The Carolina Hurricanes May Boast One of the League’s Best Young Duos
By Joshua Ryan
In a league driven by young talent, there are amazing young players to be found on nearly every team; Carolina may have two of the very best the world has to offer.
The NHL has become a young man’s game. It is the goal of every front office to build their roster around a plethora of young, cheap, and high-upside talents. The draft has become a vitality now more so than ever as the way to win in today’s NHL has shifted from veteran savvy, to young stardom.
There is still no replacement for experience, but many of the league’s most talented teams are ones that carry one of these young household names. There are many examples, however, where a team is lucky enough to boast more than one such talent.
The Carolina Hurricanes fall under that category. The Canes have two of the best players the league has to offer, both being under the age of 23. Building a duo of this caliber has been a pursuit that has taken the league by storm. When we consider these young duo’s, one has to wonder where the Carolina Hurricanes rank among those teams?
When one considers teammates who are both 24 or younger, and have been recognized league wide for their production, there are few teams that can lay claim to such a feat.
At the top of the list is the perhaps the best duo in all of hockey; the Edmonton Oilers Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. These two players currently stand at one and two, respectively, in points scored by an NHL player.
These two players set the bar for NHL teammates; what is incredible to consider about these teammates is their age. McDavid is 22, and the undisputed best player in hockey, and Draisaitl is 24, while also being considered one of the most productive players league wide.
After that incredible duo, it becomes difficult to consider anyone ahead of Carolina’s own. The Boston Bruins duo of David Pastranak and Brad Marchand come to mind as incredibly talented teammates, but Marchand has just passed 30.
Basing the duo off of this season production, the Florida Panthers could be considered. Jonathan Huberdeau, however, is 26, with Aleksander Barkov being just eligible for our consideration at 24. Regardless, It is difficult to consider the Panthers young teammates as talented as Carolina’s own.
When considering these names, and the production of the players this season, the second best pairing of young teammates have to be the Carolina Hurricanes own duo of Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho.
Aho is following up a breakout 2018-2019 with another spectacle year in his age 22 season; putting up 33 points in 34 games, 20 of those points being goals.
Andrei Svechnikov has been the real star of the season. The 19-year-old is entering his second professional season and has operated as the constant offensive force the Hurricanes desperately needed to start the year. The Russian prodigy has already posted 35 points in 34 games, operated as a facilitator and finisher to equal effect.
This isn’t to say that there aren’t young duos who could develop to be better than Carolina’s young guns, or that these two players have the highest upside as any teammates in the NHL. The truth is that there are no two teammates in the NHL, 24 years of age or younger, who are having a better year than these two Hurricanes.
If these players continue, and if their develop remains on the fast track, they may be able to solidify this spot in the hockey world for the foreseeable future. These two may also find the most success of any young teammates in the NHL; benefiting greatly from an ever-present force on the bench in Rod Brind’Amour, a remarkable General Manager in Don Waddell, and a team that has been built for sustainable success.
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