Carolina Hurricanes What Could Have Been: Elite Players Selected Directly After a Canes Pick

The Carolina Hurricanes have some regrets from previous drafts

In every draft, there’s a handful of players that develop into elite NHL All-Stars. Here are five guys that were draft directly after a Carolina Hurricanes pick.

It is easy to look back on a draft and say what was X team thinking when they selected this player this early and how did X fall that far but you have to remember they’re teenagers. NHL scouting staff are tasked with the difficult job of projecting how these young kids will perform or fit in the NHL level.

Often after the first round teams are just hoping the players they draft will just make it to the NHL is some capacity. To have an NHL All-Star is just icing on the cake.

While the Carolina Hurricanes seem to have done better with their drafts the past couple of years, there was a time where their selections left a lot to be desired. A time where the players they selected almost always turned out to be bust, while the prospects picked directly after them, blossomed into elite all-stars.

For the sake of this article, we are just going to look at guys selected one pick after a Canes selection. In every draft, there are late-round gems and undrafted players that turn into stars but every team passed on these guys multiple times. Because of this, we are going to exclude them.

In some instances, Carolina opted to draft for need rather than the best player available, which is never a smart idea, and in others, they were a bit turned off on certain qualities of an individual, i.e. a player is a bit undersized or isn’t the best skater.

Without further ado, let’s take a look five guys the Hurricanes, in hindsight, should have drafted in chronological order.

Blake Wheeler

Somehow the least regrettable missed pick for the Carolina Hurricanes

Back in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, the Carolina Hurricanes selected Andrew Ladd with the 4th overall pick. Ladd went on to appear in just 137 games for the Hurricanes before being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for fan-favorite Tuomo Ruutu.

Although Ladd won a Stanley Cup with the team in 2006, he really didn’t blossom into a top player until he left the franchise. The shell of a player he once was now, the former Thrashers/Jets captain in spent time in the AHL this season after signing a lucrative deal with the New York Islanders.

Right after the pick then Phoenix Coyotes drafted Blake Wheeler. Opting not to sign an entry-level deal with the Yotes, Wheeler began his NHL as a member of the Boston Bruins.

Now one of the better power forwards in the entire league, the current Jets captain has become an offensive weapon of late. Good for 20 goals a year consistently, Wheeler is mainly an assist machine for the Jets. Setting up guys like Laine, Connor, Scheifele, and Ehlers he has over 180 assist in the past three seasons alone.

A guy who some scouts were comparing Andrei Svechnikov to in his draft year, it goes without saying that he would have been a nice addition to the Hurricanes lineup. Just imagine having a one-two punch on the right side with Svech and Wheeler. The Canes would be a tougher team to play against while having multiple solid scoring options on the right side.

Erik Karlsson

The Carolina Hurricanes will forever regret this draft

At a time where almost every single Hurricanes draft pick ended up being nothing more than a career AHLer who appeared in a handful of games in the top six for the Canes because of the lack of depth, Carolina could have had a superstar. Selecting Zach Boychuk 14th overall in 2014 he was seen as a solution to the franchise’s offensive woes.

Never able to translate his goal-scoring ability to the NHL level, Boychuk was a main-stay in the Charlotte Checkers lineup for years. After spending nearly 7 years with the organization it became clear that he was a draft bust.

While having a first-rounder fail to pan out stings in its own right, to see two time Norris Trophy Winner and six-time All-Star defenseman Erik Karlsson drafted directly after just makes it worse.

Not the same player he was after suffering a series of injuries a few years back, there was a time where the former Ottawa Senators captain was in the conversation with Sydney Crosby as the best player in the league.

Now a member of the Sharks, it is clear that he’s been one of the better offensive blueliners to ever play the game. With 603 points in 736 regular-season games, his production is almost equivalent to some of the games’ top-scoring forwards.

Had the Canes’ brass selected him, history would have been a lot different. Until recently Carolina had one of them, if not the, weakest defense cores in the entire league for the longest time. Having a player of his caliber on the backend would not have only changed the entire dynamic of the blue line, but it would have attracted some better players to the franchise in free agency.

Johnny Gaudreau

Somehow Johnny Hockey eluded the Carolina Hurricanes

Another player that stings a bit to just have missed out on is Johnny Gaudreau. Drafted 104th overall back in 2011 the dynamic winger was selected just one pick after Carolina chose Swiss forward Gregory Hofmann.

Hofmann has put together a fine career overseas but has never been able to translate his play to the NHL level. There have been a few instances where he’s attempted to do so, attending various Canes’ training and prospect camps over the years. Almost a full decade since his draft year, it is safe to say that he’ll never be apart of the Hurricanes even though he is still listed as a guy who’s in their system.

Gaudreau, on the other hand, is a five-time NHL All-Star. A bit undersized, he has still been able to be a productive player in the NHL. With a 99 point, 36 goal season this past year, he could have been a nice addition to Carolina’s top six.

Having a down year, similar to a lot of Flames players, he has recently been a guy brought up in trade rumors. While it would take a lot to get him out of Alberta, there is a strong possibility he could join the heavily contested Metro Division. Born in Jersey, there’s a fair amount of speculation that he could join the Flyers or Devils as a free agent.

With 445 points in 464 games, he is most definitely a draft steal in the fourth round.

Connor Hellebuyck

The Carolina Hurricanes missed out on a real number one tendy

The first goaltender on this list, Connor Hellebuyck would have solidified the Hurricanes’ crease. Selected 130th overall in 2012, he was picked just after Brendan Woods.

Woods, like Boychuck, was a long time AHLer who was a big part of the several Checkers’ teams. Only appearing in seven NHL games he isn’t really much of a bust since he wasn’t drafted until the fifth round. A time where you are just hoping you can hit gold, it is common for teams to select a guy because of certain qualities they possess.

In Wood’s case, he was a big body who could play a physical game. Not ever expected to be much more than a fourth-liner at the NHL level had he reached his potential, it isn’t the end of the world that he didn’t pan out.

What stinks, however, is the fact that an All Star-Vezina caliber goaltender was available. Now I know the goaltending position is voodoo and it is almost impossible to predict which teenager will have success at the NHL level but Hellebuyck would have looked really nice in a Canes’ sweater.

The MVP of the Jets this season he has been the main reason they’ve been able to overcome the loss of pretty much their entire defense core. With 2.57 GAA and .922 save percentage he has performed well above what was expected of him. Just imagine a goalie with his skill level playing behind the current Hurricanes defense.

At 26 years of age, he is just beginning to enter his prime years. There is a strong possibility he could win the Vezina this season as the league’s top netminder.

Honorable Mentions

Who else could the Carolina Hurricanes have gone for?

Among the honorable mentions, Carey Price is the biggest name. Just missing out on the regular list since he was drafted two picks after the Hurricanes selected Jack Johnson 3rd overall in 2005, he would have gone a long way in solving Carolina’s goaltending woes in recent years.

While Price’s play has declined a bit after signing a monster contract extension, a lot of which has to do with the team in front of him, he is still one of the league’s best netminders. Johnson, on the other hand, refused to sign with the Canes and was traded to L.A. in 2006.

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In 2007 the Canes just missed out on drafting Ryan McDonagh, who also was a Montreal draft pick, after they opted to select Brandon Sutter at 11th overall instead.

The long time Rangers’ captain, McDonagh is a solid top-four shutdown guy for the Tampa Bay Lightning. With Brandon Sutter being a solid third-line center for the Hurricanes, before getting traded for Jordan Staal, he really wasn’t a bust, hence why McDonagh wasn’t on the main list.

Lastly, in 2013 the Canes selected a young Swedish center named Elias Lindholm with the 5th overall pick. Honestly rushed onto the roster before he was NHL ready, Lindy had a solid five-year career with the Canes before being traded to Calgary, joining the player selected directly after him, Sean Monahan.

Monahan made the honorable mention list just because there isn’t that much of a difference between the two players. They both have had similar offensive numbers, played in almost the same amount of games, are both solid face-off guys, etc. The only edge Monahan has on Lindholm is the name recognition around the league.

There are certainly several more players we could have looked at but these are some more notable ones. Just imagine a Carolina Hurricanes roster featuring some of the names on the list and you’d have to think that their decade long playoff drought would have been avoided.

A roster with Price and Hellebuyck in net,  McAvoy, Karlsson, and McDonagh on the backend, Gaudreau, Nylander, and Wheeler up front, added to what exists now is hard not to like. The salary cap would have forced a trade or two, and some guys like Svech more than likely wouldn’t be in the organization, but there’s no reason to believe a roster like this couldn’t have won another cup or two.

Question for CC Readers: Which of these players do you think would have had the biggest impact in a Carolina Hurricanes jersey?