for Traktor Chelyabinsk’s U-17 and U-18 teams, the same youth program as Gulls goaltender Vyacheslav Buteyets.
C Noah Kosick – 6th round, 192nd overall
Kosick, 17 (9/18/08), split last season with the Swift Current Broncos and Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL and tallied 16-38=54 points in 69 games. A 6-foot, 160-pound center, Kosick is committed to Michigan for the upcoming NCAA season.
The Ducks acquired this pick with minor league defenseman Kyle Masters, a restricted free agent, from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for the signing rights to John Carlson. Masters has appeared in 35 career AHL games for the Iowa Wild, tallying 1-5=6 points.
D James Rieber – 7th round, 210th overall
Rieber, 18 (4/25/08), is a 6-foot-1, 165-pound defenseman from the Waterloo Black Hawks of the USHL. Rieber tallied 2-9=11 points in 60 games in 2025-26. Rieber is committed to play at Miami University starting in 2027-28.