The Carolina Hurricanes have four draft picks in the first two rounds of this year’s NHL Entry Draft in June. After finishing much better than they did last season they will have to wait until the 13th pick to be called to the stage for the first time this year.
After that though, they will be recalled just eleven spots later with the 24th pick that Ron Francis collected from the Los Angeles Kings for Andrej Sekera earlier this season. The second round holds two more Hurricanes picks, with their scheduled choice at 43rd and the 52nd spot gained from the Rangers in the Eric Staal deal.
Cardiac Cane has looked at most of the major prospect scouting sources, and considered many of the mock draft results available online, and compiled lists of preferred choices for the Canes first four picks. This is the first of those four editorials covering the best options at each draft spot.
First Round – Pick #13
We published an editorial about a week ago that made a strong case for Windsor Spitfire Center, Carolina Hurricane legacy and Raleigh-born Logan Brown to be Ron Francis’ first pick in Buffalo. As you’ll see from our choices below that opinion hasn’t changed.
Related Story: Hurricanes #1 Draft Choice: Logan Brown
However, as everyone knows things can change quickly on Draft Day, as ‘first-choice players’ are often taken earlier than expected and general managers always have second and third choices ready to go. For that reason we have included other good options for Francis to fall back on if the first choice disappears.
Simply looking at the Hurricanes roster will tell you they need forwards, not defensemen. It’s also been made clear by many experts, including us at Cardiac Cane, that Francis needs to find some big bodies to make the Hurricanes competitive.
So, with all of that in mind, we only considered forwards for this first pick. And although there are some good ones available around the 13th slot, like Tyson Jost, Michael McLeod and Kieffer Bellows, we stuck to choosing size.
The three options below could honestly make up a pretty good, and big, forward line for the Hurricanes if we could get all three. Since that’s pretty much impossible, here are their profiles in order of preference.
Player rankings, stats and some scouting commentary is courtesy of the excellent work at DraftSite.com and EliteProspects.com.
Logan Brown – Center – 6’6” 225 pounds
Born March 5, 1998, Raleigh, NC
2015-2016 Season: 59 games, 21 goals, 53 assists, 74 points – Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
Brown has the size to play in the NHL right now, and will only get bigger and stronger as he gets older. The key though will be his development as a man, as he matures emotionally and learns how to use his size and skills as an adult. Only time will tell us how that goes.
Brown excels at both ends of the ice, dominating in the offensive zone and taking care of his own end as well. He uses his big body to shield the puck, and his reach to take it off other players sticks.
Growing up and playing junior hockey in the St. Louis area, Logan played with and against older skaters from the time he was 10 years old. On top of his father’s professional tutelage he also grew up skating with and getting tips from Blues stars Keith Tkachuk and Al MacInnis.
Many scouting reports and profiles call his skating stride “long and smooth” with “elite top-end speed”. His shot has been described as “absolutely deadly” with a control and velocity that “would be impressive at the NHL level”.
Julien Gauthier – Right Wing – 6’4” 225 pounds
Born October 15, 1997, Pointe-aux-Trembles, QC
2015-2016 Season: 54 games, 41 goals, 16 assists, 57 points – Val-d’Or Foreurs (QMJHL)
At his size and weight Gauthier uses his body to take pucks away from opponents and he wins possession battles in the offensive zone with ease. He’s also comfortable going to the dirty areas, whether they be in the corners or out front of the net.
He is surprisingly quick on his skates, with an explosive take off and powerful stride that surprises opponents. And the combination of a big man with soft hands and a terrific shot is what General Managers lust after.
Scouting reports do say that he needs to develop more as a play-maker, making sure he feeds his linemates as much as they feed him. This issue is easy to quantify by simply looking at his points numbers – 41 goals with only 16 helpers.
He needs to add more East-West to what is already an impressive North-South game. There are some rough patches to address, but he looks like a true NHL prospect.
Riley Tufte – Left Wing – 6’5” 190 pounds
Born April 10, 1998, Ham Lake MN
2015-2016 Season: 27 games, 10 goals, 4 assists, 14 points – Fargo Force (USHL)
I’ll make it clear from the start that Riley is committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth for the upcoming school year, so whatever team does select him will have to wait at least a year or two.
Even with his very tall, and a little underweight, frame he has the skills and acceleration that you see in much smaller forwards. He has very quick feet, and when he gets going his size does make it difficult for opponents to slow him down.
According to numerous scouts, his hands are so good he can almost stickhandle in a phone booth, and has the quickness and size to take the puck to the net and stay there. He’s also good for his own defensemen, taking care of both ends of the ice.
He’s certainly not the finished product yet. He could add a dozen or so pounds to his 6’5” frame, and get a bit nastier and difficult to defend against. With at least a year of college cafeteria food, unlimited access to a weight room, and a short NCAA playing season he could become a beast of a draft pick very soon.
Next: Hurricane Signings, Prospects and a Tweet
So there you have our first choice options for Ron Francis and his management team. Any one of these three, in our opinion, would be great additions to the Carolina Hurricanes organization and contribute to the team’s already stacked prospect pool.
Next up we will take a look at the best options for Francis’ pick in the 24th slot.