2022-23, 2023-24 Hurricanes Prospects and Minors Thread - Closed

[CanadaCanes]

I

This post is to help set up for next season's prospect tracking:

Gleb Trikozov LW (2nd Round 2022 VHL (Russian Minors) Omeskie Krylia/MHL Omeskie Yastreby (Russian Juniors)/KHL Avangard Omsk
Alexander Perevalov LW (3rd Round 2022 MHL (Russian Juniors) Loko Yaroslavl & Loko-76 Yaroslavl/KHL Kunlun Red Star)
Simon Forsmark LHD (4th Round 2022 J20 (Juniors) Orebro & Timra IK/SweHL Orebro & Timra/Swe-1 AIK)
Cruz Lucius RW (4th Round 2022 Big 10 Wisconsin Fr.)
Vladimir Grudinin LHD (5th Round 2022 KHL CSKA Moskova/VHL (Russian Minors) Zvezda Moskova/MHL (Russian Juniors) Krasnaya Armiya Moskova)
Alexander Pelevin LHD (7th round 2022 MHL (Russian Juniors) Chaika Nizhny Novgorod)
Scott Morrow RHD (2nd Round 2021 Hockey East UMASS-Amherst So.)
Alexsi Heimosalmi RHD (2nd Round 2021 Liiga Assat)
Ville Koivunen W (2nd Round 2021 Liiga Karpat/AHL Chicago)
Jackson Blake W (4th Round 2021 NCHC U. of North Dakota Fr.)
Justin Robidas C (5th Round 2021 QMJHL Val-D'Or/Quebec)
Bryce Montgomery RHD (6th round 2021 OHL London/USHL Cedar Rapids)
Nikita Guslistov C (7th round 2021 KHL Severstal Cherepovets)
Joel Nystrom RHD (7th round 2021 SweHL Farjestad)
Alexander Nikishin LHD (3rd round 2020 KHL SKA St. Petersburg)
Zion Nybeck LW (4th round 2020 Swe-1 AIK)
Lucas Mercuri C (6th round 2020 Hockey East UMASS-Amherst So.)
Domenick Fensore LHD (3rd round 2019 Hockey East Boston U. Sr.)
Cade Webber LHD (4th round 2019 Hockey East Boston U. Jr.)
Tuukka Tieksola RW (4th round 2019 AHL Chicago/Liiga Karpat)
Kirill Slepets W (5th round 2019 KHL Amur Khabarovsk/VHL (Russian Minors) Sakol Krasnoyarsk)
Kevin Wall RW (6th round 2019 Big 10 Penn St. Sr.)
Massimo Rizzo C (7th round 2019 UCHC U. of Denver So.)
Dominick Bokk LW (Acquired via Trade DEL Frankfurt)

Jakub Vondras G (6th round 2022 Czechia U20 HC Plzen/Czechia2 Draci Sumperk)
Patrik Hamrla G (3rd Round 2021 QMJHL Rimouski)
Nikita Quapp G (6th round 2021 DEL Berlin/DEL2 Lausitzer)
Yegor Naumov G (7th round 2021 Hasn't played anywhere for 2 full seasons)
Jacob Kucharski G (7th round 2018 NCHC U of Nebraska-Omaha Sr./AHL Chicago)

Removed from the list is
Robert Orr C (5th Round 2021 QMJHL Gatineau/Acadie-Bathurst)

As previously noted, the Canes had until June 1st to sign Orr or lose his rights. He will be draft eligible again (I doubt he will get drafted again). Justin Robidas was signed, so we will see where he ends up. If it's not the AHL then I will continue to track his stats wherever he lands.

Note that all of the following players are also on our reserve list, but due to their age/situations I don't bother to track them:

Oliwer Kaski (we will lose his rights on June 30th)
Joey Keane (who bolted to the KHL)
Tarmo Reunanen
Jesper Sellgren

Of the players on my prospect list, the Canes have until August 15th to sign Kevin Wall or we would lose his rights. Dominic Bokk will be an RFA. The Canes could keep his rights by tendering him a QO. I'm not sure if we will bother doing so or not.

As stated by Waddell, with the Canes seemingly planning to have no AHL affiliation in 23-24, we might see most/all of our Euro prospects who have signed contracts with the Canes all play in European pro leagues next season. So I would say we should expect:

Noel Gunler
Tuukka Tieksola
Ville Koivunen
Alexsi Heimosalmi
Anttoni Honka

To all play in Euro Pro leagues next season.

I assume that Vasili Ponomarev will be an exception and will be in North America somewhere (if not the Canes).

I will be interested to see what happens to Alexander Pashin. I would expect him to also play in North America next season and not end up back in Russia. But maybe he ends up in...Finland? Sweden?

I hope and expect Ponomarev to be a decent part of the Canes big club plans next year as either a regular forward or a swingman up and down from the AHL. You would think someone in the AHL will be willing to find a spot for him.

 

[jeffbear]

Robidas had 0 Goals and 5 assists in the 4 games Quebec played on their way to the Memorial Cup win.

Yeah, he cooled off a bit for the Finals but still contributed with the setups. Robidas had one whale of a season and got a ton of high pressure experience. No notes, kid. Have a great summer.

 

[jeffbear]

I

I hope and expect Ponomarev to be a decent part of the Canes big club plans next year as either a regular forward or a swingman up and down from the AHL. You would think someone in the AHL will be willing to find a spot for him.

I think most of the Canes prospect trackers seem to like Ponomarov, Rees and Drury to slug it out for two roster spots, and that sounds about right to me. Drury was solid with the big club and will benefit from the playoff experience, plus he can plug anywhere in the front lines. Both Rees and Pono are aggressive skaters who don't mind sticking their noses in despite less than ideal size.

 

[andyt]

With the Chicago Wolves pursuing whatever it is that they’re pursuing, and no new AHL affiliate on tap for the Canes, Brock Sheehan heads to Notre Dame as Associate Head Coach. He played there for 4 years and then was an assistant for 1 year after his pro career ended.

 

[Fayettenamcanesfan]

With the Chicago Wolves pursuing whatever it is that they’re pursuing, and no new AHL affiliate on tap for the Canes, Brock Sheehan heads to Notre Dame as Associate Head Coach. He played there for 4 years and then was an assistant for 1 year after his pro career ended.

I’ll admit, I don’t follow the AHL situation, at all. So, if the Wolves are no longer affiliated with the canes, and no new affiliate in the pipeline, where exactly are our prospects playing next season? Apologize if this has been discussed, I just can’t be asked to go back and read all this lol

 

[jeffbear]

I’ll admit, I don’t follow the AHL situation, at all. So, if the Wolves are no longer affiliated with the canes, and no new affiliate in the pipeline, where exactly are our prospects playing next season? Apologize if this has been discussed, I just can’t be asked to go back and read all this lol

We don't know and we don't know ...

Last word that came out indicated that the Canes weren't done talking with Chicago, but letting the coach go get another job perhaps indicates that this is no longer the case. If they don't have an affiliate then Carolina would be looking to stow their AHLers on ad hoc placements with other teams. It's a long time from when this would actually matter, so we'll see.

 

[andyt]

We don't know and we don't know ...

Last word that came out indicated that the Canes weren't done talking with Chicago, but letting the coach go get another job perhaps indicates that this is no longer the case. If they don't have an affiliate then Carolina would be looking to stow their AHLers on ad hoc placements with other teams. It's a long time from when this would actually matter, so we'll see.

It might be possible to put a few back with Chicago too, they’re going to run into a problem with the veteran rule, where onky a certain number of players can’t have more than X games of professional experience. But I can see a scenario where the Canes have prospects stashed at multiple AHL teams.

Maybe next year, Dundon can money whip the owner of an existing team and buy a franchise, if he’s interested. He can’t buy an ECHL team, Norfolk for example, and apply for AHL membership, the league has no desire to go beyond 32 teams. And maybe the experiment in Chicago fails spectacularly and they come to their senses. Who knows? But we really don’t have to worry about this until September.

 

[jeffbear]

I seriously doubt Dundon puts cash into a minor league franchise. They're like black holes ... or boats.

 

[cmaleski2]

Bradley Nadeau LW (1st Round 2023 Hockey East U of Maine Fr.):
Felix Unger Sörum RW (2nd Round 2023 J20 Nationell Leksands IF/SHL Leksands IF):
Jayden Perron RW (3rd Round 2023 NCHC U of North Dakota Fr.)
Alexander Rykov RW (4th Round 2023 VHL (Russian minors) Chelyabinsk):
Stanislav Yarovoi LW (4th Round 2023 KHL Vityaz Moscow Region):
Charles-Alexis Legault RHD (5th Round 2023 ECAC Quinnipiac U So.):
Timur Mukhanov LW (6th Round 2023 KHL Cherepovets):
Michael Emerson F (6th Round 2023 NCHC U of North Dakota Fr.)


Ruslan Khazheyev G (5th Round 2023 MHL (Russian Juniors) Chelabinsk):
Yegor Velmakin G (7th Round 2023 KHL Minsk):

 

[cmaleski2]

Updating the master prospect list, adding back Pashin, removing Bokk, and updating several team assignments for next season.

Bradley Nadeau LW (1st Round 2023 Hockey East U of Maine Fr.):
Felix Unger Sörum RW (2nd Round 2023 J20 Nationell Leksands IF/SHL Leksands IF):
Jayden Perron RW (3rd Round 2023 NCHC U of North Dakota Fr.)
Alexander Rykov RW (4th Round 2023 VHL (Russian minors) Chelyabinsk):
Stanislav Yarovoi LW (4th Round 2023 KHL Vityaz Moscow Region):
Charles-Alexis Legault RHD (5th Round 2023 ECAC Quinnipiac U So.):
Timur Mukhanov LW (6th Round 2023 KHL Cherepovets):
Michael Emerson F (6th Round 2023 NCHC U of North Dakota Fr.)
Gleb Trikozov LW (2nd Round 2022 VHL (Russian Minors) Omeskie Krylia
Alexander Perevalov LW (3rd Round 2022 MHL (Russian Juniors) Loko Yaroslavl)
Simon Forsmark LHD (4th Round 2022 SweHL Timra)
Cruz Lucius RW (4th Round 2022 Big 10 Wisconsin So.)
Vladimir Grudinin LHD (5th Round 2022 MHL (Russian Juniors) Krasnaya Armiya Moskova/KHL CSKA Moskova)
Alexander Pelevin LHD (7th round 2022 MHL (Russian Juniors) Chaika Nizhny Novgorod/VHL (Russian Minors) Dizel Penza)
Scott Morrow RHD (2nd Round 2021 Hockey East UMASS-Amherst Jr.)
Alexsi Heimosalmi RHD (2nd Round 2021 Liiga Assat???????????)
Ville Koivunen W (2nd Round 2021 Liiga Karpat?????????)
Jackson Blake W (4th Round 2021 NCHC U. of North Dakota So.)
Justin Robidas C (5th Round 2021 QMJHL Val-D'Or/Quebec?????????)
Bryce Montgomery RHD (6th round 2021 ??????????)
Nikita Guslistov C (7th round 2021 KHL Severstal Cherepovets)
Joel Nystrom RHD (7th round 2021 SweHL Farjestad)
Alexander Nikishin LHD (3rd round 2020 KHL SKA St. Petersburg)
Zion Nybeck LW (4th round 2020 Swe-1 AIK)
Lucas Mercuri C (6th round 2020 Hockey East UMASS-Amherst Jr.)
Alexander Pashin RW (7th round 2020 KHL Spartak) -Welcome back to the list
Domenick Fensore LHD (3rd round 2019 ??????????? Likely will fall off this list assuming he plays in the AHL/ECHL somewhere)
Cade Webber LHD (4th round 2019 Hockey East Boston U. Sr..)
Tuukka Tieksola RW (4th round 2019 Liiga Karpat???????)
Kirill Slepets W (5th round 2019 KHL Amur Khabarovsk)
Kevin Wall RW (6th round 2019 ????????? Likely will fall off this list, not likely to be signed by the Canes by August 15th)
Massimo Rizzo C (7th round 2019 UCHC U. of Denver Jr.)

Ruslan Khazheyev G (5th Round 2023 MHL (Russian Juniors) Chelabinsk):
Yegor Velmakin G (7th Round 2023 KHL Minsk):
Jakub Vondras G (6th round 2022 ?????????)
Patrik Hamrla G (3rd Round 2021 Liiga Ilves)
Nikita Quapp G (6th round 2021 DEL Berlin)
Yegor Naumov G (7th round 2021 ?????? Note that I'm going to drop him from the list if he doesn't play anywhere at the start of the Russian league seasons. He hasn't played anywhere that I can find for the past 2 seasons)
Jacob Kucharski G (7th round 2018 ???????? We have his rights until Aug 15 2024)

Dropped from most recent prior list:

Dominick Bokk LW (Acquired via Trade DEL Frankfurt) - Bokk was not qualified and is an NHL UFA

 

[HeyKurtz]

Updating the master prospect list, adding back Pashin, removing Bokk, and updating several team assignments for next season.

Bradley Nadeau LW (1st Round 2023 Hockey East U of Maine Fr.):
Felix Unger Sörum RW (2nd Round 2023 J20 Nationell Leksands IF/SHL Leksands IF):
Jayden Perron RW (3rd Round 2023 NCHC U of North Dakota Fr.)
Alexander Rykov RW (4th Round 2023 VHL (Russian minors) Chelyabinsk):
Stanislav Yarovoi LW (4th Round 2023 KHL Vityaz Moscow Region):
Charles-Alexis Legault RHD (5th Round 2023 ECAC Quinnipiac U So.):
Timur Mukhanov LW (6th Round 2023 KHL Cherepovets):
Michael Emerson F (6th Round 2023 NCHC U of North Dakota Fr.)
Gleb Trikozov LW (2nd Round 2022 VHL (Russian Minors) Omeskie Krylia
Alexander Perevalov LW (3rd Round 2022 MHL (Russian Juniors) Loko Yaroslavl)
Simon Forsmark LHD (4th Round 2022 SweHL Timra)
Cruz Lucius RW (4th Round 2022 Big 10 Wisconsin So.)
Vladimir Grudinin LHD (5th Round 2022 MHL (Russian Juniors) Krasnaya Armiya Moskova/KHL CSKA Moskova)
Alexander Pelevin LHD (7th round 2022 MHL (Russian Juniors) Chaika Nizhny Novgorod/VHL (Russian Minors) Dizel Penza)
Scott Morrow RHD (2nd Round 2021 Hockey East UMASS-Amherst Jr.)
Alexsi Heimosalmi RHD (2nd Round 2021 Liiga Assat???????????)
Ville Koivunen W (2nd Round 2021 Liiga Karpat?????????)
Jackson Blake W (4th Round 2021 NCHC U. of North Dakota So.)
Justin Robidas C (5th Round 2021 QMJHL Val-D'Or/Quebec?????????)
Bryce Montgomery RHD (6th round 2021 ??????????)
Nikita Guslistov C (7th round 2021 KHL Severstal Cherepovets)
Joel Nystrom RHD (7th round 2021 SweHL Farjestad)
Alexander Nikishin LHD (3rd round 2020 KHL SKA St. Petersburg)
Zion Nybeck LW (4th round 2020 Swe-1 AIK)
Lucas Mercuri C (6th round 2020 Hockey East UMASS-Amherst Jr.)
Alexander Pashin RW (7th round 2020 KHL Spartak) -Welcome back to the list
Domenick Fensore LHD (3rd round 2019 ??????????? Likely will fall off this list assuming he plays in the AHL/ECHL somewhere)
Cade Webber LHD (4th round 2019 Hockey East Boston U. Sr..)
Tuukka Tieksola RW (4th round 2019 Liiga Karpat???????)
Kirill Slepets W (5th round 2019 KHL Amur Khabarovsk)
Kevin Wall RW (6th round 2019 ????????? Likely will fall off this list, not likely to be signed by the Canes by August 15th)
Massimo Rizzo C (7th round 2019 UCHC U. of Denver Jr.)

Ruslan Khazheyev G (5th Round 2023 MHL (Russian Juniors) Chelabinsk):
Yegor Velmakin G (7th Round 2023 KHL Minsk):
Jakub Vondras G (6th round 2022 ?????????)
Patrik Hamrla G (3rd Round 2021 Liiga Ilves)
Nikita Quapp G (6th round 2021 DEL Berlin)
Yegor Naumov G (7th round 2021 ?????? Note that I'm going to drop him from the list if he doesn't play anywhere at the start of the Russian league seasons. He hasn't played anywhere that I can find for the past 2 seasons)
Jacob Kucharski G (7th round 2018 ???????? We have his rights until Aug 15 2024)

Dropped from most recent prior list:

Dominick Bokk LW (Acquired via Trade DEL Frankfurt) - Bokk was not qualified and is an NHL UFA

At the risk of not sounding appreciative of your efforts here (which is definitely not the case!), is there any possibility of putting this in alphabetical order? It would make it a lot easier to use going forward.

 

[cmaleski2]

At the risk of not sounding appreciative of your efforts here (which is definitely not the case!), is there any possibility of putting this in alphabetical order? It would make it a lot easier to use going forward.

I could do that HeyKurtz. The reason I have it structured the way I do is to list the prospects by their draft orders, but really I could have them ordered however we want.

Anyone else want to weigh in?

 

[andyt]

Anyone else want to weigh in?

Alphabetically by height?

I’m with HeyKurtz. Alphabetically would be lovely.

 

[StormChaserBH]

I liked the grouping of "draft classes" together but not enough to object as long as you keep the draft info in there for reference even if that's not the sort criteria Seriously, thanks for all the scouting/reporting work you put in on this.

 

[cmaleski2]

Just for some perspective on how the Canes draft/prospect approach has changed over the years. When I was tracking Canes non-AHL/ECHL prospects 5 years ago, in 2018-19, our entire list of prospects to track only had 17 players. Some of that was a result of the Canes only making 6 picks in 2018, with Svech going straight to the NHL.

There are still a few players who likely will fall off the current list, but the current list of prospects has 39 players on it. This is a result of:

1) Making a lot of picks on recent drafts
2) Drafting far more Euro and College bound players than CHL players
3) Drafting a lot of Russians

We made 50 picks in the last 5 drafts. The 5 drafts before the most recent 5 only included 39 picks.

 

[cmaleski2]

Jackson Blake W (4th Round 2021 NCHC U. of North Dakota So.)
Michael Emerson F (6th Round 2023 NCHC U of North Dakota Fr.)
Domenick Fensore LHD (3rd round 2019 ??????????? Likely will fall off this list assuming he plays in the AHL/ECHL somewhere)
Simon Forsmark LHD (4th Round 2022 SweHL Timra)
Vladimir Grudinin LHD (5th Round 2022 MHL (Russian Juniors) Krasnaya Armiya Moskova/KHL CSKA Moskova)
Nikita Guslistov C (7th round 2021 KHL Severstal Cherepovets)
Alexsi Heimosalmi RHD (2nd Round 2021 Liiga Assat)
Ville Koivunen W (2nd Round 2021 Liiga Karpat)
Charles-Alexis Legault RHD (5th Round 2023 ECAC Quinnipiac U So.)
Cruz Lucius RW (4th Round 2022 Big 10 Wisconsin So.)
Lucas Mercuri C (6th round 2020 Hockey East UMASS-Amherst Jr.)
Bryce Montgomery RHD (6th round 2021 ??????????)
Scott Morrow RHD (2nd Round 2021 Hockey East UMASS-Amherst Jr.)
Timur Mukhanov LW (6th Round 2023 KHL Cherepovets):
Bradley Nadeau LW (1st Round 2023 Hockey East U of Maine Fr.):
Alexander Nikishin LHD (3rd round 2020 KHL SKA St. Petersburg)
Zion Nybeck LW (4th round 2020 Swe-1 AIK)
Joel Nystrom RHD (7th round 2021 SweHL Farjestad)
Alexander Pashin RW (7th round 2020 KHL Spartak) -Welcome back to the list
Alexander Pelevin LHD (7th round 2022 MHL (Russian Juniors) Chaika Nizhny Novgorod/VHL (Russian Minors) Dizel Penza)
Alexander Perevalov LW (3rd Round 2022 MHL (Russian Juniors) Loko Yaroslavl)
Jayden Perron RW (3rd Round 2023 NCHC U of North Dakota Fr.)
Massimo Rizzo C (7th round 2019 UCHC U. of Denver Jr.)
Justin Robidas C (5th Round 2021 QMJHL Quebec?????????)
Alexander Rykov RW (4th Round 2023 VHL (Russian minors) Chelyabinsk):
Kirill Slepets W (5th round 2019 KHL Amur Khabarovsk)
Tuukka Tieksola RW (4th round 2019 Liiga Lukko)
Gleb Trikozov LW (2nd Round 2022 VHL (Russian Minors) Omeskie Krylia
Felix Unger Sörum RW (2nd Round 2023 J20 Nationell Leksands IF/SHL Leksands IF):
Cade Webber LHD (4th round 2019 Hockey East Boston U. Sr.)
Stanislav Yarovoi LW (4th Round 2023 KHL Vityaz Moscow Region):

Patrik Hamrla G (3rd Round 2021 Liiga Ilves)
Ruslan Khazheyev G (5th Round 2023 MHL (Russian Juniors) Chelabinsk):
Jacob Kucharski G (7th round 2018 ???????? We have his rights until Aug 15 2024)
Yegor Naumov G (7th round 2021 ??????) Note that I'm going to drop him from the list if he doesn't play anywhere at the start of the Russian league seasons. He hasn't played anywhere that I can find for the past 2 seasons
Nikita Quapp G (6th round 2021 DEL Berlin)
Yegor Velmakin G (7th Round 2023 KHL Minsk):
Jakub Vondras G (6th round 2022 OHL Sudbury)

 

[andyt]

And the goalies are still separate. This is, as it has always been, awesome.

 

[andyt]

The Canes loan 3 more Finns out.

Aleksi Heimosalmi goes to Assat. He played there the last 2 years after being drafted.
Tuukka Tieksola goes to Lukko. He came out of Karpat’s system and went back there last year after disappointing in Chicago.
Ville Koivunen goes to Karpat. He played there last year before coming to the Wolves

Those clubs finished 8th, 3rd and 7th, respectively in the league last year.

 

[andyt]

Patrick Williams, who covers the AHL, was at the league meetings this week. He said to look to Springfield as one landing spot for Canes prospects. But not a goalie, the Blues pipeline is full.

Springfield could be a PITA to get to Raleigh. It’s only about 30 minutes from Hartford Airport but as of now, the only nonstops are on bargain airlines like Breeze and Frontier, and they don’t fly every day.

 

[HeyKurtz]

Springfield could be a PITA to get to Raleigh. It’s only about 30 minutes from Hartford Airport but as of now, the only nonstops are on bargain airlines like Breeze and Frontier, and they don’t fly every day.

It’s also only 90 minutes from Boston, where there are tons of nonstop options.
My son lives in that area, so we deal with this trip all the time.