IRVINE, Calif. -- Three days after he was selected by the Anaheim Ducks with the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, right wing Beckett Sennecke attended the first day of the team's development camp on Monday.
Sennecke was part of a five-player group that went through testing on the ice and in classrooms at Anaheim's training facility.
Sennecke said he doesn't know any of the other players at the development camp very well, but the 18-year-old has played against a few in the Ontario Hockey League.
Sennecke had 68 points (27 goals, 41 assists) with Oshawa of the OHL last season. He also led all draft-eligible skaters in goals (10) and points (22) in 18 games during the 2024 OHL Playoffs.
Sennecke was picked up at the airport on Sunday with the No. 21 pick, Norwegian defenseman Stian Solberg, and they went straight to Angel Stadium, where both threw out the first pitch.
"I hit the strike zone, that's what people we're telling me, but I don't watch a lot of baseball so I'm not too sure," Sennecke said.
Sennecke and Solberg then crossed the freeway to Honda Center, where thousands of fans were waiting to greet them.
"He's a great guy," Solberg said of Sennecke. "Likes to have a good time, funny guy."
Sennecke followed that by going to dinner with forward Cutter Gauthier, the No. 5 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, who was acquired by Anaheim in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers on January 9 for defenseman Jamie Drysdale.
Gauthier said he broke the ice by bringing up Sennecke's animated reaction after getting drafted by the Ducks on Friday in Las Vegas, and the conversation then veered toward development camp.
"He said enjoy it every day," Sennecke said. "It's (development) camp, you're not going to make or break the team here."
Gauthier also provided advice from one high draft pick to another. Gauthier received a lot of backlash earlier this year when he made it public that he didn't want to play for the Flyers, prompting the trade to Anaheim.
"Obviously, being a higher pick comes with a lot more eyes and people having expectations," Gauthier said. "It doesn't matter what people think, you've just got to do your thing. Obviously you're drafted, for him in that situation, third overall, for a reason and you've just got to have the belief that you've got what it takes to get to the next level."
Though he likes what he's seen so far in the Orange County area, Sennecke still isn't completely sure how he ended up in Anaheim.
"Some teams I met with seven, eight times and Anaheim was one that only talked to at the combine," he said. "I guess they said that they saw enough on the ice that they liked."
