Carolina Hurricanes: Elite Players Selected Right Before a Canes Pick

The Carolina Hurricanes have some regrets when it comes to trading up

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

We recently looked at some elite players who the Carolina Hurricanes could have drafted but didn’t. Now let us turn our attention to some stars that the Hurricanes just barely missed out on drafting because they were selected right before they were “on the clock.”

I know we said in the last article that all the players had to be selected directly after a Carolina bust pick, but this time around we’re going to include an individual that was selected two picks before.

You’ll see why in a minute, but this player would have not only completely shaped the entire franchise’s history but that of the NHL. I know that’s a rather bold statement but it makes sense,  just believe me.

Like last time, some of these picks were rather early on in drafts and some weren’t selected until the third round or later. Unlike the last article not all of the Carolina draft picks are complete bust, as some of them are decent players, they just didn’t pan out for the Canes’ organization.

Without further ado, lets take a lookat five elite players the Hurricanes just missed out on.

Evgenii Dadonov

The Carolina Hurricanes missed out on this Russian in 07

The first name on this list was drafted back in the 3rd round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft 71st overall. Evgenii Dadonov didn’t have the best start to his NHL career. Only appearing in 55 games with the Panthers over three seasons, Dadonov opted to take his talent to the KHL before returning to the Panthers in 2017-18.

There was a brief point in time where the Carolina Hurricanes held his rights in result of a trade back in 2012. Briefly, appearing for the Charlotte Checkers it would have been nice to have him come back over from Russia and re-join the Hurricanes’ organization instead of Florida but what can you do?

In his first three seasons back in North America he has amassed 182 points in 225 games. Getting some consideration for both the Lady Byng and Selke trophies, it appears as if the time overseas has really helped him mature as a player both on and off the ice.

While Carolina missed out on drafting him, they selected Drayson Bowman with the very next pick. Bowman spent several seasons with the franchise splitting time between Charlotte and Raleigh.

Never really panning out, he played two seasons in Germany before returning to the states in 2017. In what appeared to be a bit of a step-down, he signed with the Colorado Eagles in the ECHL for one last professional season.

Kyle Palmieri and Mike Hoffman

This pair of forwards eluded the Hurricanes in 09

Similar to last time I decided to group two guys together from the same draft. While these two players aren’ elite they are both solid top-six forwards capable of scoring a lot of goals.

Kyle Palmieri was selected 26th overall by the Anaheim Ducks. Exactly one selection later the Hurricanes selected one of the biggest busts in franchise history in Philippe Paradis. Mike Hoffman was drafted a few rounds later by the Ottawa Senators with the 130th overall pick, just before Matt Kennedy.

As I said, Paradis is one of the biggest busts in the Carolina Hurricanes’ franchise history. Never playing a single game in the NHL, he apparently is still playing hockey professionally. This past season he played for Jonquiere Marquis in the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey. The LNAH is evidently a low-level professional league in Quebec with six teams, who knew?

Palmieri on the other hand is one of the better forwards for the New Jersey Devils. Good for about 50 or so points over a full NHL season, it is safe to say that he developed into a much better player.

Kennedy also failed to make it to the NHL, joining a long list of former Hurricanes’ prospects who didn’t pan out. Unlike Paradis however, he was a mid-round pick so the expectations for him were much lower.

On the flip side, Hoffman has put together six straight 20+ goal seasons. With a career-high 36 last year with the Panthers, he would have been a much better pick in hindsight.

Mitch Marner

The Carolina Hurricanes could have drafted Marner had Toronto failed to

Possibly the biggest name on this list thus far, Mitch Marner is a dynamic forward for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Selected 4th overall in 2015 the Hurricanes just missed out on having another elite young talent on the roster.

Directly after him, the Canes selected Noah Hanifin. While at the time it appeared as if Carolina was getting a future number one defenseman, we all know how well that panned out.  While, like Lindholm, Noah isn’t an actual “bust,” the selection didn’t really work out the way they were envisioning it at the time.

I remember around draft day people thinking Toronto was thinking about taking a defenseman with their pick and was hoping that Marner would fall just one more time so that Carolina could have drafted him. Unfortunately, that never happened.

Compared a lot to Patrick Kane, just imagine how deadly a duo of Marner and Sebastian Aho would be. With Aho also drafted the same year this would have been one of the best draft classes for the organization ever.

The only thing is I am unsure how the Canes brass would have gone about Mitch’s massive contract. Making over 10 million per season, it is a deal that I don’t think he would have gotten had the Hurricanes drafted him.

Honorable Mentions

The Carolina Hurricanes have a few more regrets

Before we get to the name I hinted at in the beginning there are a few honorable mentions.

In the 2005 draft, the Hurricanes selected Joe Barnes 64th overall. I will be 100% honest and say that I had no clue who this guy was and had to look him up.

Apparently he was a centerman who played for Saskatoon in the WHL. After his junior career was over, he briefly bounced around between the AHL and ECHL before retiring. It looks as if he’s never played more than 15 games in a pro season and was often injured.

Just two picks ahead of him the Penguins selected a future piece to their core in Kris Letang. Barely missing out on a five-time All-Star it would have been much nicer to have someone like him on the roster over someone who never even sniffed the NHL.

Also, a guy who was drafted two picks before a Canes selection, Logan Couture was selected 9th overall in the 2007 NHL Draft. Picked right before Brandon Sutter, Couture is currently the captain for the Sharks.

An 11 year NHL vet, he has gone on to appear in more than 700 regular-season games for San Jose posting fairly decent numbers across the board. A bit of an all-around player, his name has been thrown in the hat for the Lady Byng and Selke trophies multiple times.

Although not really an elite player, Pat Maroon has gone on to have himself a solid career. A former 6th round pick by the Flyers it is nice to get an NHL quality player that late in the draft.

Selected directly after him was Brett Bellemore. While Bellemore too made it to the NHL level, appearing in 121 games for the Canes over three seasons, I am sure they would have preferred to have a guy who’s still in the league.

For those of you who are curious, it appears as if Bellemore played a for the KHL expansion team in China for a few seasons before going to the Danish Hockey League in 2018-19.

Sidney Crosby

If only Sid the Kid was available for the Carolina Hurricanes

This is it the final player, the one that could have changed everything for Carolina…

One of the biggest busts for the Carolina Hurricanes was drafting defenseman Jack Johnson 3rd overall in 2005. While Johnson himself isn’t a bust, as he’s gone to play almost 1000 games in the NHL, the pick never panned out for the Canes.

Unable to agree to terms on a deal, Carolina opted to trade him rather than risk losing his rights once he finished his collegiate hockey career. Getting shipped off to LA in a deal that brought Tim Gleason to Raleigh, it is safe to say the Hurricanes probably wish they had drafted someone else.

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• Week Two Coverage Of College Hockey In NC
• Derek Stepan Ends His On Ice Career As A Hurricane
• The Southeast Rookie Showcase Will Be a Good Look at Carolina’s Future
• Noesen Ready To Provide Depth For Canes

Who was picked just two selections before? Why none other than Sidney Crosby.

A three-time Stanley Cup Winner and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist he has been on numerous championship teams. Individually, he has taken home the Hart, Ted Lindsey, Conn Smyth, Art Ross Rocket Richard, and Mark Messier Leadership awards each at least twice.

Just imagine how different the league would be if Carolina was the team that drafted Crosby. As a smaller market, it would have been huge for the growth of the game and franchise.

At the time of the pick, Pittsburgh was once again struggling financially. Long story short, his arrival helped save the Pens and has propelled them into one of the premier organizations in the NHL.

The consensus best player in the entire league for years, he is still performing at an elite level. While some believe Connor McDavid has taken over that title, there is still no denying that Crosby is a lock to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Question for CC readers: Who do you wish the Carolina Hurricanes could have had the chance to draft but didn’t?