The Ducks selected seven players in Rounds 2-7 of the 2026 NHL Draft at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y. In addition to last night’s first-round selections of Nikita Klepov (15th overall) and Marcus Nordmark (28th overall), the club selected defenseman Jayden Kurtz (second round, 45th overall), right wing Mathis Preston (second round, 50th overall), right wing Rian Chudzinski (third round, 82nd overall), defenseman Eric Frossard (fifth round, 146th overall), goaltender Gleb Peshkov (sixth round, 178th overall), center Noah Kosick (sixth round, 192nd overall) and defenseman James Rieber (seventh round, 210th overall).
"We are happy to select nine talented players in the 2026 NHL Draft," said Ducks Assistant General Manager and Director of Amateur Scouting Martin Madden. "We drafted quality players that we view having lots of potential upside."
Kurtz, 18 (12/30/07), split the 2025-26 season between the Chicago Steel of the USHL and Rogers High of the Minnesota State High School League (USHS-MN). He recorded 1-2=3 points in 16 USHL games with the Steel. He spent the majority of the season at Rogers High, earning 13-25=38 in 26 contests, leading club defensemen in points and ranking fourth on among all club skaters in points. The 6-3, 194-pound defenseman appeared in 29 games with Rogers High in 2024-25, collecting 5-15=20 to rank third in scoring on his team among defensemen. A native of Rogers, Minn., Kurtz is committed to the University of Wisconsin for the 2027-28 season.
Preston, 18 (7/21/08), combined for 18-26=44 points in 46 games with Vancouver and Spokane of the Western Hockey League (WHL). He earned 14-18=32 in 36 games with Spokane prior to being acquired by Vancouver, scoring 4-8-12 points in 10 contests (1.20 points per game) prior to suffering an injury. The 5-11, 172-pound forward registered 23-22=45 points in 54 contests in 2024-25, ranking third in goals and tied for seventh in points among WHL rookies. Preston led all rookies in scoring during the 2025 WHL playoffs (9-7=16 in 20 GP), helping the Chiefs to a WHL Finals appearance.
A native of Penticton, British Columbia, Preston won gold with Team Canada White at the 2024 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, leading the tournament in goals (6-1=7 in 5 GP). He also earned bronze at the 2024 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, co-leading Canada in scoring (4-3=7 in 5 GP). He also represented his country at the 2026 Under-18 World Championship (2-4=6 in 5 GP).
Chudzinski, (12/30/07), earned 21-17=38 points with a +30 rating in 54 QMJHL games with Moncton, ranking third among league rookie’s in scoring while tied for 11th in goals. He scored 6-11=17 with a +13 rating in 21 QMJHL Playoff contests, third among league in points while helping the club to an appearance in the QMJHL Finals. His postseason was highlighted by a five-point outing in Game 3 of the Quarterfinals (1-4=5) while he also recorded a nine-game point streak in the postseason.
The 6-0, 191-pound right wing native of Needham, Mass. spent most of 2024-25 season with Dexter Southfield School in the U.S.’s top high school league in Massachusetts, registering 27-25=52 in 28 games, leading his club in points and goals. He also appeared in two games with the USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program’s U-18 Team.
His father, Rob, is currently a senior offensive analyst for the Boston College football team and a former National Football League head coach with the Cleveland Browns (2013 season). He also held coaching and coordinator positions with the San Diego Chargers, Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts and the University of Miami. As a player, he won two NCAA national championships with the Miami Hurricanes in 1987 and 1989.
Frossard, 18 (1/12/08), recorded 5-9=14 points in 51 games with the Guelph Storm of the OHL in 2025-26, a 12-point improvement over his rookie season. The 6-5, 205-pound defenseman also recorded one assist in four 2026 OHL Playoff outings. The London, Ontario native split the 2024-25 season between USHL and OHL, skating in 21 contests with the Youngstown Phantoms before tallying two assists (0-2=2) in 30 games with Guelph.
Peshkov, 18 (11/5/07), went 22-15-8 with a 2.04 goals-against average (GAA) and .930 save percentage (SV%) with five shutouts in 47 MHL games (Russian junior league) with Taifun Primorsky Krai in 2025-26. The 6-3, 212-pound goaltender was named the MHL Goaltender of the Month twice last season (December and March). A native of Kopeysk, Russia, Pehskov appeared in 27 Russian U-18 league contests with Traktor Chelyabinsk’s U-18 club from 2023-25, posting an 11-3-0 record with a 1.80 GAA and .939 SV%.
Kosick, 17 (8/18/08), combined for 16-38=54 points in 69 WHL games between Swift Current and Seattle in 2025-26. He scored 10-24=34 points in 37 games with Swift Current before being acquired by Seattle midseason, tallying 6-14=20 points with a +4 rating in 32 contests. The 6-0, 160-pound forward also registered 1-4=5 points with a +1 rating in five WHL Playoff outings, leading the Thunderbirds in assists while co-leading the club in points. A native of Kassel, Germany, Kosick is committed to the University of Michigan in 2027-28.
Rieber, 18 (4/25/08), collected 2-9=11 points in 60 USHL games with the Waterloo Black Hawks last season in 2025-26. The 6-2, 176-pound defenseman appeared in all but two of Waterloo’s contests, the most among rookies on the club. Rieber will return to Waterloo for his second season in 2026-27 and is committed to Miami University in 2027-28.
