Canes make seven picks on day two of the 2022 NHL entry draft

This year marked the first time the NHL draft had been held in person since the Coronavirus pandemic struck the world. With the destination being the Bell Center in Montreal, it was going to be a day to remember for the organization and everyone who was drafted. On day one, the Hurricanes were relatively quiet, but that didn’t stop the front office from making moves.

You can read about the trade the Canes made with Philadelphia Flyers to stock up on draft picks for a later date below, as we’ve already talked about that and I’m not going to mention that here.

Carolina had nothing to do in round one, and their first selection wasn’t until the 60th overall pick at the end of round two. This became clear almost as soon as the team got to Montreal that they were not going to be able to take one of the bluechip prospects available in this draft, and it was unlikely that they would be able to truly flush out the draft class with that high talent.

However, there were a lot of chances for the team to draft well, and as they usually do, they were going to take every chance they had to get a player who might be able to help the organization a couple of years down the road. We’re going to see some of these players in the NHL someday, you would hope. Now, again, that won’t be for a few years likely, but this doesn’t mean it won’t happen.

Carolina had a clear MO when they turned up to this day, and it was the KHL. With the league very unsure about the future of the Russian athletes in the KHL, Carolina took the chance to flush out their prospect pool with some of the finest Russians available in the KHL whenever they saw it was possible to do so. We will see what happens, but let’s start with the first pick of this draft class.

Gleb Trikozov

Carolina’s first Russian came in the second round with their 60th overall selection. NHL Central Scouting had him at 16th among the Europeans available in this draft (Skaters only, goalies are a completely different conversation). So, why did he fall to the end of the second round for the Canes to grab the Russian winger?

Well, he’s Russian. With reports recently of Russian Athletes being wanted by their home government, there is a lot of uncertainty regarding selections coming out of the KHL. However, there is a lot to like if you can get the player to move across to the United States. There is a lot to like with Trikozov’s explosive upside. He’s got a lot of offense with him.

Touted as the forward with one of the best shots in the draft class, Trikozov is someone that fell because of his nationality. He’s got the offensive skill to be a great player, but his defensive game will need some development. He’s still playing in Russia right now, but moving forward, the Russian is a good player to have within the organization. He’ll hopefully help the scoring woes of the team in the future.

Playing for his hometown of Omsk in both the VHL (Russian minor league) and MHL (Russian Junior League) Trikozov has shown a lot of talent. His 23 goals and 22 assists for 45 points in just 35 games in the MHL underlines his offensive capabilities. He only had one goal and one assist in his 11 games at the VHL level, but there is a lot to like with this kid. A good pick moving forward.

Alexander Perevalov

If you want to talk about prospects that fell into the lap of the Carolina Hurricanes, look no further than Alexander Perevalov. He’s not going to be as well known as Shane Wright, but this is another player who was preceded by his nationality and fell to the Canes in the third round. Only EliteProspects had him ranked below the position he was taken, and simply put, it is because of his nationality.

At 6’0, 190, size isn’t an issue. Yes, he isn’t quite as big as the 6’6, 230 players the Blue Jackets decided to draft, but he isn’t undersized. This is a player with another wicked shot and unlike Trikozov, he’s known for playing a good defensive game as well as being able to blast the puck. He was a major force in the MHL this year and even saw KHL time at just 17 years old, outlining his talent.

In his 42 games with Loko Yaroslavl in the MHL, Perevalov put up 25 goals and 25 helpers for a rather pleasingly symmetrical 50-point season. He couldn’t produce in his five games in the best league in Russia, but at his young age, producing in the KHL right now would have put him in contention for the first overall pick and labeled him as one of the best talents in the draft.

He cooled off as the MHL season went along, but a lot of people still had him pinned as a talent that should have gone in the late first round or early second. Instead, the Canes got him early in the third round. This is a player that is going to be in the NHL, and that seems to be a consensus. He’s got everything you want, and although his upside isn’t as good as some players, he’ll be very serviceable.

I didn’t even mention the fact that Perevalov is incredibly coachable and passionate about getting better. He loves the game of hockey and always seems to want to improve. If you put him under a coach that wants to help him improve, there’s no limit to what he can do. While he is still very rough around the edges right now, there’s a lot to like with where he could end up being.

Simon Forsmark

For the first player in this draft taken by the Hurricanes that is not Russian, we arrive at 6’2 Swedish defender Simon Forsmark. Another prospect that was predicted to go anywhere from the mid-second round to the early third-round, Carolina got the Kumla, Sweden native with the 101st pick of the draft. For those that do not want to do the math, that’s in the fourth round.

A silky-smooth puck-moving defender that is the size of an NHLer, he’s got a lot to like. He doesn’t panic when the puck is on his blade and can break his team out of their own zone almost at will. But unlike a lot of gifted offensive defensemen, his defensive game is also remarkably strong. This is a player that should not have fallen to the Canes and I do not understand how he did, but here we are.

His season in the J20 Nationell (Under 20’s league in Sweden) left him at over a point a game. That might not be impressive to some and you might think that a forward that wants to play in the NHL needs to be over a point per game in juniors. As I previously mentioned, he is a defenseman. That is a feat that cannot be understated. It is so rare to see a defender be able to do that. He tallied 5 goals and 22 assists for 27 points in 23 games.

However, the most impressive part? He spent 43 games with Oreboro in the SHL. He’s 18 and playing in a men’s league already. While he only had 3 points, he was not a liability defensively and it seems that he is on a good developmental track at this moment in time. He’s projected to play in the SHL next year and he does look like he could be a really good player. Not all of them will work out, but this class looks strong.

Cruz Lucius

We finally get to the first and only American-born player the team opted to take this year. Cruz Lucius is a product of the American National developmental program and has committed his future to the University of Wisconsin for next year. Again, a prospect that seemed to fall in the draft as Carolina snagged him with the 124th overall pick, in the late fourth round.

At the under 18 world juniors, Lucius put his skill on full display. 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points in just 6 games in an international tournament against the best players in his age group the world has to offer is a good indication that this is a player with a lot of talent. It can be difficult to evaluate players that come from the USDP but it seems that Lucius has an incredibly high ceiling.

Hurricanes assistant general manager Darren Yorke sighted his shot and his ability around the net as his strong suits. He also hinted at his ability to make players miss as to why the organization was so excited to take him when they had the chance to in the fourth round. While Lucius at this moment doesn’t seem to have the same feel of a steal as some of the other players I have talked about, it doesn’t mean he won’t be.

There’s a lot to like about Cruz Lucius at this moment. He will continue to develop and strive forward in the NCAA with Wisconsin. It never hurts to have someone that has a lot of tools while they are developing. He’s likely not going to be one of the front-line prospects for the Hurricanes, but it is worth just remembering him when talking about some of the guys that have NHL tools and talent.

Vladimir Grudinin

Carolina continued to pick up Russians in the draft as their value plummeted. Vladimir Grudinin is probably the best example of this. His lowest position in the mock drafts done by experts before the 2022 NHL entry draft was 88th overall. He fell to Carolina at 156th. Again, this is due to the fact he is a Russian defenseman and the ongoing situation with Russian players, but the Canes got value.

Grudinin’s biggest asset without a shadow of a doubt is his skating. He’s 5’10, so he has to be nimble because he’s not exactly got the stature of a huge hulking blueliner, but that doesn’t mean that he hasn’t been everything the team has looked for in a defender. He’s got the ability to stay with attacking players regardless of his size or stature. Skating seems to be more natural to Grudinin than walking.

In the Russian leagues this year, Grudinin made appearances in all of them. He played six games in the KHL and seven playoff games for CSKA Moscow in the KHL, as we can see that he is capable of playing against men in the Kontinental Hockey League. If he’s already doing that at a young age, there’s clearly something with this player that the organizations in both the USA and Russia liked about him.

Now, at 5’10, defending is going to be a little more challenging. We will see if Grudinin is capable of continuing to improve in all three zones, but he has shown growth in the two end zones this year and even just finding a top 4 D man that needs help in transition in the 5th round of the draft would be an absolute steal of a selection. We will see what happened with the smaller Russian blueliner.

Alexander Pelevin

We get to the last pick of the Canes draft and that is yet again another Russian. This time, it is another defenseman. Another steal in the form of Alexander Pelevin who again dropped because of his nationality. If there was more certainty surrounding the Russian players, this draft could have gone a lot worse for the Hurricanes but yet again they find a fantastic player later in the draft.

Pelevin is a defenseman again on the smaller side at 5’11 but is very mobile. In fact, his biggest downfall might be his eagerness. He’s not someone who is content to just remove one opponent from the play and will try to throw himself into any potentially dangerous situation in order to minimize the threat. While that can be channeled, he’s got a lot to like.

Pelevin was someone who ranked highly again in most draft rankings as someone that should have gone in the rounds between 2-4. He fell to the seventh and Carolina snapped him up. He’s someone that prioritizes the defensive side of the game first and that is going to make him a valued commodity. It is not easy to find someone that is willing to play a defense-heavy game on the blueline.

If he can translate that style of play over to the North American ice surfaces, then we could see Pelevin be someone that plays in the NHL. Given the way he plays, I’d suggest mainly in a third-pairing role, but for a seventh-round pick to be playing in the NHL is just house money. Russians right now are an unknown entity in themselves so there is no risk here for a potentially huge reward.

It’s unlikely all of these players will turn out to be NHLers, but right now, they look like a strong class. We will see what comes of these players. We’re a few ways off from being able to see what they become and there isn’t a true number 1 prospect addition out of this class, but it is solid and a lot of good picks were made here. We will see what comes of them later.

Question for Cardiac Cane readers: What do you think of this draft class?