5 Carolina Hurricanes players with brightest future

Thriving youth would make the Carolina Hurricanes the true contender they can be in the Metropolitan Division with so much talent.

If the Carolina Hurricanes had to choose five players that would be the most valuable to the franchise long-term, who would they be? The Canes have a deep young core of talent right now that made fans eager to see if they could break the eight season playoff drought the team is in the midst of.

The Metropolitan Division is filled with teams that have plenty of potent players. Just look at the Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils, and Columbus Blue Jackets. Each of those squads could be winners for the next few seasons easily.

To compete in the NHL consistently nowadays, there has to be some sole player with a bright future that the team is building around. Connor McDavid turned the Edmonton Oilers around very quickly. Auston Matthews did the same thing with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Carolina does not have that one skilled player that has the ability to turn the franchise around in the matter of one season. Sebastian Aho was a promising rookie last season that scored 24 goals, but has gotten off to a slow start this year. Haydn Fleury and Roland McKeown are the two rookies that have been impressive so far this season.

The last first round NHL Draft pick for the Canes was Martin Necas. He has not gotten any opportunity to establish himself at the NHL level yet. Necas should play an important role with the team in the near future, though.

Here’s the five players on the Carolina Hurricanes that have the brightest future in the NHL.

The first round pick from the 2014 NHL Draft for the Canes finally got his chance to debut at the professional ranks. And, Fleury has not disappointed in the first 13 games of his career. Fleury’s production has gone under the radar.

Fleury leads the entire team in plus/minus at a +5. He’s also tied for third on the team among defensemen in points with three. All three of those points are assists. Fleury is still searching for his first goal.

The main role that head coach Bill Peters needs Fleury to fill is that of a developing second or third line defender. Carolina could also use another key penalty killer in the absence of Brett Pesce due to concussion protocol.

We still have yet to figure out what role Fleury will ultimately play with the Canes. The deepest part of the roster for the Canes is defense. McKeown has a very bright future ahead and did not even make this list.

There are two young talents on the Carolina offense that often go forgotten. One is the 24-year-old center Victor Rask. The other is 22-year-old winger Elias Lindholm. Both Lindholm and Rask have played a key role in any success for the Canes in recent years.

If the Canes can finally get things up and running, they will need depth players like Lindholm, Rask, and other young forwards to continue to step it up and progress. Lindholm is on pace to reach about his career average in points this season.

He posted a career-high in points last season with 45, after two straight seasons with 39 points each. However, Lindholm is not much for goal scoring. He is much better at setting up his line mates more so than creating his own offense.

Through 13 games, Lindholm has three goals and four assists. He would need just 17 goals to set a career-high pace. Lindholm has posted 11 goals in each of the last two seasons. It’ll be interesting to see how he progresses in the coming seasons.

Noah Hanifin has been the subject of quite a few trade rumors recently. He is one of the highest draft picks in the history of the franchise since moving to Raleigh. Hanifin’s production to start the season leads all defensemen on the team, though.

The one goal and five assists puts Hanifin on pace to have another career-high mark in both categories. He improved from 22 to 29 points last season. And, he’s still extremely young and improving on almost a nightly basis.

Hanifin’s speed and defensive angles still have some work before his skill is really brought to the forefront. Yet, if the Canes decide to keep Hanifin on hand throughout the season, he will be a key part of the top four defenders.

Peters has kept Hanifin alongside co-captain Justin Faulk for most of the season. Yet, the injury to Pesce shook some things up with the pairings. We’re getting a great look at the future for the Canes between Hanifin, Fleury, and McKeown.

The Canes have one of the most underrated young defenders in the NHL on the roster. Jaccob Slavin has established himself as not only the best at his position for Carolina, but also maybe the best player on the entire team.

Slavin is the type of defender that can shut down the best of opposing star forwards. The Canes have wins over both the Maple Leafs and Oilers largely because Slavin held both McDavid and Matthews in check overall.

The offensive prowess that Slavin possesses is starting to come to the forefront of late. He’s the only defender on the Canes that has multiple goals. And, he’s starting to get some exposure in terms of how effective he is at leading the breakout from the defensive zone.

Slavin is a great first line defender for Peters. He’s a reliable defender that Peters should have the confidence to put him in any situation. If he can continue developing his offensive tools, he could be a real player in the running for the Norris Trophy in coming seasons.