The Ducks signed defenseman Rodwin Dionicio to a three-year, entry-level contract Friday, per a news release from the team.
He was a fifth-round pick, 129th overall, in last year’s draft as a re-entry selection. He joined goalie Vyacheslav Buteyets (Round 6, No. 178 in 2022) among aspiring Ducks to sign their entry-level deals already this offseason.
Dionicio, 20, amassed 73 points in 60 games split between two different Ontario Hockey League clubs this past season. He also notched four points in five games for Switzerland’s Under-20 side at the World Junior Championships.
While Dionicio’s profile may not be as high as No. 2 overall selection Leo Carlsson or 2023 Western Hockey League defenseman of the year Olen Zellweger, his game is, like theirs, predicated on elusiveness, deception and misdirection.
He also traversed a lightly trodden trail to the NHL. A son of Dominican immigrants born in Newark, his family moved to Switzerland when Dionicio was an infant. There, in the town of Herisau, he played soccer and excelled on the same ice that was strided upon by one Timo Meier, a Swiss star who now plays in Newark with the New Jersey Devils, as well as former Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller.
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At 6’2” and more than 200 pounds, Donicio adds another physically formidable, skilled defenseman to a group that includes fellow 2022 draftee Noah Warren, who is even more imposingly sized with agility to spare. Pavel Mintyukov, Tristan Luneau and Zellweger all made their NHL debuts last season and will be counted on to expand their roles in short order.
The Ducks will deepen their prospect pool further in late June, when they have seven selections in the first three rounds of the draft, including the third overall pick and another first-rounder.
