Ducks agree to deal with promising young goalie

The Ducks have signed goaltender Tomas Suchanek to a three-year, entry-level deal beginning next season, per a team release. Eric Stephens of The Athletic reported earlier Thursday that the two sides were close to a deal. No financial details have been reported.

Suchanek, 20, is a name familiar to World Juniors watchers. Undrafted, he stole the show at Czechia’s 2023 tournament, posting a .934 save percentage and 1.51 GAA in seven games en route to a silver medal and an All-Star Team nod. Again passed over in last summer’s NHL draft as a potential overage selection, Suchanek, who had spent the last two seasons with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans, found a professional home with the Ducks’ AHL affiliate in San Diego.

After suiting up in some preseason games for the Ducks on a tryout, he began the season on loan from San Diego to ECHL Tulsa. There, he had a decent showing with a .906 save percentage and a 3-5-0 record in his first eight professional games. However, below-average play from the Ducks’ NHL-contracted goalies in San Diego, youngster Calle Clang and veteran Alex Stalock, paved the way for Suchanek to get a recall to the AHL in November.

He hasn’t looked back, proving himself as the best netminder out of the three with a .919 save percentage, 2.56 GAA, 12-6-3 record, and two shutouts — all team-highs. They’re exceptionally strong numbers, given his age and the weakness of the club in front of him, which sits four points out of a playoff spot in the league’s Pacific Division.

Suchanek has decent size at 6-foot-2 and 181 pounds, and he’s put up strong numbers at every level since arriving in the North American circuit from Czechia in 2021. In a scouting report last year, Elite Prospects called him a “low-risk, high-reward selection” for teams looking for goalie help in the later rounds of the 2023 draft. But the outlet cited his overall refinement, post-integration and footwork in the crease as some trouble spots in his game.

He’ll finish the season on an AHL contract, so he won’t make his major league debut before the summer. However, he’ll be eligible to do so as soon as next fall and will remain under contract with Anaheim through 2027, at which point he’ll be an RFA.