Suchanek Ready for Fresh Start After Turbulent 2025-26
Sep 28, 2026By Nick Aguilera/SanDiegoGulls.com
Three years ago, Tomas Suchanek experienced the highest of highs and lowest of lows.
An undrafted goaltender out fresh out of the Western Hockey League, Suchanek worked his way up from a camp invite to an AHL regular in quick fashion. After being thrust into the action in 2023 due to injuries and goaltending uncertainty, the then-rookie netminder quickly offered stability in net for a Gulls team that was struggling to find its footing. The top brass with the Anaheim Ducks quickly took notice and signed him to his first NHL contract in 2024.
It looked like Suchanek would provide the Ducks with much-needed depth and maybe even a path to the NHL. But while training during the offseason, Suchanek tore his ACL. The injury kept him out of action for the entire 2024-25 season, the first year of his NHL entry-level deal.
"Very tough, very long way,”"Suchanek said. "I didn't expect it to be this long. It was my first big injury, so I thought it was going to be pretty quick, and I'm going to be ready to go. But it was the total opposite. It took way longer than I expected."
Suchanek made his way back last season, but instead of the stability he had before, he found himself bouncing between the AHL and ECHL levels. At the AHL level, he posted a 5-7-3 record, 3.31 GAA and .879 SV% in 15 games, a far cry from his 2023-24 numbers (14-10-5, 2.92 GAA, .910 SV% in 29 games).
Now, about a year and a half removed from surgery, Suchanek is ready to get back to the level he flashed three years ago.
"The season was exactly not what I wanted," Suchanek said. "It wasn't good at all from my side. I think it was also like a big learning experience for me because I think it's been a long time with since I had this bad a season, so I worked during the summer even with the mental coach and everything just to get back to the road where I wanted to be before the injury. So, I think I was able to do that, and this year I just feel great and very excited to show how can I play."
The path to AHL starts won’t be easy, though, as the Gulls currently have three goaltenders. Joining Suchanek is Laurent Brossoit, who has 141 NHL games and nearly 200 AHL appearances under his belt, and Damian Clara, who stole the show as Italy’s goaltender at the 2026 Winter Olympics. With the crease split in San Diego between the veteran Brossoit, the rookie Clara and Suchanek, each game could spell a different story.
"We've seen him compete and win and win a lot at this level, and I think he's going to have to rely on that experience he has at this level to help him get through it," goaltending coach Jeff Glass said. "He has something no one else has done here. We all know he can battle and compete and steal games for this team at this level. So, he's got to go out and show that. He's got to prove it again, and if he does that, he'll be fine."