Ducks Reassign Lukas Dostal and Vinni Lettieri To Gulls; San Diego Recalls Francis Marotte From Allen (ECHL)

Dec 13, 2021

The Anaheim Ducks announced today that the National Hockey League (NHL) club has reassigned goaltender Lukas Dostal and right wing Vinni Lettieri to the San Diego Gulls, Anaheim’s primary development affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL). In addition, the Gulls recalled goaltender Francis Marotte from the Allen Americans of the ECHL. 

Dostal, 21 (6/22/00), has compiled a 5-5-0 record with a 2.83 goals-against average (GAA) with San Diego this season. In 34 career AHL games with the Gulls, Dostal has posted a 20-14-0 record with a 2.85 GAA and .911 save percentage. The 6-1, 192-pound goaltender split the 2020-21 season with Ilves (Finland) and San Diego, combining for a 25-9-1 record with a 2.48 GAA and .923 SV% in 35 contests.

Selected by Anaheim in the third round (85th overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft, the Brno, Czech Republic native began 2020-21 with Ilves, posting a 10-0-1 record with one shutout, a 1.64 GAA and .941 SV% in 11 Finnish Liiga games, leading the league in wins (10), GAA (1.64) and SV% (.947) prior to joining San Diego. Dostal went 15-9-0 with a 2.87 GAA and .916 SV% in 24 AHL games with San Diego, ranking second among AHL goaltenders in saves (745) and third in wins (15), while leading all rookie goaltenders in minutes (1,424).

Lettieri, 26 (2/6/95), scored 3-1=4 points in eight games with Anaheim this season, including his first goal as a Duck Oct. 31 vs. Montreal. The 5-11, 185-pound forward has appeared in 59 career NHL games with Anaheim and the New York Rangers, recording 5-7=12 points and 14 PIM. Signed as a free agent, Oct. 10, 2020, Lettieri has recorded 6-2=8 points in nine games with San Diego this season, co-leading the Gulls in points per game (.89).

A native of Excelsior, Minn., Lettieri has scored 91-75=166 points with 117 PIM in 204 career AHL games with San Diego and Hartford. Lettieri ranks third among all AHL leaders in goals (91) since the start of 2017-18. He also scored 37-46=83 points in four seasons at the University of Minnesota (2013-17), helping the Golden Gophers to a 2015 Big Ten championship.

Marotte, 26 (5/1/95), has posted a 3-4-2 record with a 3.98 GAA and .874 SV% in nine ECHL games with the Allen Americans this season. In 21 career ECHL games with the Americans, Marotte has compiled a 11-7-3 record with a 3.14 GAA and .898 SV%. The 6-1, 196-pound netminder appeared in two AHL games during the 2020-21 season with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, making his AHL debut on Mar. 4th vs. Providence, stopping seven-of-eight shots in 19:50 played.  
 
A native of Longueuil, Quebec, Marotte appeared in 141 career NCAA games with Clarkson University (2019-20) and Robert Morris University (2016-2019), posting a record of 73-52-11 with 12 shutouts, a 2.35 GAA and .922 SV%. In 2019-20, he went 23-8-3 with four shutouts, a 1.78 GAA and .938 SV% in 34 appearances with Clarkson University and ranked fourth in GAA, fifth in SV% and tied for fifth in games played among NCAA leaders. That season, he was named Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Goaltender of the Year and earned First All-Star Team honors while also being selected to the NCAA East Second All-American Team.