Ducks Assign Olympic Netminder Clara, Pettersson to Gulls Ahead of Playoffs

The 2026 Winter Olympics gave Damian Clara a stage he was never supposed to own. Italy went winless at Milan-Cortina, but Clara's .911 save percentage and a 46-save performance in his Olympic debut against Sweden told a different story: a 21-year-old goaltender who could steal games his team had no business staying in. Anaheim is now sending that same composure to San Diego, at exactly the moment it's needed.

The Ducks assigned Clara and Brynäs IF linemate Lucas Pettersson to the AHL's San Diego Gulls on Saturday, with the club sitting five points outside the Clarke Cup playoff picture and six games left on the schedule. For Clara, the first Italian player ever drafted by an NHL organization, the move is less a routine development step than a closing-time call.

Clara spent the 2025-26 SHL season as Brynäs' starter, posting 17 wins and a .887 save percentage in 33 games before the Olympics thrust him into a far more scrutinized role. Born in Brunico and drafted 60th overall by Anaheim in 2023, he reinforced his historic status on home ice in February. The .911 mark in Milan-Cortina outpaced his regular-season numbers and built a clear case for crease time in North America. He joins Calle Clang (17 wins, .896 SV% in 33 games) and Tomas Suchanek (five wins, .883) in the Gulls' goaltending mix, though the timing of his arrival suggests Anaheim expects him to push for starts immediately.

Pettersson, 19, is equally well-positioned to make an impact. The 35th overall pick in the 2024 draft compiled 20 points in 41 SHL games this season and ignited in tournament play: four goals and six points in six games at the 2026 World Junior Championship, and seven points across 10 Champions Hockey League contests. Ducks assistant general manager Martin Madden drew a comparison to William Karlsson at the time of Pettersson's selection, and that tournament production fingerprint has only reinforced the projection. In San Diego, he will push for middle-six minutes currently occupied by Judd Caulfield and Sam Colangelo.

Both assignments follow Brynäs' exit from the SHL, freeing Anaheim to redirect its European assets where the calendar demands. The organization simultaneously recalled defenseman Tyson Hinds to the NHL roster ahead of the Ducks' game against Calgary, a move prompted by a lower-body injury to Pavel Mintyukov that had forced rookie Ian Moore to play the wrong side of the ice for two consecutive games. Hinds, who has logged 204 AHL games and posted a career-best 19 points in 62 games this season, plugs the defensive gap upstream.

Five points back with six games to play is a narrow window by any measure. But it is precisely the kind of situation where a goaltender who made 46 saves on Italy's behalf, on Italian ice, in front of an Olympic crowd, tends to find his footing.