Anaheim Ducks Reassign Sam Colangelo
The Anaheim Ducks announced today that forward Sam Colangelo has been reassigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls.
Colangelo, 24, was originally recalled to play in the Ducks’ game against the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 16. He played nearly 11 minutes in that contest, but spent the next six games as a healthy scratch. He returned to the lineup for Anaheim’s Jan. 29 game against the Vancouver Canucks before returning to the press box for the team’s game last night. In nine NHL games this season, Colangelo has one goal for one point.
After last season, it looked as though Colangelo was well on his way towards carving out a more regular NHL role. Last year was Colangelo’s first full campaign of pro hockey, and he played very well, producing 40 points in 40 AHL games and 10 goals for 12 points in 32 NHL games.
But as the Ducks upgraded their roster and replaced Greg Cronin with Joel Quenneville behind the bench, Colangelo found landing a spot in the Ducks’ NHL lineup a tougher task than last season. He’s likely to end this year with fewer NHL games played than last season, and while he certainly hasn’t taken a big developmental leap forward, he remains under contract for another season and figures to remain a high-level depth piece for the Ducks moving forward.
Ducks Recall Sam Colangelo, Place Troy Terry On Injured Reserve
Earlier today, the hope was that the Ducks would welcome back winger Troy Terry from the upper-body injury that has kept him out of the lineup for the last three games. However, that won’t be the case as the team announced that Terry has been placed on injured reserve. Taking his place on the roster is winger Sam Colangelo, who has been recalled from AHL San Diego.
After seeing his point total dip to the mid-50s over the last couple of seasons, Terry has bounced back quite nicely this season, flirting with the point-per-game mark for most of the year. He currently sits second on the team in scoring with 13 goals and 29 assists in 43 games. Terry was originally viewed as a game-time decision back on Tuesday so the fact he’s now set to be out a little longer could be a sign for concern or merely the team exercising a bit more caution with one of their top players. His placement is retroactive to January 6th, meaning he has already served the required week and thus can be activated at any time.
As for Colangelo, this is his first recall back to Anaheim since being sent down in mid-November. At the time, he had only played sporadically, getting into just seven games where he had one goal while averaging just over 10 minutes per night. The 24-year-old has fared better in the minors, however, picking up seven goals and nine assists with the Gulls in 23 games but that’s still below the point-per-game showing he had in 40 outings last season.
With Leo Carlsson (lower body) out once again and Jeffrey Viel still on his way to join the team after being acquired earlier today, Anaheim wouldn’t have had enough forwards for tonight’s game without Colangelo. But with Terry ideally back soon and Viel likely to report to the team on Saturday, it could be a short-term stint for Colangelo on Anaheim’s roster.
Ducks Reassign Sam Colangelo
The Ducks announced they’ve reassigned winger Sam Colangelo to AHL San Diego. They’re now left with an open roster spot after activating Ryan Strome from injured reserve earlier in the week. Strome didn’t re-enter the lineup immediately after his activation but will do so tonight, per the team’s Aly Lozoff, prompting Colangelo’s demotion so as not to be carrying three extra forwards. Mikael Granlund is also making his return to the lineup tonight – on a line with fellow veterans Strome and Frank Vatrano – after missing eight games with a lower-body injury, although he never landed on IR.
Colangelo, 23, is waiver-exempt until he plays 28 more NHL games, but he was clearly the odd man out anyway. He’d served as a healthy scratch in six straight and hasn’t played since Halloween. The 2020 second-round pick broke camp with the Ducks for the first time this year after working his way into a semi-regular role down the stretch in 2024-25, notching 10 goals and 12 points in 32 games. The 6’2″ winger has been immensely productive since turning pro out of Western Michigan in 2024, putting up 22 goals and 40 points in 40 AHL contests last year as well.
That led to some rightful optimism that he could be an important depth contributor for Anaheim sooner rather than later, but the Ducks’ additions of Granlund and Chris Kreider over the summer pushed him down the depth chart somewhat. He’s also been overshadowed by 2024 No. 3 overall pick Beckett Sennecke snatching a spot in the top nine and rattling off 11 points through his first 16 NHL games, while Nikita Nesterenko, who also entered the season on the bubble like Colangelo, has churned out seven points in 14 games in a bottom-six role. Colangelo’s ice time has been correspondingly limited, averaging 10:12 through seven contests. When dressed, he’s only managed one goal and a -3 rating.
That’s not to say Colangelo won’t be a productive NHL piece someday, but the cards haven’t yet aligned for him to make the jump. He’ll now head back to familiar stomping grounds in San Diego, where, if the demotion sticks, he should expect to be atop their scoring leaderboard at season’s end.
Ducks Sign Sam Colangelo, Tim Washe To Two-Year Deals
Aug. 4: Colangelo has had his deal officially announced by the club.
Aug. 1, 2:30 p.m.: While announcements of the signings briefly appeared on the team’s website, those were issued in error, sources tell Lee. Neither deal has yet gotten across the finish line. When Washe’s deal is signed, it will pay him $775K NHL/$175K AHL this season before converting to a guaranteed $850K salary in 2026-27, per PuckPedia.
Aug. 1, 1:45 p.m.: The Ducks have signed forwards Sam Colangelo and Tim Washe to two-year contracts, The Hockey News’ Derek Lee reports. Both were restricted free agents. The contracts carry a two-way structure in 2025-26 before converting to one-way deals for the 2026-27 campaign.
While both were teammates at Western Michigan in the 2023-24 season, Colangelo got a one-year head start on his pro career. The 2020 second-round pick signed his entry-level deal in the spring of 2024 after four years in college, going point-per-game in four showings with AHL San Diego to close out the season, as well as scoring his first NHL goal in a three-game trial.
The 23-year-old hit his stride as he kicked off his first full professional season in 2024-25. He didn’t make the Ducks out of camp but received his first recall from San Diego in November, bouncing up and down between leagues over the next few months before eventually earning a permanent NHL roster spot in late February. Colangelo finished the year with 22 goals and 40 points in 40 AHL games as well as 10 goals and a pair of assists for 12 points in 32 NHL contests, respectable production for his bottom-six deployment at 12:29 per game.
The 6’2″, 205-lb winger now has his sights set on cracking the Ducks’ roster out of camp for the first time. While there’s a path for him to do so, it’s not a given. Anaheim is widely expected to carry three goalies to begin the season, meaning there will presumably be only one extra forward spot to spare. Barring a surprise like veteran enforcer Ross Johnston landing on waivers, there are essentially two roster spots up for grabs. Colangelo will be in the group of players competing for them, as will Washe, veteran NHL/AHL tweener Jansen Harkins, Nikita Nesterenko, and 2024 No. 3 overall pick Beckett Sennecke, among others.
Washe, who turns 24 later this month, was an undrafted free agent pickup by the Ducks just a few months ago. The 6’3″ center had a breakout graduate season for Western Michigan in 2024-25, serving as their captain and posting a 16-22–38 scoring line in 42 games with a +22 rating en route to the program’s first national championship. He was only eligible for a one-year entry-level deal given his age, though, so he became a restricted free agent only a few weeks after signing his first NHL deal.
The Michigan native played two games for the Ducks to close out last season, going 4-for-8 on faceoffs with two shots and four hits while averaging 7:44 per game. His path to an everyday NHL role will presumably be as a fourth-line center, a position Anaheim has seemingly set in stone for next season after acquiring Ryan Poehling from the Flyers in exchange for Trevor Zegras. That makes his chances of cracking the roster slimmer than his former collegiate teammate’s, but there’s still a pathway for him to do so.
Both players will be restricted free agents again when their deals are up in 2027.
Minor Transactions: 4/17/25
With several teams seeing their 2024-25 seasons come to an end in recent days (with more to come tonight), there has been an influx of players being returned to the minors. We’ll keep track of the moves that have not been already covered here.
- The Ducks have returned wingers Nikita Nesterenko and Sam Colangelo to AHL San Diego, per a team release. Nesterenko played in a career-best 20 games with Anaheim this season, potting four goals and two assists. With the Gulls, he has 13 goals and 21 assists in 48 contests. As for Colangelo, he had ten goals and two helpers in 32 NHL outings while he’s just shy of a point per game in the minors with 35 points in 38 contests.
- The Canucks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned defensemen Kirill Kudryavtsev and Victor Mancini, forwards Aatu Raty, Linus Karlsson, Max Sasson, and Ty Mueller, along with goaltender Nikita Tolopilo to AHL Abbotsford. Raty, Sasson, and Karlsson saw the most action with Vancouver this season with Raty being the most productive with 11 points in 33 appearances. Mancini got into 16 games after being acquired in the J.T. Miller swap, while the other three all made their respective NHL debuts in recent days. They will be big additions to an Abbotsford team who has been the hottest team in the league over the last several weeks.
- The Devils announced that they’ve returned forwards Mike Hardman and Marc McLaughlin to AHL Utica. Both players were recalled on Wednesday and suited up in their regular season finale. Hardman had an assist in two NHL games while contributing 35 points with the Comets. As for McLaughlin, his NHL season wrapped up with two goals and three assists in 14 games between New Jersey and Boston while adding 19 points in 48 outings between their respective AHL franchises.
West Notes: Oilers, Stancl, Fischer, Colangelo
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch provided injury updates to several reporters, including TSN’s Ryan Rishaug (Twitter link). While centers Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid were ruled out for the week recently, Knoblauch clarified that Draisaitl will be the first one to come back, likely after this week ends or soon after; that suggests McDavid could miss a bit more time beyond that. Meanwhile, newcomer Trent Frederic could still be multiple weeks away from skating with the team, calling into question if he’ll be able to get into game action before the end of the regular season. Edmonton recently slipped into third place in the Pacific Division and they’ll have to find a way to at least stay close to getting that spot back while waiting for their two top players to return.
More from out West:
- The Blues’ AHL affiliate in Springfield announced a pair of additions. First, St. Louis reassigned winger Jakub Stancl from WHL Kelowna to the Thunderbirds. The 20-year-old signed his entry-level contract last year but spent the season with the Rockets where he potted 23 goals and 34 assists in 58 games. This was his only year in major junior after playing professionally in Sweden last season. His entry-level deal will officially begin in 2025-26 after sliding this season. The Thunderbirds also added defenseman Lukas Fischer on an ATO for the remainder of the year. The 18-year-old was a second-round pick last year, going 56th overall and spent this season with OHL Sarnia where he had 15 goals and 22 assists in 51 games. If he sees game action with Springfield, it will be his first taste of professional action.
- The Ducks will have winger Sam Colangelo back in the lineup tonight against Boston, relays Eric Stephens of The Athletic (Twitter link). He had been out for the last two weeks with an upper-body injury. Colangelo is in his first full professional season and has split time between Anaheim and AHL San Diego. He has six goals and an assist in 20 games with the Ducks while being quite productive with the Gulls, tallying 19 goals and 16 helpers in 38 outings on the farm.
Ducks Recall Nikita Nesterenko
With injuries mounting, the Anaheim Ducks have recalled winger Nikita Nesterenko from AHL’s San Diego Gulls, the team announced. He is in the lineup for tonight’s game against the Predators.
This marks the second recall on the year for Nesterenko, 23, who previously registered a goal and an assist during a seven-game stretch earlier this season. In 19 career games with the big club, he has registered three goals and four points.
He has fared much better offensively at the AHL-level, where he has 13 goals and 34 points in 48 games with the Gulls this season, along with 71 points in 118 career AHL games. He’s been particularly hot of late, ranking third among all AHL players in points (19) since the AHL’s all-star break.
The Ducks acquired Nesterenko, defender Andrej Sustr (who never dressed for the Ducks and is now playing overseas) and a 2025 fourth-round selection from the Wild for defenseman John Klingberg in March 2023. Nesterenko was selected by Minnesota in the sixth round (173rd overall) in the 2019 NHL entry draft.
While his recall may be deserving, it also comes with a degree of necessity as forwards Sam Colangelo and Ross Johnston are both out day-to-day with injuries. The 23-year-old Colangelo has scored 6 goals in 20 games this season and his injury comes at a particularly inopportune time, as he scored four goals in his last five games. This included his first career two-goal game at home against the Islanders on March 9. The right-handed winger was selected by Anaheim in the second round of the 2020 draft.
Johnston, a veteran of 245 NHL games, has registered just four points in 45 games on the season. Now in his ninth NHL season and second with Ducks, Johnston has averaged just 8:41 of ice time on the year.
Ducks Recall Sam Colangelo, Place Robby Fabbri On IR
The Ducks announced they’ve recalled right-winger Sam Colangelo from AHL San Diego. Left-winger Robby Fabbri is headed to injured reserve to make room on the active roster.
Fabbri, 29, left Tuesday’s loss to the Sabres with an upper-body injury and didn’t return. He wasn’t at practice today, either, Derek Lee of The Hockey News reports. The team hasn’t issued a return timeline, but the upper-body designation at least means it’s unrelated to the meniscus tear that kept him out of the lineup for over a month earlier this season. The IR placement rules him out for Anaheim’s next three games at a minimum. He’ll be eligible to return next Wednesday against the Canucks, the Ducks’ final game before the March 7 trade deadline.
In the meantime, Colangelo is added back to the roster for the first time since mid-January. The 23-year-old has been a frequent call-up option for Anaheim this season, making 12 appearances after skating in three games at the tail end of the 2023-24 campaign to begin his NHL career. He has a pair of goals across those 15 career contests, posting a minus-seven rating while averaging 11:17 per game.
A second-round pick out of the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League in 2020, Colangelo had a decorated collegiate career with Northeastern and Western Michigan. After a 43-point senior season at WMU that earned him Hobey Baker consideration, he hasn’t missed a beat in his transition to the pros. While not quite ready for a full-time NHL role, he’s been among San Diego’s most productive players with 19-16–35 through 38 games. He suited up in this year’s AHL All-Star Classic and leads the club in goals.
Anaheim is tight on roster space with Trevor Zegras suspended and goaltender John Gibson dealing with a short-term injury, so Colangelo will re-enter the lineup for the first time since Jan. 14 on a line with Cutter Gauthier and Isac Lundeström. That’s an elevation from the fourth line with Jansen Harkins and Ross Johnston, where he’s spent most of his time as a call-up this year.
Anaheim Ducks Reassign Sam Colangelo
According to a team announcement, the Anaheim Ducks have reassigned forward Sam Colangelo to their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. The roster move indicates one of Trevor Zegras or Brock McGinn will be activated from the injured reserve before Anaheim’s contest against the Florida Panthers tomorrow.
There is also a very real chance that this move could be performance-related. Colangelo has been more than impressive in his first full year in the AHL with 13 goals and 22 points in 24 games but that level of performance hasn’t translated to NHL action.
Colangelo has skated in 12 games for the Ducks this season over two separate call-ups. He went scoreless from November 19th to December 9th averaging 10:04 of ice time per game and managed only one in his recent four-game stretch averaging 12:46 of ice time per night.
As much as his AHL performance has given credibility to his being on an NHL roster, Anaheim simply needs more from Colangelo if they’re to keep him in the lineup. The Ducks have the league’s worst offense averaging 2.37 GF/G and need more production across the board.
Still, it won’t hurt Colangelo to return to the Gulls on a full-time basis. There are no expectations they’ll compete for playoff positioning in a tough AHL Pacific Division but Colangelo is still tied for the team lead in scoring with winger Sasha Pastujov.
Anaheim Ducks Recall Sam Colangelo
Sam Colangelo is receiving another opportunity to prove his worth at the NHL level. The Anaheim Ducks announced they’ve recalled Colangelo from their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls.
Colangelo has already accrued eight games with Anaheim this season thanks to a lengthier call-up in mid-November. He was given a consistent role in the team’s bottom six and picked up 14 hits and 10 shots on goal but failed to find the scoresheet.
The Ducks organization isn’t viewing Colangelo’s lack of production in the NHL as an indication of his talent level. The former 36th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft has been flat-out electric at the AHL level scoring 13 goals and 22 points in 24 games during his rookie campaign and is leading the Gulls in scoring.
While Colangelo may not be a top contender for the Dudley “Red” Garrett Memorial Award, which is given annually to the AHL’s most outstanding rookie, he is certainly in the running and could potentially earn a spot on the All-Rookie Team by the end of the season.
Unfortunately for Colangelo, unless another roster move is made before the team’s upcoming matchup against the St. Louis Blues tomorrow night, it’s unlikely he’ll crack the lineup given he’s the 14th forward on the active roster. Still, should Anaheim desire more offense in their bottom six, they could swap out Ross Johnston or Jansen Harkins on the team’s fourth line.