We waited late into the night on Friday to see what the Carolina Hurricanes would do with the 31st pick. They turned it into the 42nd and 51st picks on Saturday. In true Carolina fashion, they drained the clock down to the very end before deciding not to use #42. Instead, they made another trade with the Calgary Flames for the 51st and 68th picks. Eventually, they'd finally submit a pick.
With their first pick, 51st overall, the Hurricanes selected left-handed defenseman William Hakansson out of Sweden. The first thing you notice about Hakansson is his size. He's listed at 6'4.5" and 216 lbs. This allows him to use his reach to snuff out his opponents' forwards when they try to get creative offensively. It's way too early to project this, but the Jaccob Slavin comparisons will be out there.
Playing in the Lulea system, Hakansson has already gotten some time in the SHL, Sweden's top league. He played three games in 2024-25 before dressing for 22 games last season. That being said, he's not going to be a big scorer. There might be a few flashes every so often, but don't expect him to grow into an offensive powerhouse.
Hakansson is signed for another year in Lulea, so he's not making the jump to North America just yet. He'll likely be in line to represent Sweden at the World Juniors, as he did last year, providing two points in seven games for the gold medalists. We'll see how long it takes for the Canes to get him over, but it was a good start to the day for the Canes.
The Canes initially held the 57th pick as well after they traded with Nashville on Friday, but they opted to trade back one more time. They sent the pick to Montreal to move down four spots (#61) while adding a fourth-round pick. With the 61st pick, the Canes went back to Sweden, selecting center Wiggo Sorensson from Sweden's fourth league.
Some will immediately point to his size at 5'10" as a negative, but it rarely matters when you're super fast and can shoot the puck. Part of the reason for his lack of time in Sweden's higher leagues is the fact that he's a Type-1 diabetic, as they mentioned during the draft broadcast. Sticking closer to home allowed him to keep things in check while lighting up the nets.
While the lack of competitiveness at the club level could be an issue, Sorensson stood out at the U18 World Juniors, scoring four goals and six points in six games while winning a gold medal. He'll make the jump to Sweden's third league this season for Boro/Vetlanda. He'll need to add some size to him, but the Canes might have a sneaky good pick late in the second round.
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