Less than four months after becoming one of the highest draft picks in franchise history, Ducks forward Leo Carlsson is expected his NHL debut Thursday night against the Dallas Stars at Honda Center.
At 18 years, 297 days old Thursday, Carlsson will become the third-youngest Duck to ever appear in a regular-season NHL game. Only Oleg Tverdovsky (18 years, 248 days Jan. 21, 1995 @ WPG) and Mason McTavish (18 years, 256 days Oct. 13, 2021 vs. WPG) were younger for their respective NHL debuts. Carlsson will also be the second-youngest European to appear in a game for the Ducks, trailing only Tverdovsky.
Selected second overall by Anaheim in the 2023 NHL Draft, Carlsson is also set to become just the fourth top-two draftee to ever play for the Ducks, joining Tverdovsky (second overall, 1994), Chris Pronger (first, 1995) and Bobby Ryan (second, 2005). The Ducks have not iced a first or second overall pick since Ryan's final game as a Duck in the 2013 Western Conference Quarterfinals.
Carlsson will also join NHL Hall of Famer Sergei Fedorov as the only Ducks to wear #91.
