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NHL Draft 2025 full results, every player selection: Live updates and reaction

Petr Mrazek’s goaltending odyssey now takes him to the Anaheim Ducks. Essentially John Gibson’s less expensive replacement, Mrazek will be counted on to play quite a bit as a backup to Lukáš Dostál so that his young countryman doesn’t wear down in the No. 1 role. “We’re certainly going to be counting on him for […]

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Petr Mrazek’s goaltending odyssey now takes him to the Anaheim Ducks. Essentially John Gibson’s less expensive replacement, Mrazek will be counted on to play quite a bit as a backup to Lukáš Dostál so that his young countryman doesn’t wear down in the No. 1 role.

“We’re certainly going to be counting on him for at least 30 starts,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said. “I think the cool thing is Lukáš and Petr, they were teammates at the world championships. They’re very familiar with one another. They’re good friends.

“Petr’s very competitive. Having that relationship, I feel that they’re going to push each other real hard to be the best. I think it’ll be a good tandem.”

At times inconsistent and unpredictable in his 13-year career with five teams, the 33-year-old Mrazek will have some work to do as the Ducks had a strong tandem of Dostál and Gibson in their 21-point improvement over 2023-24 that put them on the fringe of playoff contention in the second half of the season. Mrazek finished the season with the Detroit Red Wings – his second stint with the club – after making 33 starts with the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Ducks saw Dostál ascend into a full-fledged No. 1 goalie last season but also witnessed him wear down in the second half as his numbers began to plummet. Mrazek has a career .906 save percentage but he’s been a sub-.900 goalie in three of the last four seasons.

“Seeing Lukáš play 54 games probably helped last year,” Verbeek said. “I’m not sure (or) ecstatic that I want him to play that many. It’s a lot of games and so bringing in Mrazek, he’s carried the load for different teams at different times. That experience that he has in that area made it more comfortable to be able to do that.

“We had a really good tandem and I wasn’t really crazy about breaking up the tandem. But I think with getting a goaltender that I felt comfortable with coming back that could support Lukáš made the difference.”



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