DUCKS: Prospect spotlight: Yegor Sidorov

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Left unpicked through almost three rounds in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, the Ducks took a chance on winger Yegor Sidorov at No. 85 overall. And since going undrafted in 2022, Sidorov’s trajectory has skyrocketed.

The 19-year-old has been a force in the Western Hockey League this season, offering a clutch gene and crafty scoring ability to the Saskatoon Blades, who have a run into the second round of the WHL playoffs.

Sidorov has comfortably been more than a point-per-game player in the last two seasons, posting 76 points on 40 goals and 36 assists in 53 games in 2022-23 and in 2023-24, he even improved. He’s tallied 88 points on 50 goals and 38 helpers in 66 games since being drafted, presumably giving the Ducks even more confidence in their choice. His 50-goal season—the first for Saskatoon in decades—placed him top-five in goal-scoring in the WHL, which nudged Anaheim to offer him an entry-level deal. These two stout campaigns followed a 2021-22 season in which Sidorov only recorded a mere 35 points in 58 games, figures not enticing enough for NHL personnel to bring him aboard.

Sidorov signed with the Ducks on April 3 to a three-year contract with an $865,000 average annual salary beginning next season. With a second-round playoff series against the Red Deer Rebels on the horizon, Sidorov will aim to cap off his amateur career with a bang and report to Southern California as polished as can be next season.

Sidorov was also a force during Belarus’ gold-medal run during the 2022 D1A World Juniors, registering three points in five games.

The 6-foot, 183-pound forward often uses his deceptive stickhandling ability to force his way into the offensive zone and fire accurate shots. Sidorov is also a clutch catalyst when called upon; he led the WHL with 12 game-winning goals in 2023-24. Additionally, he thrives on the man advantage, leading power play chances with ease.

Sidorov’s clutch ability even extends to tense postseason situations. During the 2023 WHL Playoffs, Sidorov led the Blades on an improbable run to the conference finals, which featured a first-round takedown of Connor Bedard’s Regina Pats and a second-round comeback series victory over Red Deer where Saskatoon overcame a 3-0 series deficit. Sidorov notched a whopping 19 points in 16 playoff games in 2023, setting him up for his electric 2023-24 campaign.

The Vitebsk, Belarus native develops plays methodically in the neutral zone, taking his time to set up his teammates and make a push for the net. While his patience sometimes inhibits him from pursuing plays on his own, he can still overpower weaker defenders to get open for dangerous scoring chances. His speed could be improved, but his shot creation overshadows this flaw.

Sidorov’s one-timer is a pretty sight and his release is fast and punishing. His snipes are powerful and lethal and he isn’t afraid to take a lot of shots, even from unconventional angles. As a winger, he often relies on his center to lead rushes, so he’ll look to enrich his playmaking prowess in order to become a more prominent offensive leader. Sidorov already seems like a draft steal, but the biggest question will be if his skill can translate to the American Hockey League level, and eventually, the NHL.

While only 19 years old, Sidorov already has a hefty sum of North American experience for an international prospect. But since he’ll turn just 20 in June—and whether he reports to the American Hockey League right away or not—Sidorov will need to continue improving his game in order to rise up the ranks of the Ducks’ deep prospect pool.

Potential areas for improvement aside, if Sidorov has displayed one thing, it’s that he can score at will. Dialed in on a new contract, he’ll look to adjust to the professional level and show once again that he shouldn’t be overlooked like he was in the 2022 draft. Anaheim has been touted for its stacked blueliner pipeline, but Sidorov, plus other promising forwards like Nathan Gaucher and Nico Myatovic, have put the hockey world on notice for the Ducks’ future offensive core.