2010: Jeff Skinner (LW) 7th Overall 1006 GP 357 G 313 A 451 PIM
Jeff Skinner is a tricky selection to judge. He came out of the gates firing, scoring 30 goals his rookie season en route to the Calder Trophy. Skinner’s career stumbled a bit after the stellar first season, as he battled with concussion problems that limited his time on the ice. However, when Skinner did play, he was a goal-scoring sniper. Arguably the best offensive weapon during the dark days of the early to mid-2010s, Skinner hit the 30-goal mark 3 times during his Hurricanes tenure. However, scoring goals is virtually the only thing that Jeff Skinner did well. He didn’t particularly care to play defensive zone hockey and was in line to command a high-dollar contract that the Hurricanes were not willing to give him. The ‘Canes traded Skinner to the Sabres for a 2019 second-round pick (Kochetkov), a 2020 third-round pick (Alexander Nikishin), Cliff Pu, and a 2018 sixth-round pick (traded away). Skinner continues to score goals but is fairly overpaid with a 9 million AAV for another 4 seasons. Skinner has turned into a productive NHL player but the Hurricanes were wise to sell high when they did. Assuming Kochetkov continues to develop and Nikishin comes over to the NHL and becomes the player he has shown to be in Russia, this trade will be a huge win for the Hurricanes. Overall, I’m happy with this draft selection. Other stars the Hurricanes missed during this draft include Ducks Defenseman Cam Fowler (12th Overall), the almost ‘Cane winger Vladimir Tarasenko (16th Overall), All-stars Kevin Hayes (24th Overall) and Brock Nelson (30th Overall), as well as current ‘Canes center Evgeny Kuznetsov (26th Overall).
Note: The Hurricanes actually drafted current goaltender Freddie Andersen in the 7th round of this draft