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:
Since getting drafted by the Hurricanes in the 3rd round of the 2017 draft, Stelio Mattheos has 131 points in 94 WHL games. Only two players have more points in that span - Cody Glass and Trey Fix-Wolansky. He was considered by many to be a draft steal, and he has backed that up.
— Brett Finger (@brettfinger) December 3, 2018
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.
Question for CC readers:
Which of the team’s prospects not yet in the NHL/AHL are you most excited about?