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Hurricanes: 5 Under the Radar Prospects You Shouldn’t Forget About

By Alex Ohari

VANCOUVER , BC - JANUARY 5: Kirill Slepets #29 of Russia skates against Switzerland during a bronze medal game at the IIHF World Junior Championships at Rogers Arena on January 5, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Light/Getty Images)
VANCOUVER , BC - JANUARY 5: Kirill Slepets #29 of Russia skates against Switzerland during a bronze medal game at the IIHF World Junior Championships at Rogers Arena on January 5, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Light/Getty Images) /
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RALEIGH, NC – JUNE 30: Carolina Hurricanes Luke Henman (52) skates with the puck during the Canes Prospect Game at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC on June 30, 2018. (Photo by Greg Thompson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC – JUNE 30: Carolina Hurricanes Luke Henman (52) skates with the puck during the Canes Prospect Game at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC on June 30, 2018. (Photo by Greg Thompson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Luke Henman

Continuing on with another undersized forward, Canadian center Luke Henman is a kid who inspires confidence. Hand-picked by the new Don Waddell regime during their first draft in 2018, Henman has a pretty promising skill set, assuming he can manage to bulk up his 6’0, 159lb frame.

At first glance, Henman seems like a guy who’ll have a tough time getting to the NHL. He was listed at just 143lbs when he was drafted back in 2018, so by all accounts he’s literally a string bean. There’s no way he’ll be able to compete at the center-ice position in the NHL without adding a LOT of bulk.

Some scouts couldn’t overlook that, and had Henman going undrafted. However, despite the lack of size, a lot of scouts were also sold on his natural ability, and it’s safe to assume that Carolina fell into that category. The Canes’ Director of Amateur Scouting at the time, recently retired Tony MacDonald, said the following about Henman:

"“Very smart, tenacious, plays well with and without the puck. … He’s tall enough, he’s just a skinny, light kid who needs to add some mass. Tremendous competitor – that was the big thing about him. Very gritty kid.”"

Henman was quoted as saying he models his game after Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and that comparison seems fair. Henman is a good skater, possesses high hockey IQ and is a very good distributor of the puck. He’s also got a deceptive wrist shot, although he’s usually reluctant to use it.

He was drafted by Cape Breton of the QMJHL in 2016 but decided against reporting to that team and instead chose to develop his game with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. He managed to record 46 points last season despite his team being awful, but he’s now really turned a corner.

In 47 games this season as the captain of his Blainville squad, Henman leads the team with 60 points (20 goals, 40 assists), forming one of the leagues best duos with undrafted forward Iaroslav Likhachev. Thanks to Henman’s stellar play, his team sits atop the West Division in the QMJHL.

Looking toward his future, it seems like Henman has done enough to earn an entry-level contract. The 96th pick of the 2018 draft, Carolina has until June 1st 2020 to sign Henman to his ELC, or he’ll re-enter the NHL draft.

It’s safe to assume that Carolina will sign Henman, as the regime who drafted him is still in place. Assuming a deal gets done, Carolina will have the option to either re-assign Henman to the QMJHL as an overager next year, or let him begin his pro career with either the Charlotte Checkers or the Greenville Swamp Rabbits.

It’s tough to project exactly what Henman’s upside is at the NHL level, and he has a long grind ahead of him to get there. However, his raw ability is definitely worthy of developing, and should be able to overcome his deficiencies (strength, consistency) he has a chance to factor into the Hurricanes plans at forward sometime in the future.

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