ANAHEIM, Calif. – Seven days remain to set the Anaheim Ducks’ regular season roster, which came into greater focus on Sunday.

Anaheim trimmed its training camp roster down to just 30 players vying to make the 23-man Opening Night roster, separating the Ducks from the AHL San Diego Gulls.

After Mason McTavish finally signed a six-year, $42-million contract on Saturday, there will be a renewed energy in Ducks camp on Monday, when the 22-year-old center gets to work under Joel Quenneville.

The energy will also shift as the competition for roster spots heats up with just three preseason games remaining, starting on Monday at home against San Jose.

Here are news and notes from Ducks training camp:

Ducks Send 16 Down to AHL San Diego

Forwards Justin Bailey, Judd Caulfield, Nathan Gaucher, Nico Myatovic, Sasha Pastujov, Matthew Phillips, Yegor Sidorov and Jaxsen Wiebe, defensemen Jeremie Biakabutuka, Nikolas Brouillard, Konnor Smith and Noah Warren and goaltenders Vyacheslav Buteyets, Calle Clang and Tomas Suchánek.

Center Jan Myšák has been put on waivers to be assigned to San Diego.

Phillips earned some attention this preseason with three goals in just two games, including a power-play marker on Saturday in Bakersfield. The generously 5-foot-8, 161-pound forward was the only Ducks player this preseason with more than one goal and was tied for the team lead of three points with Jackson LaCombe and Drew Helleson.

However, the 27-year-old Phillips came to Ducks camp as an AHL camp invite, meaning he was always destined to be a San Diego Gull. Of his last 378 regular-season professional games, 338 were in the AHL, including all 65 last season with the Colorado Eagles. His longest NHL stint was 31 games two seasons ago with the Capitals and Penguins.

Buteyets and Suchánek were the starting goaltenders in the Golden State Rookie Faceoff two weeks ago, but neither saw game action in the first four preseason games. Clang played the second half of Lukáš Dostál’s preseason debut in a planned switch and stopped 10 of 12 shots.

There are 30 players–17 forwards, 10 defensemen, three goaltenders–left on the Ducks training camp roster with one week to play before the final cuts likely come next Sunday. NHL Opening Night rosters are due next Monday afternoon, Oct. 6.

That means there are likely three forwards, three defenseman and a goalie that need to be trimmed down for that season-opening roster.

In the forward ranks, Jansen Harkin’s upper-body injury (eight weeks) opened a spot, but Mason McTavish’s signing and impending arrival fills that back in.

Assuming plenty of locks to the Ducks roster (Leo Carlsson’s not getting cut, right?), the roster spot battles look to be solely among the potential healthy scratches.

In the forward ranks, it’ll be a question of roster philosophy.

Under former coach Greg Cronin, Ross Johnston got a lot of leash as a veteran player that was large, physical and knew how to throw his hands around. New coach Joel Quenneville said Johnston has had “a good camp” after scoring a goal on Monday, but does Quenneville see the same need for Johnston on the roster?

Tim Washe has proven to be the kind of hard-working player Quenneville likes and possess some defensive and faceoff ability. He’s the kind of utility forward that would be a solid Harkins analogue.

Then there is the Beckett Sennecke question. 

In his media call on the McTavish signing Saturday, Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek gave an extremely detailed evaluation of Sennecke’s camp and what the top prospect needs to work on. Now the question is can he work on those habits and build strength back in junior hockey? Or is it worth holding an NHL roster spot to develop him?

In the defensive corps, Drew Helleson seems to solidly be in the NHL group, regularly paired with Jackson LaCombe in camp and games, which means the top six is set.

Who ends up taking the seventh defensive spot is likely a minutes question.

Tristan Luneau looks more than ready to step up the the NHL level, but would he be better served playing top minutes in San Diego instead of sitting in the press box?

Stian Solberg and Ian Moore are sticking around for now, but they’d also be better served with playing time in the AHL.

Tyson Hinds has had a sneaky good training camp. The 6-foot-3 22-year-old lefty might be the perfect slot as the extra defenseman in Anaheim. It’d be a worthy reward for the 2021 third-rounder.

If there’s a wrench in the roster numbers, it’d be in the crease.

Both Petr Mrázek and Ville Husso have made good cases to back-up Lukáš Dostál. Both have been AHLers in recent seasons, but both would also be subject to waivers if sent down to San Diego.

Mrázek would have been thought to have the inside track after being taken back in the John Gibson trade, not to mention the friendship with his Czech countryman Dostál. Husso, though, played a handful of decent games for Anaheim late last season and has been strong this preseason.

Additionally, the three goalies sent down to San Diego today–Clang, Suchanek, Buteyets–each have their reasons for carrying the load for the Gulls. If either veteran goalie was sent down, they’d be taking reps from a strong Ducks pipeline.

In theory, the Ducks could roll out of the gates with three goaltenders, and in games when Dostál is not the starter, their No. 1 goalie could get a complete night off without preparing to back up that night.

Decisions to be made by next week’s end.

Jansen Harkins Injury Update

Anaheim made the bad news official on Saturday, announcing that bottom-six forward Jansen Harkins will miss eight weeks with an upper-body injury.

The 28-year-old Cleveland native was injured last Sunday in the first period of the preseason opener in Ontario. Harkins took a seemingly innocuous hit into the side boards, but he came up favoring his right arm.

That right arm went into a sling postgame and through the week, as Harkins received a second opinion on Wednesday.

Harkins will look to return in mid-November.