Lukas Dostal is Coming to North America
Lukas Dostal’s Finnish team, Ilves, tweeted out the following this morning:
For those who are like me and do not understand Finnish, the above tweet translates to: “NHL Society @AnaheimDucks has exercised his right under the loan agreement with Lukáš Dostál and invited the Czech goalkeeper to join his organization. Thank You, Dosty! Release:https://bit.ly/3m7c818”
This is pretty big news for both the Ducks Organization and for Lukas Dostal. Dostal is the best goaltending prospect in the Ducks system and potentially the third-best prospect in the system behind Zegras and Drysdale. For those who have not been paying attention to Dostal in Finland, he has seen his prospect stock rise significantly over the past few seasons. The 2018 3rd round pick was third in Liiga in sv% last season with a .928 sv% and he was only 19 years old. He has followed up on that with a .941 sv% in 11 games so far this season which is the best sv% in the entire league.
Dostal’s season last year, in which he posted a .928 sv% in his draft +2 season, is the 5th best sv% in the past 20 years in Liiga by a goalie in his draft +2 season. A goalie that put up similar numbers to Dostal was Tukka Rask.
With all of that being said, Lukas Dostal, more likely than not, will not be on the Anaheim Ducks to start the season. It does not make a lot of sense for a guy who needs to still develop his game, to leave a situation where he was starting most games in Finland, to come to the Ducks and sit on the bench behind Gibson most nights. I fully expect Dostal to start the season with the Gulls, and he would only be called up if he impresses and if there is a situation that arises that would leave the Ducks without Gibson for an extended period of time.
This move by Dostal appears to lock in place the goaltending hierarchy for this season. John Gibson, big shocker here, will be the Ducks starter, while Anthony Stolarz will start the season as the backup. Then you will have Olle Eriksson Ek and Lukas Dostal battling for the starting job in San Diego. The Ducks could still go and sign a legitimate NHL backup for this season and the hierarchy does not change that much. Instead of Dostal battling with Eriksson Ek for the Gulls starting position, he will be battling with Stolarz.
Lukas Dostal is the best goaltending prospect the Ducks have had since John Gibson and his pathway to the NHL has just been put into the fast lane. Buckle up Ducks fans, it could be a really fun ride.