The Carolina Hurricanes have had a lot of success under head coach Rod Brind’Amour and general manager Don Waddell. Since 2018 Waddell has built a team that can win in the present and future.
Throughout his time, it has been an emphasis to keep home grown players, while adding through the draft.
Having made the playoffs for four straight seasons, the Canes are set to make another appearance in the NHL dance. The next step for this group of players is making a long playoff run.
The most impressive part of the team is how it has been built. Most rosters build through free agency and trades but Carolina has been able to build a core through their draft.
Long gone are the days of full NHL rosters having been home grown but it is important to build your big pieces through the draft so that you can around said pieces.
Those pieces have been groomed since being drafted and they are spread out through the roster.
Sebastian Aho was drafted in 2015 by Carolina, while Martin Necas was drafted by the Canes in 2017. Add Andrei Svechnikov to that list as he was drafted in the first round by Waddell in 2018.
You may be wondering, who are the top three point producers this season?
Necas leads the way with 59 points, followed by Aho with 55 and then, you guessed it, Svechnikov with 54 points. Not a bad way to use your first round assets!
Defensively, the Canes drafted Jaccob Slavin in 2012 with a steal in the fourth round. Brett Pesce was a third round pick in 2013. Two of the top four blue liners on the current team.
Rookie sensation, Pyotr Kochetkov, was drafted in the second round of the 2019 NHL draft. It appears that he will lead the way in goal for many years to come in Raleigh.
While most organizations need to add the big scorers via the trade market or free agency, the Canes have their scoring threats in house and signed for the near future.
The philosophy to build from within does not always work but for the Hurricanes to have such important pieces producing across the lineup is quite a story. Without a doubt other general managers in the NHL are jealous of the way things have played out in Raleigh.
Important trades have contributed to the success of the club as well and those trades were not short term acquisitions.
The captain, Jordan Staal, was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins long ago and the former first round pick of the Penguins has played parts of 11 seasons in Carolina.
Another important acquisition that has stayed around for some time is Teuvo Teravainen, playing in his seventh season as a member of the Hurricanes. He has been a top producer since being acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in 2016.
The stability of the players in the organization has allowed the room to add important pieces for overall depth that fits the coach’s style perfectly.
This could be the year that it all comes to fruition but if it is not, the Canes will be a Stanley Cup contender for many years to come.