The Carolina Hurricanes held their annual prospect camp this past week and it allowed us to see the development of the Canes prospect pool as well as what the future of the organization holds.
The future of the Carolina Hurricanes is looking to be very bright as multiple players at the prospect camp looked very good out on the ice. Currently, the Canes have arguably one of the best prospect pools in all of hockey and that was before the 2019 draft. The 2019 draft was a phenomenal one for GM Don Waddell and company.
The Canes landed steal after steal with each pick they had, and it seemed unfair that they were able to come out with the players that they did. The Canes came away with 12 total players in this years draft to add to an already impressive prospect pool. According to Sportingnews.com, the Canes had the 4th best “farm system” out of the 31 teams in the NHL. This report was written nearly an entire year ago and many prospects have grown with more and more potential.
The Canes got a chance to examine the talent they have long scouted this past week. Fans were also able to get a glimpse of the players at the Canes prospect scrimmage. Which players shined in the scrimmage the most?
Domenick Fensore was selected 90th in the third round of the NHL draft. As far as the scrimmage goes, his play screamed that he should have gone higher. Fensore, a left-handed defenseman committed to Boston University, stands at only 5’7″ but has tremendous skill and plays with stellar speed.
Fensore looked like another forward out on the ice, showing very good skill with the puck and beating opponents with his work ethic and speed. Fensore reminds me a lot of the way Jaccob Slavin plays in that he knows how to use skill to get past the opponent while still staying home on defense. Realistically I could see Fensore become a top 4 defenseman and potentially a 20+ goal scorer per season.
Fensore’s spectacular playmaking ability can be seen in the highlight below:
https://twitter.com/USAHockeyNTDP/status/1089347857176559617
As you can see, Fensore is very good at creating changes for himself and that could make him a unique prospect for the future. Fensore put up 42 (6 goals 36 assists) points in 55 games for the USA u-18 national team this past season. Those numbers back up the thought that Fensore is a potential playmaker waiting for his shot with the Canes.
It can be argued that Ryan Suzuki was perhaps the steal of the NHL draft. Suzuki was ranked as high as 12th by the Hurricanes organization before the draft and the Canes were able to land him with the 28th pick. Suzuki is a left handed Center who stands at 6’0″ and weighs 176 pounds. I have stated this before but Aho matches Suzukis measurements exactly. Suzuki plays a lot like Canes star Sebastian Aho in that they both use their speed and playmaking ability to score and assist.
The Canes knew exactly what they were doing when they picked Suzuki. Aho was a spectacular pick for the Canes when he was drafted all the way back in 2015, and the Canes took a player in his exact mold to potentially play alongside Aho. Imagine 2 players capable of Aho’s skill level on the same line. That is scary to think about if you are any team but the Hurricanes.
Suzuki isn’t just impressive when he is compared to Aho. Suzuki put up 75 points in 65 games this past season with the Barrie Colts. Those are pretty impressive numbers for a player who is only 18 years old.
Suzuki shined in the Canes prospect game earning himself a goal in the process.
https://twitter.com/NHLCanes/status/1145011791027724290
Ryan Suzuki really impresses me and I expect him to become a household name in the years to come. Don’t be surprised if Suzuki scores 70+ points in a season with the Canes in the future.
Kochetkov may have the most potential out of all the players the Canes drafted this past year. Pyotr was selected 36th in the second round this year. He was commonly looked as the second best goalie in the entire draft and the Canes got him in the second round. I think he is an absolute steal and could potentially be apart of the Canes goalie tandem of the future along with Ned.
For anyone who watched Kochetkov at the prospect game or looked at any of his highlight tapes, it was obvious that this guy is just special. Kochetkov actually reminds me a little bit of how Mrazek plays in that both goalies are not afraid to be aggressive and use their stick. Mrazek was oftentimes very successful with his poke checks this season and I could see Pyotr finding the same success with the organization.
Kochetkov played extremely well this past year posting numbers of .953 save percentage and 1.45 GAA in 5 games played with the Russian U-20 team. Not only was he impressive with his U-20 team but had a .930 save percentage and a 2.13 GAA in 18 games played with the HK Ryazan in the VHL. Those numbers are extremely impressive and will hopefully translate to the next level.
At the age of 20, expect Pyotr to make the NHL roster sooner rather than later. My bet is that Pyotr will be on the roster by the 2022-2023 season.
CC Readers: Who stood out to you the most at the Canes prospect camp?