The Anaheim Ducks signed defenseman Pavel Mintyukov to a five-year contract worth $36 million for an average annual value of $7.2 million, the team announced Sunday.The Ducks selected Mintyukov with the No. 10 pick in 2022, and the 22-year-old Russian is one of their young talents who bypassed the American Hockey League on the way to the NHL. But his development hasn’t been nearly as smooth as that of Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Beckett Sennecke or even Jackson LaCombe.Mintyukov showed promise as a rookie with 28 points in 63 games on a 59-point Ducks team in 2023-24. He didn’t build on that in 2024-25 as the effects of a crowded blue line often had the Ducks alternating him with Olen Zellweger, making both healthy scratches on occasion.Some scratches early in this past season led to reports of Mintyukov requesting a trade, but the smooth-skating blueliner improved his play and settled in on Anaheim’s second defense pairing. He averaged 18 minutes, 26 seconds and had a personal-best 112 blocked shots as he finished the season partnered with John Carlson. Carlson opted to test free agency and signed a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning after the Ducks dealt his rights to the Carolina Hurricanes.The massive offer sheet that Carlsson signed with the Philadelphia Flyers has created a ripple effect, with teams seeing how difficult it may be for Anaheim to match, given the contracts that are also due to Mintyukov and Gauthier. All three finished their entry-level contracts, but Gauthier is ineligible to receive an offer sheet.