Thus far, the summer has been a tumultuous one. As forewarning of things to come, Ron Francis was let go suddenly after the trade deadline. Since then the changeover has been significant.
Head Coach Bill Peters left and later Assistant Coach Steve Smith.
Emerging young players Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin were traded.
Free agents Cam Ward, Derek Ryan, Lee Stempniak, Joakim Nordstrom and Klas Dahlbeck departed.
And most recently, long-time star Jeff Skinner was traded.
The headlines have been fast, furious and significant such that they have captured most of the attention of media and fans tracking the team.
But quietly and somewhat behind the scenes, the team has had a strong offseason in terms of boosting its prospect pool and with it the hope for the future.
The 2018 NHL Draft
The big news transpired when the Hurricanes vaulted up the draft table at the lottery and won the #2 overall pick and the right to draft Andrei Svechnikov which they did. Svechnikov will likely leapfrog right past the prospect pool and into the NHL, but that is obviously a good problem to have.
Minus a pick from the standard allotment of seven, the Hurricanes added six players which is actually one fewer than the standard seven picks each team receives.
Scouting the world and adding older prospects
But the Hurricanes added two older prospects from Europe as free agents to boost their prospect pool.
At 24 years old Finnish forward Saku Maenalanen is not the prototypical young but with potential down the road type prospect. Rather, he looks a bit more like Derek Ryan as a bit of a late bloomer was excelling in Europe and could be closer to NHL-ready than younger prospects possibly at the expense of having a slightly lower ceiline.
Then on the defensive side of the puck, the Hurricanes again added a free agent from Europe, this time a defenseman in Michael Fora. The 22-year old Fora held up well in world competition in the spring against a mix of NHL-caliber talent. Like Maenalanen, Fora is a bit farther along in his development.
If unable to surprise and crack the NHL roster in October, the two theoretically replace older AHL veterans with players with greater potential to help at the NHL level.
The big trade bonus
The core of the trade with Calgary was obtaining top-end defenseman Dougie Hamilton as part of the plan to revamp the blue line. Micheal Ferland also makes it a two for two deal in terms of players slotted for the NHL in 2018-19.
But the extra that the Hurricanes received in prospect defenseman Adam Fox could prove to be a significant addition down the road. Available supposedly because he might not sign before graduating in two years, Fox could turn into a steal. He is from the same undersized, freewheeling, offense creating mold as Jake Bean. After watching him at prospect camp, I bumped him ahead of Jake Bean and Luke Martin on the Hurricanes defenseman prospect rankings. Scott Wheeler from The Athletic is also high on Fox ranking him as the 34th best NHL prospect right now (subscription required).
The return for Jeff Skinner
I am on record as calling the return for Jeff Skinner disappointing. My plan did call for trading Skinner for futures, but I would have hoped for a first-round pick and/or a true top tier prospect.
But nonetheless, the trade added another set of futures to the Hurricanes already strong pool. Cliff Pu is a good mid-tier prospect who is somewhat similar to Warren Foegele as a player who projects to be a capable middle six or third line forward down the road. He adds to the growing depth that the Hurricanes have at the forward position.
In addition, the Hurricanes netted second, third and sixth round draft picks that currently schedule the team to get more than the standard seven draft picks in each of the next two drafts.
Netting it out
When one adds it up, in addition to the draft, the Hurricanes added four prospects of mid or higher level and also three draft picks. That goes a long way toward continuing to increase depth and replenish the system as a couple more players move up to the NHL level.
We will need to wait for the season to transpire before we can assess what has been done at the NHL level, but because it has included only addition and no subtraction, the summer can already be counted as a big win on the prospect front.
What say you Canes fans?
1) Did you catch the behind the scenes work bolstering the prospect pool over the summer?
2) Which of Saku Maenalanen, Michael Fora, Adam Fox or Cliff Pu most excites you looking into the future?
3) Who has other comments or additional discussion questions related to the Carolina Hurricanes prospect pool right now?
Go Canes!
1) Sure. The Canes have a deep and talented prospect pool that became deeper.
2) Maenalanen. I would say Fox, but until he is signed I don’t want to get too excited. The one thing I would say about Fox is that comparing him to Bean as “undersized” isn’t totally accurate. Bean is light, being listed at 173. But he is 6’1″. Once he fills out he will be comparable to de Haan. Fox is 5’11”. I actually like that the team added a few players less than 6 feet tall. It did seem that Francis was committed to drafting taller players. The NHL is seeing more players 5’9″ or so have real success. In fact, I think one big miss in the draft (although no team took him, so maybe I am way off) was not grabbing Linus Nyman instead of trading the late 7th round pick.
Maenalanen excites me because he has shown excellent chemistry with TT, and to a lesser degree Aho, in international play and on teams in Finland.
3) The D pool might still be a little shallow, but if Fox is signed it has three top-tier talents in Martin, Bean, and Fox and a player in Fora who looks to be a solid candidate for bottom-pairing/7th D-man role.
Several of the other regulars have mentioned that it makes sense to pair a dynamic offensive D-man with an excellent D-man. The future could hold exactly that. With the top two pairings having one young, offensively minded skater. The third pairing could then be defensively-minded and take PK responsibility.
For instance:
Bean-Pesce
Slavin-Fox
de Haan-Martin
Of course, Hamilton will be around for the next three years, so another right-side D might be dealt.
1) I’m not really excited about the prospect pool, but relieved. This is how a franchise is supposed to be run as opposed to the Rutherford led Hurricanes. Only a few of these guys will likely pan out, which is how it works.
2) Fox probably excites me the most because he seems to have the highest ceiling. Size really isn’t all that important in the NHL as it has been. Skating and hockey sense are primary, IMO. Fox has these covered. As far as size goes, I’ve heard a few stories that Bean really isn’t 173 and has been quoted as significantly less. I am interested in seeing Fora and Maenalanen play. The Canes did pretty well with an older Swede back in the day in Nik Wallin.
1. yes
2. Adam Fox. Our RHD depth is Glen Wesley’s kid and McKeown (who we seem to be okay with leaving in the minors). It is good to add to that total. He should be a cheap heir apparent to Faulk when he is traded. I think Pu has the same type of write up as Geekie, more so than Foegele. Having htat depth is exciting. He may be able to make the jump based on size. Although no matter what he does he will be scrutinized by a good portion of the fan base because of their lack of rationality love for Skinner
3. The discussion points I have are where does everyone fit?
Guys like Kuok, Z, Wallmark, McKeown and Foegele look very capable of making the jump but where do they fit this season? How about Roy, Pu, Geekie, Bean, Fox, etc next season?
Do we start moving guys to get higher quality guys? (cough Stone cough)
Fleury- if he is still a prospect- Are we going to lower his value by making him #7 in depth just to posture Faulk’s value? We could let him develop more but what happens if Bean beats him out next season? Then we have a #7 OA pick with trade value that may be a good shutdown 2nd pairing defender soon. He could be a 3rd pairing guy his whole career but we’d have a better idea if he played.
All seem like good problems (minus fleury losing value). We can fill out our bottom 6 for 5+ years with cheap and good ELCs. I just hope we keep our high end players knowing the cheap depth is there. Invest plenty of money in goaltending this coming off-season. Looking at you Bobrovsky, Rinne, and Varlamov!
1. For real? I’ve been more excited about our prospects than our actual team for years. This offseason has done absolutely zero to change that for me. We have done fantastic work with our development program, to the point where our prospect pool is one of the best in the NHL. With our prospects, I am believing in the Canes future, before I see it.
2. Adam Fox. I love Fora and Manelanen’s size, and Pu’s stats back in the OHL, but my eyes were permanently lit up with stars after Fox’s performance in the prospect scrimmage. Who will be the best is anyone’s guess, I’m just still dazzled by that amazing passing display.
3. Current star player? Check. Future potential star players? Check and Check? Quality prospects to fill spots around them? Like 6 or 7 Checks. Defense? CHECK. Quality goalie prospects…maybe? Let me put it this way. If one of Ned, Booth or Helvig pan out, we’re in line for YEARS of Cup contention. You skeptics can wait for your ‘proof’, but it will happen. Maybe not this year. Maybe (I’d be shocked) not even next year. But it will happen. This is the best prospect pool the Hurricanes have ever had. Ever. Thanks to the hard, thankless patience of GMRF and a surprisingly nice start by the new brain trust, I’m going to enjoy the building process, the lumps, the slumps, the breakouts, all of it.
Exactly.
Fogger. I too have been optimistic about the prospects for the past two years. Adding Svechnikov only changes my optimism from believing the Canes are going to be a regular playoff team to being a regular Cup contender. Like Breezy below, I think the fun starts in 20-21 and peaks around 22-23 through 25-26 (based on Aho signing for 8 years).
The contracts for Aho and TT are the beginning of the BIG IF–as I have stated before, the future is bright if the new management doesn’t ruin what RF acquired (plus the luck involved getting Svech).
I do think the Necas hype might be a bit much this season. I think he can be another Mark Scheifele. But Scheifele’s numbers were: 34 points (in 63 games) his third season after being drafted; 49 points the fourth season; and 61 points the fifth. Scheifele then became a true star in years 6 and 7. I think Necas will wow us with some plays this year, but unless he finds magic with Svech, 35-40 points would be a good season.
Speaking of Scheifele, I think Carolina has similarities to Winnipeg with a really strong D grouping and young and talented forwards. The Jets made the playoffs in Laine’s second year as a reference.
This year could be surprisingly good. But realistically, I think the highlights are that Aho shines at center, Zykov is the real deal playing with Aho/TT, and Svech produces like a #2OA–25 or so goals. Otherwise, I think Necas looks really good, but the production doesn’t wow this year. Finally, a strong two-way LW is needed if Necas and Svech are playing together. None of the prospects are close to that this year. Perhaps McGinn can step up, otherwise the Canes really need to acquire a tough two-way LW.
CT, I agree with your assessment as the most realistic scenario in all respects. Though I still fanthink that Ferland (who plays both wings) is the better option to pair with Svech and Necas, with Zykov ideally being the ‘real deal’ as you said, with Aho and TT.
We’ll see how it all plays out though, so many possible combos coming into camp next month. And then Faulk…
The Canes currently have a cast of many at LW. I don’t see giving away anything significant to get a veteran at LW. While the Canes appear to be heading in the right direction, they aren’t Cup contenders right now. The young guys need to get their feet wet, develop and become solid players. I believe the Canes are better off seeing what they have in players like Foegele, Zykov, Kuokkanen, and Stevens before trading for a LW that may not be here in a couple years. The Canes aren’t going to get a young, top 6 LW for just Faulk.
lessthan. I agree with your viewpoint. Though I think Faulk might return a “lesser” LW who could complement Necas/Svechnikov. Which is why I mentioned Hyman. Another possibility is trying to get Blake Coleman along with a decent pick from NJ. Because I am not as sold on Ferland as Fogger. Now I haven’t seen either Coleman or Ferland other than two games against the Canes last year. But in reading the sites of Flames and Devils fans and looking at statistics, I think a player like Coleman (or Hyman) is what fans want from Ferland–not afraid to throw checks, solid defensively, not high offensive talent but steady and room to improve. From what I have read about Ferland, most Flames fans seem to say he was more a product of playing with Gaudreau and more importantly his defensive skills are average.
It would be great for Necas and Svechnikov (even on different lines) to have a player of Pacioretty’s or Nugent-Hopkins’ level to support them. But I agree with lessthan it likely won’t happen. So I would be satisfied with a really physical, strong defensive player who can at least chip in offensively. I believe Ferland is only two of those things. While Faulk might return a player who can do all those things but doesn’t have the high profile.
I like the WIN analogy but I’m not sure we have the same talent they do … I also think the goaltending situation there is instructive:
2016-17: Hellebuyck was awful, lost his starting job, and the Jets missed the playoffs.
2017-18: Hellebuyck was a Vezina finalist and the Jets rolled.
I’m not saying the same thing is going to happen here, but I can still dream about it.
1. Yes
2. None
3. A few comments – Skins loss was large because we got ZERO NHL player in return! Whomever is his replacement has a tough pair of skates to fill!
While I see FOGGER’S point about prospects etc, I’m not as confident that any of these guys are nearly as “GREAT” as they look on paper! We have had so little to be excited about (besides AHO),that we probably “over-rate” our “almost-there” AHLers.
FAULK may turn out to be a large problem… yes he’s affordable, but he’s pretty redundant…and his slot could be better used for a top-6/9 forward IMO!
Finally, I HOPE Fogger is right (and I’m wrong) about our prospects…at least one or three!
puckgod, totally see your point, just want to point out one thing. The hype on both Svechnikov AND Necas is just as high, if not higher than Aho’s hype and rightly so. Skill-wise, you are in for a treat when you see them, my friend. My own personal sole concern with both of these kids is more health than anything else.
You may be surprised that I’m not going on a Skinner value rant *grin*, I actually like the prospect pool and am pretty excited to see how players pan out.
In the JR era the Canes did a pretty poor job drafting and developing talent. A few superstar players were drafed and pressed straight into savior of the Canes duty, before they were ready. Most players never panned out.
In the RF era the drafting improved significantly (with the exception of the first rounders) but the management, whoever was responsible, seemed too reluctant to showcase that talent (via call ups, particularly when the team badly needed a reset or a spark).
I have the feeling the prospets now are way better than 5 years ago, but ultimately it comes down to their showing in an actual NHl game or 2, or 10, or a season.
The Eurpean prospect signings coud end up being sneaky good. I remember watching the2010 hockey and wondering if the Canes would sign a certain Norwegian guy who was tearing It up, unfortunately the Canes didn’t, but the Rangers did, and matts zuccarello has been one of their best players for years.
It should hav happened a few years ago, but the only path forward this season seems to be to give the kids a chance, lower the playoff expectations once again and watch the team grow, hoping for a glorious 2020. Fortuantely that is not an impossibility, granted that the team can come to terms with the star players.
Fogger, I think we agree more than disagree, and unfortunately the prospects may be more promising than some of the “Veterans” we have! Soooo we really need to hope those rookies are “collectively”
better than them, eh? Are there any more Vets we should jettison?