Carolina Hurricanes Top 10 Prospects of 2015
By Brett Finger
10. Alex Nedeljkovic
Position: Goalie
Age: 19
Acquired: 2nd round (37th overall), 2014 NHL Draft by CAR
Being a smaller goalie, Alex Nedeljkovic isn’t your prototypical goalie prospect. Nedeljkovic stands at just 6’0″, 190 pounds at the age of 19, but he does have some good play under his belt in the OHL in previous seasons.
He has spent the past 2 years as the starting goalie of the Plymouth Whalers and has showed plenty of upside with great positioning and quickness in net. Nedeljkovic saw his stats drop from 2013-14 to 2014-15 in all categories, but it isn’t fair to put it all on him, but also the team around him.
Nedeljkovic’s OHL rights are now held by the Flint Firebirds, though he did sign an entry level deal in March with the Hurricanes. That will make him eligible to play in the American league this year, though it is more likely that he will go back to the OHL and play out his eligibility there.
The Parma, Ohio native has potential to be a big part of this team’s future, but he still has work to do in regards to consistency and overall development in order for that to happen. Keep in mind it take goalie much longer to fully develop than it does forwards or defensemen.
NHL ETA: 2019-2020
Projected Ceiling: Starting NHL Goalie
9. Sebastian Aho
Position: Left Wing
Age: 17
Acquired: 2nd round (35th overall), 2015 NHL Draft by CAR
It is extremely rare to score the game winning goal of a game seven to win a championship in your home land’s professional hockey league at the age of 17, but Sebastian Aho did just that this year in Finland’s Liiga.
Aho is a crafty and dynamic player who can challenge you in all areas. He broke into the Liiga, Finland’s professional hockey league, for a full season last year and split time between Karpat and Assat. He tallied 13 points in 30 regular season games along with 3 points in 10 playoff games, including the all-important championship-winning goal.
Along with all of his accomplishments in Finland, Aho also has had a lot of success in international play with Finland’s U18 teams, especially in the Ivan Hlinka tourney where he tallied 5 goals and 7 points in 4 games while donning an “A” on his chest as an alternate captain. He picked up a silver medal with Finland in the U18 World Juniors Championship last season as well.
Sebastian Aho is very talented both as an offensive weapon and as an energetic role player, and he is incredibly accomplished. His one knock is his size, standing at just 5’11” and 176 pounds. It has also been said that he can try to do too much. Keep in mind that this kid is incredibly young, even by prospect’s standards.
He has plenty of time to develop and can be an impact player in the future for Carolina.
NHL ETA: 2019-2020
Projected Ceiling: Dynamic top-nine winger
8. Sergey Tolchinsky
Position: Left Wing
Age: 20
Acquired: Signed as Undrafted Free Agent in 2013 by CAR
Sergey Tolchinsky draws tons of attentions year after year at Carolina Hurricanes development camp with his incredible offensive skill and wow factor, but will that ability alone be able to make him a solid NHL player?
The answer to that is no, but he has shown big improvements in his defensive game and has gotten a little bit bigger, but he still has a very small frame at 5’9″, 170 pounds. He is 2 inches taller than Canes forward Nathan Gerbe but weighs 7 pounds less.
Tolchinsky needs to get bigger and stronger in order to make it in the NHL, but if he can, he can be a very special player for the Hurricanes with his incredible, Patrick Kane-like hands. Check out the amazing moves he has pulled off this week at Canes Camp HERE.
The Russian winger is coming off of a remarkable 90-point season with the Greyhounds in the OHL and is set to go pro this season. He will almost definitely start the year with the Charlotte Checkers in the AHL and will go from there. Don’t be surprised to see a call-up at some point to the NHL.
This year will be a massively important one for his development. He needs to prove he can play with the big boys in the professional leagues in North America. Sergey Tolchinsky may be the biggest prospect to watch this year, maybe not in stature, but definitely in importance.
NHL ETA: 2017-2018
Projected Ceiling: Explosive top-nine forward (IF all goes well…)
Next: No. 7-5