The 2026 NHL Draft begins in Buffalo on Friday night. As of now, the Carolina Hurricanes hold the 31st pick in Friday's opening round, though history dictates that the Canes won't be holding onto that pick by the time they're supposed to be on the clock. I'm not saying that they're guaranteed to trade it away, but I'd say the odds are definitely greater than 50 percent.
As we barrel toward the first big event of the offseason, I thought it would be fun to look at the 23 first-round selections that the Hurricanes have made since moving to Raleigh in 1997. What lies ahead is a look back into the careers of some former players, and even a few current ones, to evaluate their impact on the team. Some were far better than others.
Tier 5- Who? (or those who left very little impact on the Canes)
23. Igor Knyazev (2001): The Hurricanes have only selected two players in the first round who never played a game in the NHL. Knyazev is the first of them. He spent two seasons in the AHL from 2002 to 2004, but he immediately returned to Russia after that. He had 14 points in 140 AHL games. Knyazev played nine more seasons before retiring in 2013.
22. Philippe Paradis (2009): Last year, I called the 2009 class the worst in team history. Paradis spent five months with the organization before his signing rights were traded to Toronto for Jiri Tlusty that December. He spent most of his time in the AHL before leaving for Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey in 2017. His longevity in the AHL keeps him out of the cellar. Plus, Tlusty worked out well.
21. Nikos Tselios (1997): The first ever pick in Hurricanes history, Tselios at least made it to the NHL, playing two games with the Hurricanes at the end of the 2001-02 season. He failed to record a point but took six penalty minutes. Tselios didn't enjoy a very long career, but his appearances in the NHL mean he contributed at least something to the team, good, bad, or otherwise.
20. Julien Gauthier (2016): The organization had two chances during the first round of the 2016 Draft. They missed twice. The worst of the two was Gauthier. He was solid with the Charlotte Checkers before getting his chance with Carolina in 2019. However, after five games, the team traded him to the Rangers. He's appeared for four NHL teams, playing 181 games and recording 41 points.
19. Jeff Heerema (1998): Slowly making our way up the list, Heerema wasn't in the NHL for a long time. He played 32 games total, only ten of which were with Carolina in 2003. However, Heerema scored a goal in his NHL debut and finished with three during his short time with the Canes, more than the four players below him combined.
18. Zach Boychuk (2008): Sometimes, it's not the worst thing in the world to be a steady contributor in the AHL. Boychuk played 115 games across seven seasons with the Canes, scoring 30 points. However, his best work was done in the AHL with Charlotte. Boychuk ranks in the Top 5 in goals, assists, and points for the Canes' former AHL affiliate.
17. Jack Johnson (2005): This one is weird because Johnson never played for the Canes. In fact, even the trade that sent him to Los Angeles isn't all that great, though it netted the team Tim Gleason. However, what separates him from everyone else in this tier is that he played over 1,200 NHL games and won a Stanley Cup with Colorado. He had a good career, even if it wasn't with Carolina.
Tier 4- Room to move in either direction
16. Ryan Suzuki (2019): While a big part of the Chicago Wolves over the last few years, Suzuki is a tough player to gauge, and his status as a Group 6 UFA this offseason doesn't help. If he isn't re-signed by the team, he'd fall a tier, likely landing behind Boychuk. If he gets a little more time with Carolina, Suzuki could move up to a higher tier. For now, he's here.
15. Bradly Nadeau (2023): I can hear and feel the disagreement with this placement. It's still too early to tell with Nadeau. I think there's potential for him to be a big-time part of the Canes in the future. He just hasn't gotten a chance to stay with the NHL team for a long time. Then again, if he's traded, this spot feels justified. It's also crazy that the Canes haven't made a first-round pick since 2023.
Tier 3- Not bad, but you wish they'd done more
14. Jake Bean (2016): The second pick from 2016 on this list, Bean never got much of a chance. He spent most of the 2021 season in the Canes' lineup, but that was as much as he got. He never got a fair shake until being traded to Columbus, playing almost two full seasons with the Blue Jackets. Bean still hasn't reached his full potential, and a shoulder injury this season in Calgary didn't help matters.
13. Haydn Fleury (2014): We all had such high hopes for Fleury, and I'm still cheering for him to really get going. I remember his first NHL goal and how excited we were when he finally scored after such a long wait. He has made a few stops during his journey, playing with four more teams since being traded in 2021. It doesn't help that the next two picks were William Nylander and Nikolaj Ehlers.
12. Ryan Murphy (2011): Despite rarely playing more than half of any season during his five seasons with the Hurricanes, Murphy put together three straight campaigns with at least 10 points. He was much more effective in the AHL. However, Murphy's most productive years have come since he left North America, spending the last two seasons in Austria and Germany.
11. Brandon Sutter (2007): My initial list had Sutter higher. He played 13 seasons in the NHL, four of which were with Carolina. His best work came while with the Canes. He topped 20 goals twice, including his sophomore campaign, which was also his only 40-point season. While he had stops in Pittsburgh and Vancouver, Sutter will be remembered more as part of the Jordan Staal trade.
10. David Tanabe (1999): Old heads will remember this pick more than the new kids. Tanabe might not be the household name that some of the others on this list are, but he's the first to have played a considerable amount of time with the Canes. Tanabe played over 300 games for Carolina during two stints before a 2007 concussion ended his career prematurely.
Tier 2- Good, but probably did/doing their best work elsewhere
9. Andrew Ladd (2004): With the draft emanating from the RBC Center, the Canes made a deal with the Blue Jackets to move up four spots and select Ladd with the 4th pick. His tenure in Raleigh was a short one, but by the end of his rookie campaign, he was a Stanley Cup champion. Ladd played parts of three seasons in Raleigh, picking up 50 points in 137 games.
The Hurricanes were the first stepping stone for Ladd. He was traded to Chicago in 2008 for Tuomo Ruutu, a deal which benefitted both sides. Ladd was on the Blackhawks' 2010 championship team. Then, he was named the captain of the Atlanta Thrashers, holding that position for six seasons through their move to Winnipeg. In total, Ladd played 1,001 games, turning in a solid 16-year career.
8. Noah Hanifin (2015): In that same article that I referenced earlier, I called the 2015 Draft the Canes' best, largely because of Sebastian Aho. However, we shouldn't overlook Hanifin's three seasons with the Hurricanes. Selected 5th overall, he has turned into a consistent 25-40-point scorer in the NHL. In three full seasons with the Canes, he never finished with fewer than 22 points.
Hanifin was traded to Calgary during the 2018 Draft, an offseason that proved to be the turning point for the organization. It proved fruitful for him, too. He topped 30 points three times with the Flames, including a career-high 48 points in 2021-22. Hanifin was shipped to Vegas at the 2024 deadline, and he has now appeared in the Stanley Cup Final, losing to the team that drafted him.
7. Elias Lindholm (2013): Hanifin was joined by a fellow 5th overall pick from two years earlier in that deal to the Flames. Excluding 21 points during his rookie year, Lindholm quickly turned into a quality contributor for Carolina. He posted back-to-back 39-point seasons before breaking 40 in the next two. Still, consistency issues hampered him, and the team felt a move was needed.
With the Flames, Lindholm turned into what the Canes hoped he would become. In his first season, he scored 78 points. Things didn't stay that way for the entire time, but he added an 82-point campaign in 2021-22, finishing second for the Selke Trophy. He's bounced around to Vancouver and Boston, not to mention his run-in with the Caniacs over the Storm Surge, but he's coming up on 1,000 games.
6. Martin Necas (2017): This one might still be a little too fresh for some Canes fans, but it proved to be worth it in the end. Necas possesses all of the skills in the world, and he has shown that during his season and a half with the Avalanche. He hit 100 points for the first time this year. Necas is in a system that will complement his skills, and playing next to Nathan MacKinnon helps.
His run in Raleigh wasn't without its exciting moments. At his most dangerous, Necas was speeding up and down the ice like the Tasmanian Devil from Looney Tunes. He had a 71-point season in 2022-23, leading the team, and he was over a point per game when the team traded him last January. The issue, once again, was consistency. He's an incredible player, and he'll continue to be for Colorado.
Tier 1- The Best of the best
5. Jeff Skinner (2010): We can talk for days about the end of his time with the Hurricanes and the trade that sent him to Buffalo. It doesn't negate the impact that Skinner had during some of the darkest days for the franchise. He immediately came into the NHL and left his mark, winning the first and, to this point, only Calder Trophy in franchise history with 63 points in 2010-11.
When he was on his game, it was very hard to stop him. However, as with many others on this list, there was a consistency issue. Skinner might score 30 goals one season and then fail to hit 20 in the next. He finished with over 200 goals in eight seasons with the Canes, but the team eventually needed to get off the roller coaster ride.
Even during his time with the Sabres, Skinner's game was up and down. He notched his first 40-goal season in 2018-19, but he followed it by combining for 21 goals over the next two years. Skinner seemed to find his groove after COVID, posting back-to-back 30-goal campaigns. Eventually, he left Buffalo for a year in Edmonton, making it to the playoffs for the first time in 2024.
4. Andrei Svechnikov (2018): The final four players should be fairly obvious, but putting them in order was tough. The first fight I had featured two current roster members. However, when I think about Svechnikov's time with the Canes, I see a lot of the same things when talking about Skinner. He's an incredible player, and now he's a Stanley Cup champion, but there has been some work to get here.
There have been some ups and downs, though Svechnikov's extremes aren't nearly as bad as Skinner's were. Some of the issues were injury-related, with Svechnikov missing the end of the 2023-24 season and postseason with a torn ACL, which bled into the following year as well. However, Svechnikov's scoring, even when it was down, was still solid in hindsight.
Svechnikov reached new heights this season, recording career-highs in goals (31) and points (70). He's also second in postseason goals (29) and points (59) and is the only player in franchise history to score a postseason hat trick, doing so twice. He's one of the best power forwards the team has ever drafted, and an integral part of what they've done to turn the franchise around.
3. Seth Jarvis (2020): Truthfully, the Hurricanes lucked into this selection, acquiring it from the Toronto Maple Leafs to take on Patrick Marleau's contract, only to buy him out shortly after. I'd say that it worked out just fine for them. During his five seasons in the NHL, Jarvis has grown into one of the team's most reliable forwards and one of the league's most endearing personalities.
There are a few reasons why Jarvis is a spot higher than his teammate. For one, his level of consistency has been outstanding, posting three straight 30-goal, 60-point seasons. He has also become a true two-way player, though he doesn't garner the level of Selke praise that he probably ought to. It also doesn't hurt that he's an Olympic silver medalist, too.
He still has plenty of career ahead of him, so there's room for him to grow even more, but Jarvis has already done so much during his short time with the Hurricanes. He's a vital part of this team's core and will continue to be for a long time. To think, it's all because a team needed to offload a contract, and the Canes were willing to do the job.
2. Cam Ward (2002): As agonizing a debate as Svechnikov vs. Jarvis was, it pales in comparison to the one I had for the top two spots. Deciding #1 and #2 was a real Sophie's Choice, albeit far less important in the grand scheme of life. Ultimately, Ward falls into the second spot, and I didn't take this decision lightly.
It's hard to make your entrance into the NHL as emphatically as Ward did during the 2006 playoffs, winning the Conn Smythe and leading the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup. His career never reached that peak again. He had another good run in 2009, but that was it. Instead, he helped guide the organization through some of its darkest times in the early-to-mid-2010s.
Ward's longevity as a goalie with the Hurricanes doesn't appear likely to be tested. He's played over 350 more games than anyone else in the net, and he's won almost 200 more games. I'm not sure we'll ever see a goalie play 13 seasons with the organization. Ward might be one of a kind. However, there's one player that I still have above him.
1. Eric Staal (2003): There's a world where the Hurricanes, who had the worst record in 2002-03, win the draft lottery and get the first pick. That being said, I'm not sure that they would've done anything different. What Staal did for the Canes is almost the equivalent of what Ward did in the net. The biggest difference is the dominance over the rest of the league that Staal had at his peak.
His rookie year wasn't that great, but Staal's game took off after the 2004 lockout. He posted the only 100-point season in team history in 2005-06 before leading all skaters with 28 points in the playoffs. It was the first of seven straight seasons with at least 70 points, reaching 40 goals twice during that time. He was also named an All-Star four times in five years.
Unlike Ward, Staal's scoring records will likely be broken by Sebastian Aho sometime over the next two years. Still, the longevity of his peak and the dominance of that peak remain unmatched in team history. The day that he was traded was a sad day for the organization, but the time was right. He's a Hurricanes Hall of Famer, and his number will never be worn again. He really was the best of the best.
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