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2024-25 Hurricanes Prospects and Minors Thread

Getting Pu for Skinner was worth the smell given that Kochetkov and Nikishin were selected with 2nd and 3rd round draft picks we got from that same trade. Buffalo felt great about that trade for ONE season when Skinner went off for 40 goals. After that season, Buffalo ended up paying Jeff Skinner what amounted to $500k per goal (113 goals over 5 seasons, $57.333 million including the buyout).

One of the great trades in franchise history, even with the Pu.
 
Getting Pu for Skinner was worth the smell given that Kochetkov and Nikishin were selected with 2nd and 3rd round draft picks we got from that same trade. Buffalo felt great about that trade for ONE season when Skinner went off for 40 goals. After that season, Buffalo ended up paying Jeff Skinner what amounted to $500k per goal (113 goals over 5 seasons, $57.333 million including the buyout).

One of the great trades in franchise history, even with the Pu.
You can have your Pu and eat it too...said no one ever! Skinner is five wins away from a Cup ring...
 
Getting Pu for Skinner was worth the smell given that Kochetkov and Nikishin were selected with 2nd and 3rd round draft picks we got from that same trade. Buffalo felt great about that trade for ONE season when Skinner went off for 40 goals. After that season, Buffalo ended up paying Jeff Skinner what amounted to $500k per goal (113 goals over 5 seasons, $57.333 million including the buyout).

One of the great trades in franchise history, even with the Pu.
Pu was also traded by the Canes to the Panthers for Future Considerations. The Future Considerations was the Springfield Thunderbirds sending Tomas Jurco to the Charlotte Checkers. Jurco was on an AHL contract and a player on a NHL contract can’t be traded for a player on an AHL contract. He was instrumental in the Checkers winning the Calder Cup in 2018-19
 
Here is how it ended for the remaining active Canes prospects last week:

Nikita Artamonov W
(2nd Round 2024 KHL Nizhny Novgorod/VHL Gorky NN):

With KHL Nizhny Novgorod: 63 Games 22 Goals 17 Assists +5 *** PLAYOFFS: 4 Games 0 Goals 0 Assists Even
With VHL Gorky NN: Did not play in regular season. PLAYOFFS: 18 Games 1 Goal 6 Assists Even Gorky NN won the VHL championship in 6 games.

Andrei Krutov LW (7th Round 2024 MHL (Russian Juniors) Nizhny Novgorod/VHL (Russian Minors) Gorky NN/KHL Nizhny Novgorod)


With MHL Nizhny Novgorod: 10 Games 7 Goals 2 Assists +7 *** PLAYOFFS: 12 Games 2 Goals 4 Assists -1. Nizhnyh Novgorod lost their 3rd round series 2-4.
With VHL Gorky NN: 36 Games 15 Goals 7 Assists +2 *** PLAYOFFS: 8 Games 0 Goals 1 Assist -1. Gorky NN won the VHL championship in 6 games.
With KHL Nizhny Novgorod: 12 Games 4 Goals 0 Assists -2 *** PLAYOFFS Did not play.

Alexander Nikishin LHD (3rd round 2020 KHL SKA St. Petersburg):

With KHL St. Petersburg: 61 Games 17 Goals 29 Assists +19 *** PLAYOFFS 4 Games 2 Goals 1 Assist Even.
With NHL Canes: Did not play in regular season. PLAYOFFS: 4 Games 0 Goals 1 Assists -5

Alexander Pelevin LHD (7th round 2022 VHL (Russian Minors) Gorky NN/KHL Nizhny Novgorad):


With VHL Gorky NN: 48 Games 2 Goals 10 Assists +9 *** PLAYOFFS: 15 Games 1 Goal 0 Assists -1. Gorky NN won the VHL championship in 6 games.
With KHL Nizhny Novgorad: 2 Games 0 Goals 0 Assists Even. *** PLAYOFFS Did not play
 
---Edit 6/2/2025, Justin Poirier has committed to the University of Maine---
---Edit 6/23/2025, Alexander Rykov re-signed with Chelyabinsk---


Here is my starter list for next season's tracking:

Dropping from list:

Anttoni Honka RHD (3rd round 2019 SwissHL Ajoie) - He signed an extension with Ajoie, I don't expect the Canes to give him a qualifying offer

Patrik Hamrla G (3rd Round 2021 Czech3 Vyskov) - As already noted, the deadline for the Canes to sign Hamrla was June 1st. They didn't as far as we know, so he is an NHL UFA now (likely never to be heard from again unless you follow Czech 3rd tier league hockey)


A few notes on some of our other prospects:

Even before the 25-26 draft, we could field a team with 8 Russian Forwards, 5 Russian Dmen, and 2 Russian Goalies. It appears the Canes front office is trying to put together a full Russian team just on our reserve list. They don't have much farther to go.

We are not yet 100% sure yet where Badinka, Nystrom or Quapp might play. If they play in the AHL or ECHL they will be removed from my tracking. Juntorp, Rykov and Yarovoi are not yet under contract with any team for 25-26.

Juntorp, Poirier, Forsmark, and Vondras need to be signed by Jun 1 2026 or they will become NHL UFAs. Barring some sort of miraculous turn, Juntorp isn't going to ever be signed. Poirier and Forsmark I expect will be signed eventually. Poirier might remain in the QMJHL for his 19 year old season. Forsmark almost certainly will remain in Sweden this coming season. We will see about Vondras...

And finally our international goalie of mystery, Yegor Naumov, once again went an entire season without playing for a team that has any sort of tracking. I will be removing him from the list (again) if the 25-26 season starts without Naumov assigned somewhere.

Nikita Artamonov W (2nd Round 2024 KHL Nizhny Novgorod)
Fyodor Avramov LW (6th Round 2024 KHL Sochi)
Dominik Badinka RHD (2nd Round 2024 **** May not remain on list if he plays in Chicago or Greensboro next season ****)
Michael Emerson F (6th Round 2023 Hockey East Merrimack Jr.)
Simon Forsmark LHD (4th Round 2022 SweHL Timra)
Noel Fransén LHD (3rd Round 2024 SweHL Färjestad)
Vladimir Grudinin LHD (5th Round 2022 KHL Cherepovets)
Nikita Guslistov C (7th round 2021 KHL Vladivostok)
Nils Juntorp RW (via Trade Team TBD)
Timur Kol LHD (6th Round 2024 KHL St. Petersburg)
Andrei Krutov LW (7th Round 2024 KHL Nizhny Novgorod)
Timur Mukhanov LW (6th Round 2023 KHL Cherepovets)
Joel Nyström RHD (7th round 2021 **** May not remain on list if he plays in Chicago or Greensboro next season ****)
Alexander Pelevin LHD (7th round 2022 VHL (Russian Minors) Gorky NN)
Alexander Perevalov LW (3rd Round 2022 VHL (Russian Minors) Omskie)
Jayden Perron RW (3rd Round 2023 NCHC U of North Dakota Jr.)
Justin Poirier RW (5th Round 2024 Hockey U of Maine Fr.)
Alexander Rykov RW (4th Round 2023 KHL Chelyabinsk)
Roman Shokhrin LHD (6th Round 2024 MHL (Russian Juniors) Loko Yaroslavl)
Alexander Siryatsky LHD (4th Round 2024 VHL (Russian Minors) Magnitogorsk)
Oskar Vuollet F (5th Round 2024 SweHL Skellefteå)
Stanislav Yarovoi LW (4th Round 2023 Team (Maybe Moscow Spartek)

Yegor Naumov G (7th round 2021 **** We will see if he resurfaces, otherwise I will be dropping him from next year's list ****)
Nikita Quapp G (6th round 2021 **** May not remain on list if he plays in Chicago or Greensboro next season ****)
Yegor Velmakin G (7th Round 2023 KHL Minsk)
Jakub Vondras G (6th round 2022 Czech2 Pardubice)
 
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On Badinka, he was released from his contract with Malmo in Sweden, so I suspect he’ll be with the Wolves or Gargoyles all season. Same for Nystrom, although he did play 1 game for the Wolves. With Poirier, he’s Blake-sized but I don’t know how you walk away from 122 goals in 3 years in three years, including 28 as a 16 year old. And almost 100 of those goals were 5 on 5, he only has 26 PP goals.
 
Interesting.

The Canes signing deadline for Poirier WAS June 1, 2026. I'm going to assume the Canes have already covered the necessary 'bonafide offer requirement'. Now that Poirier has become a 'college player' the Canes signing deadline is governed by CBA article 8.6.c.iii and 8.6.c.iv.

8.6.c.iii is the 'drafted player becomes a college player prior to 2nd June 1st after his draft year and remains in college for the entirety of his eligibility' clause. In Poirier's case, if he really plays 4 years at Maine, the Canes would retain his signing rights until August 15, 2029

8.6.c.iv is the 'drafted player becomes a college player prior to 2nd June 1st after his draft year and the college player leaves school early' clause. There are different wrinkles to this clause, but effectively:

If Poirier leaves college Spring of 2026, Canes retain his draft rights until June 1, 2028
If Poirier leaves college Spring of 2027, Canes retain his draft rights until June 1, 2028
If Poirier leaves college Spring of 2028, Canes retain his draft rights until either June 1, 2028 OR 30 days after he tells the NHL he has left college, whichever is the LATER date
If Poirier leaves college Spring of 2029, Canes retain his draft rights until August 15, 2029.
 
The Greensboro Gargoyles have hired Scott Burt as their first head coach. He’s 48 years old and has been the head coach of the ECHL Rapid City Rush for the last 4 years. He played professionally for 14 years, all but 1 game in the ECHL. As a player, he won the ECHL Championship 3 times, twice with Idaho, once with Alaska. He moved right to the bench after retiring, as an assistant in Alaska for 2 seasons before moving on to WHL Spokane as an assistant for 6 seasons. He left there to got to Idaho for 1 season before becoming the head coach in Rapid City. They made the playoffs in his first season and missed the playoffs in the last 3.

 
Winning and losing in the ECHL is such a crapshoot. Good on them for finding a guy with some serious experience at that level.
 
Stanislav Yarovoy’s KHL rights have been traded to Spartak. He is out of contract. We’ll have to wait and see if he’s coming to the Prospects Camp, which starts on Sunday.
 
I read an admittedly sketchily sourced report a couple of months ago that as many as 4 or 5 KHL teams are essentially broke, were having to borrow to meet season ending payroll and bonus commitments and struggling to figure out how to continue to operate. Could be something, could be nothing, and all reporting out of Russia on basically any subject has to be taken with a tractor trailer of salt these days. But seeing Vityaz fold up tents is hardly a good sign.
 
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