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Carolina Hurricanes: Prospects show future is bright

By Oliver Thompson |
RALEIGH, NC - NOVEMBER 12: Carolina Hurricanes Right Wing Andrei Svechnikov (37) centers the puck from being the net during a game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Carolina Hurricanes at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC on November 12, 2018. (Photo by Greg Thompson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - NOVEMBER 12: Carolina Hurricanes Right Wing Andrei Svechnikov (37) centers the puck from being the net during a game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Carolina Hurricanes at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC on November 12, 2018. (Photo by Greg Thompson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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The Carolina Hurricanes are widely considered to have one of the deepest prospect pools in the NHL. While some of those prospects have already made the NHL, many more are playing in the NHL, NCAA and junior hockey leagues. Let’s see how our brightest and best are getting on so far this season.

We’re now two months into the season, meaning prospects are settled into their expected roles, and hopefully producing as their talent indicated when they were drafted. It’s therefore the perfect moment to take our first dive of the season into the Carolina Hurricanes’ prospect pool and see how the future of the franchise is shaping up.

Already playing for the Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes’ star prospect is of course Andrei Svechnikov. He’s being given sheltered minutes thus far in his NHL career – with 58.9% of offensive zone starts and third line minutes – but his recent play has been excellent. Svechnikov has six goals and six assists in 26 games, with just 14:10 of ice time per game, and is one of the few players capable of scoring a goal out of nothing. Almost every Canes fan we know wants to see him given a top six opportunity; as the team’s offense continues to stagnate, it’s surely only a matter of time before the 3rd overall pick of the 2018 Entry Draft finds his rightful place on one of the top two lines.

Warren Foegele began the season with a bang, scoring for fun in the Canes’ top six. Sadly for him – and even more so for the team – he’s now on a miserable 19-game pointless streak, during which he’s been bumped down the lineup and in the Canes’ most recent game saw a season-low of 8:41 ice time. It’s about time RBA gave Foegele a proper shot at a top six role, along with Svechnikov, and ended his obsession with trying to squeeze offensive juice from Jordan Staal and Justin Williams. These are your guys Rod.

Services no longer required

Sadly November saw the end of Valentin Zykov‘s time with the Carolina Hurricanes, as he was waived to make way for the returning Haydn Fleury and was subsequently claimed by the Edmonton Oilers. Zykov never quite fit Rod Brind’Amour’s system, and even though the team could have sent down a waiver-ineligible player like Warren Foegele, Zykov was waived and will have a good shot at a top nine role on the Oilers, one his visa issues are sorted out. He was riding a CF% of 63.4% at the time he was waived, which would lead all Oilers players who have scored at least one point this season. Is it inconceivable that he gets some time on Connor McDavid‘s wing, once McDavid returns from injury?

We all wish you well Valentin.

In the AHL, being seasoned

The undisputed King of Charlotte is Martin Necas. Selected 12th overall in the 2017 Entry Draft, Necas began the season in Raleigh before being sent down to the Checkers. Since then, he’s wowed fans with his skating, finishing, and timely scoring – with six goals and seven assists in 20 games, he’d doing just fine down there. Canes fans will want to see him given another opportunity in the NHL, but it may be that more time in the AHL is best at this moment in time. Let Svechnikov and Foegele have a shot at the top six, and let Necas loose on the first line in Charlotte, so he can keep doing this:

A dark horse for a callup to solve the Canes’ scoring issues is Janne Kuokannen. He was selected 43rd overall in the 2016 Entry Draft and has gone from strength to strength, posting 40 points in his AHL rookie season and already playing at nearly a point-per-game pace this year, with nine goals and 14 assists in 24 games. He leads all Checkers in scoring and, after an interesting four-game spell in the NHL last season, Canes fans are beginning to call for Kuokannen to be the next in line for a callup. With Zykov gone and Foegele struggling, he’s surely in with a chance of seeing more NHL action in the near future.

Another consistent scorer in Charlotte, who has seen time with the Carolina Hurricanes this season, is Nicolas Roy. The 96th overall pick in 2015, Roy finished just behind Kuokannen in scoring last season and has seven goals and five assists in 17 games with Charlotte this season. He didn’t rip up any trees when playing six scoreless games with the Canes earlier on in the season, but he made very few mistakes and should be an interesting middle six option for the Canes down the line:

Jake Bean was recently called up by the Canes due to injuries to both Brett Pesce and Haydn Fleury. He played two NHL games, and looked fairly solid in both with exceptionally limited ice time (8:48 and 8:07). In the AHL, he has been very consistent and has posted 3-9-12 in 23 games. He’s having an excellent start to his professional hockey career and there is no doubt that he’ll see more time with the Canes later in the season when injuries strike once again.

When Pesce and Fleury went down it was anticipated that it would be Roland McKeown, not Bean, who was called up. That would have meant one of the Canes’ D playing on their off-side however, and so McKeown was kept in Charlotte. He has a similar record to Bean’s, going 2-10-12 in 24 games to follow last year’s 23-point season in Charlotte. I expect that he, too, will see time with the Canes later in the season, as he looked tidy in his 10-game audition last season.

Since he was drafted 37th overall in the 2014 Entry Draft, Alex Nedeljkovic has been cast as the future savior of this franchise. However this season has seen the tables turned, as for the first time in more than five years the Carolina Hurricanes have reliable goaltending in the form of Curtis McElhinney and Petr Mrazek. Nedeljkovic has had another solid start to the AHL season, following up last season’s .903 save percentage with a .890% in 18 games. He’s now sharing the load with the recently-waived Scott Darling, but the Checkers’ goal is his to keep. McElhinney’s performances may see him kept on for another year, which means that Nedeljkovic may have this year and next in Charlotte before making the step to the NHL.

NCAA / Major Junior future stars

One player who could bypass the AHL and make the Carolina Hurricanes straight out of camp next year is Stelio Mattheos. He is tearing up the WHL with 41 points in 26 games, including 22 goals. As Brett Finger points out below, Mattheos is scoring at a rate that only two players can better. It is altogether possible that Svechnikov and Mattheos are the Canes’ top six right wingers come October 2019:

Luke Henman is one to keep your eye on. Drafted 96th overall in 2018, he returned to the QMJHL and has improved his goal scoring, with seven goals in 26 games this season compared to nine in 61 games last season. He’s a long shot to make the NHL, but he’s trending in the right direction. He’ll need some seasoning in Charlotte before making the jump to the NHL.

Adam Fox came to the Carolina Hurricanes as part of the Hamilton-Ferland/Hanifin-Lindholm trade. Canes fans are worried that we lost that trade, but a lot hinges on Adam Fox – and he looks like a real player. The concern is whether he signs with the Canes, and we have to hope he does, because the NCAA has few players as good as him on D (he’s outscoring both Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar, for example). He’s played just 10 games this season, posting five goals and fifteen assists for 20 points, which puts him tied-6th in scoring despite playing five games less than the leaders. He is simply too good for the NCAA, and could easily play top 4 minutes in Raleigh next season. Don Waddell said earlier in the year that he believe the Canes will be able to sign him:

“I’d say it’s 99.9 percent we will get him signed. I don’t see it being as issue at all.”

Callum Booth is another goaltender with a bright future, although he recently became a victim of the numbers game due to Scott Darling’s demotion, finding himself sent down to the ECHL to ensure game time. It’s fine in the short-term, but with Darling posting excellent numbers in Charlotte and Nedeljkovic ahead of him, Booth will stay with the Reading Royals until the Canes can find an NHL home for Darling. His debut ended with a 3-1 win, stopping 31 of 31 shots, and the regular starts will benefit him for a while.

Summary

The future is very bright for the Carolina Hurricanes. We have two excellent goaltending prospects, a fantastic NHL D corps with prospects ready and able to jump in from Charlotte, plus Adam Fox to come. The Canes are struggling for goals but with Necas, Kuokannen and Mattheos to make the jump over the next year or so, that should become be a thing of the past. The last ten years have been painful for Canes fans, but the future looks very promising. We’ll keep you updated throughout the season as our future Canes stars progress.

Next. How can we get Warren Foegele going again?. dark

Question for CC readers:

Which of the team’s prospects not yet in the NHL/AHL are you most excited about?

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