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Damian Clara

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Damian Clara
Born (2005-01-13) 13 January 2005 (age 20)
Brunico, Italy
Height 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
Weight 97 kg (214 lb; 15 st 4 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team
Former teams		 Anaheim Ducks
San Diego Gulls (AHL)
Färjestad BK
Brynäs IF
Oulun Kärpät
National team  Italy
NHL draft 60th overall, 2023
Anaheim Ducks

Damian Clara (born 13 January 2005) is an Italian professional ice hockey goaltender for the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 60th overall by the Anaheim Ducks in the second round of the 2023 NHL entry draft.[1] He is the first Italian player to be selected in the NHL entry draft.[2][3]

Playing career

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At age 15, Clara played at the Red Bull Hockey Academy in Salzburg, Austria for two years before joining Färjestad BK's under-20 program in 2022. During the 2022–23 season with Färjestad's under-20 team, he played 35 games and recorded a 17–17 record with a 2.79 goals against average and a .903 save percentage.[4][5]

On June 29, 2023, Clara was drafted 60th overall by the Anaheim Ducks on the second day of the 2023 NHL entry draft.[6][7]

Clara was loaned to Brynäs IF of the HockeyAllsvenskan for the 2023–24 season, where he played 34 games posting a 25–8–0 record with a 2.23 goals against average and a .912 save percentage. In the playoffs, he went 10–1 with a 1.68 goals against average and a .931 save percentage en route to a promotion for Brynäs to the SHL.[8]

On June 3, 2024, Clara signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Anaheim Ducks,[1] but was loaned back to Färjestad BK for the 2024–25 season.[9][4]

Clara was the backup goaltender behind Maxime Lagacé for Färjestad BK throughout the 2024–25 season.[4] He played 21 games and had a 9–10 record with a 3.19 goals against average and a .878 save percentage. On February 14, 2025, Clara's contract with Färjestad was terminated at the recommendation of the Anaheim Ducks, who had his NHL rights.[4] On February 15, he signed with Oulun Kärpät of the Finnish Liiga for the rest of the 2024-25 season.[10][11] After Kärpät's season ended, the Anaheim Ducks assigned Clara to the San Diego Gulls, their American Hockey League affiliate where he played 2 games and went 0–1–0 with a 3.15 goals against average and a .898 save percentage.[12][13]

International play

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Clara first played internationally at the 2021 IIHF World Championship for Italy, becoming the youngest goaltender to dress at the IIHF World Championship.[12][14] He represented Italy in Division 1B (third level) of the 2022 IIHF World U18 Championship where he played 4 games and had a 2–2 record with a 3.02 goals against average and a .906 save percentage. Later in the same season, he played for Italy in Division 2A (fourth level) of the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship where he played 3 games recording a 2–0 record with a 1.20 goals against average and a .942 save percentage. In 2023, he played in three tournaments for Italy; the World U18 Championship, World Juniors and World Championship. Italy played in Division 1B for the World U18s and World Juniors, and in Division 1A for the World Championship. Clara played for Italy in both the 2024 IIHF World Championship Division 1A (second level) and the 2025 IIHF World Championship Division 1A, where Italy was promoted to the top division for the 2026 tournament.[15][16][17]

On June 16, 2025, Clara was one of the first six players selected to represent Italy in men's ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics as the host nation.[18]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Ducks Sign Goaltender Clara to Entry-Level Contract | Anaheim Ducks". www.nhl.com. 2024-06-03. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
  2. ^ "Three Ducks Named to Preliminary 2026 Olympics Rosters | Anaheim Ducks". www.nhl.com. 2025-06-16. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  3. ^ "Ducks Goalie Prospect Damian Clara Leaves Swedish Team – Headed to AHL?". Yahoo Sports. 14 February 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d read, Derek O'Brien·3 min (2025-02-14). "Ducks Goalie Prospect Damian Clara Leaves Swedish Team – Headed To AHL?". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 2025-06-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "Damian Clara Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  6. ^ Gulls, San Diego. "Anaheim Ducks Select Eight Players In Second Day Of 2023 NHL Draft | San Diego Gulls". www.sandiegogulls.com. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  7. ^ "Ducks Select Goaltender Clara with 60th Overall Pick | Anaheim Ducks". www.nhl.com. 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  8. ^ O'Brien, Derek (2024-04-24). "Brynäs back in SHL, eyeing NHL/AHL talent". The Hockey News. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  9. ^ O'Brien, Derek (2024-06-03). "Damian Clara signs in Anaheim, but he's almost certainly going back to Sweden". The Hockey News. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  10. ^ O'Brien, Derek (2025-02-15). "Confirmed: Ducks Goalie Prospect Damian Clara Signs In Finland". The Hockey News. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  11. ^ Airio, Riikka (2025-02-15). "Damian Clara ja Julius Janhonen loppukauden sopimuksilla Kärppiin!". Oulun Kärpät (in Finnish). Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  12. ^ a b "Ducks Recall Husso, Assign Clara to AHL San Diego | Anaheim Ducks". www.nhl.com. 2025-04-04. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  13. ^ Gulls, San Diego. "Damian Clara | San Diego Gulls". www.sandiegogulls.com. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  14. ^ "Summons". Italia Hockey (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  15. ^ "Damian Clara - Stats, Contract, Salary & More". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  16. ^ "Nazionale senior, gli Azzurri battono la Romania e volano in Top Division". Italia Hockey (in Italian). 2025-05-03. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  17. ^ Amoia, Daniel (2025-05-03). "Italy Promoted to Top Level of IIHF World Championships - The Hockey Writers Latest News, Analysis & More". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  18. ^ "Giochi Olimpici Invernali Milano Cortina 2026: la FISG annuncia i primi 6 giocatori della Nazionale maschile di hockey su ghiaccio". Italia Hockey (in Italian). 2025-06-16. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
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Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database

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