Five Carolina Hurricanes Prospects You Should Watch Closely

In a group of prospects as deep as you can find in the NHL, who’s a few guys to keep a specific eye on when it comes to the Carolina Hurricanes?

One thing that’s become an undeniably glaring fact since the arrival of Ron Francis as the Canes GM in 2014 was that the team was putting a heavy focus on building through youth. Even with Francis now departed, the Canes have continued to add to their prospect base, and have built up an eye-popping group of youngsters in their system.

Aside from just draft picks, the team has also done a good job of acquiring prospects from other teams that have had a positive outlook in the organization. Teuvo Teravainen was obviously stolen from the Chicago Blackhawks, while guys like Gustav Forsling, Valentin Zykov and Roland McKeown have become fringe NHLers and are arguably deserving of an opportunity.

Today we’ll take a look at a few prospects that have an elevated status in the Hurricanes organization. The five players we’ll dive into specifically seem like safe bets to have an NHL career, whether it be in Carolina or elsewhere.

If your favourite prospect isn’t included – don’t sweat it. In a group as deep as the Canes’, it’s hard to only choose 5. If you’ve got any questions about prospects I didn’t include, feel free to inquire to me on Twitter (@FutureCanes) and I’d be happy to have a conversation. Without further ado, let’s get started.