Damian Clara

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]

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

Playing career

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

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]