Ducks calling up top defensive prospect

The Anaheim Ducks recalled top defense prospect Olen Zellweger from AHL San Diego on Friday, per a team release.

This is the 20-year-old’s second recall of the season. He played in four games for the Ducks just before the All-Star break, recording an assist and a +2 rating while logging 16:20 per game.

Zellweger had middling possession impacts with a 46.8 CF% at even strength and an expected -0.5 rating, but that’s not awful on a bottom-dwelling team. He also looked decent in limited power-play reps, recording his only point as a primary assist on a Sam Carrick marker with the man advantage.

An early second-round pick of Anaheim in 2021, Zellweger leads his team’s defenders and all AHL rookie defensemen with 12 goals and 37 points in 44 games. He fell in the draft due to scouts being concerned about his 5-foot-9, 174-lb frame, but he’s quieted most of those concerns in his transition to the minor leagues.

The Calgary native is coming off a 2022-23 campaign in which he added significantly to his trophy cabinet. After posting 32 goals, 48 assists, 80 points, and a +30 rating in just 55 games with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips and Kamloops Blazers, he took home the league’s Bill Hunter Trophy, awarded to the top defenseman, as well as the Canadian Hockey League’s Defenseman of the Year honors. He also took home the gold medal with Canada at the 2023 World Junior Championship, recording six assists in seven games.

Zellweger could be in for an extended stint in the NHL after the Ducks traded veteran shutdown blue-liner Ilya Lyubushkin to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night in a three-team deal. At the very least, he earned the first recall in Lyubushkin’s vacancy ahead of more experienced options like Trevor Carrick, Robert Hagg and Colton White.

It’s unclear if Zellweger will return to the Ducks’ lineup Friday night against the New Jersey Devils or if he’ll sit as a seventh defenseman. He’ll mainly compete for minutes with bottom-pairing blue-liner Gustav Lindstrom, who’s been an occasional healthy scratch since the Ducks claimed him off waivers from the Canadiens in January.