{"id":56157,"date":"2019-09-11T09:30:53","date_gmt":"2019-09-11T13:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=56157"},"modified":"2019-09-11T01:41:37","modified_gmt":"2019-09-11T05:41:37","slug":"carolina-hurricanes-prospects-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2019\/09\/11\/carolina-hurricanes-prospects-2\/","title":{"rendered":"TSP: Carolina Hurricanes Prospects"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to the 2019 Top Shelf Prospects series. As we go through the Summer of 2019 LWOH will be featuring a team-by-team look at the top prospects in the NHL. We will be following the order of the first round of the NHL draft (as if there were no traded draft picks) and\u00a0you can find all the articles here<\/a>.\u00a0 Since we had an\u00a0extensive NHL Draft preview<\/a>, we will not be reviewing the players who were drafted in the 2019 draft, as there have been no games since then, and our reports on them will not have changed. Today, we look at the\u00a0Carolina Hurricanes<\/a>\u00a0Prospects.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"What we will be doing is linking you to those articles, as well as taking a look at prospects that were acquired before this year\u2019s draft; their progress, and their chances of making the 2019-20 roster of the NHL team in question. We will also bring you one sleeper pick \u2013 a player who was either drafted in the 4th-round or later, or was an undrafted free agent signing who we pick as our dark horse to make the NHL. For those wondering, the cut-off for what is or isn\u2019t a prospect is typically about 50 NHL games played (including playoff games) or is 25 years old. These are not hard or fast rules though, and we may make some exceptions depending on the circumstances.<\/em><\/p>\n

Carolina Hurricanes Prospects<\/h2>\n

After missing the playoffs for nine straight seasons, the Hurricanes finally made it back to the dance in 2019. In what has been a theme recently, the Hurricanes once again had excellent possession numbers. The difference was that this season they finally got some breaks, as well as strong goaltending from Petr Mrazek<\/a><\/strong> and Curtis McElhinney<\/a><\/strong>. Once in the playoffs, the Bunch of Jerks<\/a> continued their franchise tradition of going to at least the final four. The Hurricanes defeated the Washington Capitals<\/a> and New York Islanders<\/a> before falling to the Boston Bruins<\/a> in the Eastern Conference Final. In prospect news, the Canes AHL Affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, won the AHL’s Calder Cup.<\/p>\n

The off-season brought change. The biggest story was the Montreal Canadiens<\/a> attempt to poach star centre Sebastian Aho<\/a><\/strong> with an offer sheet. That move was doomed from the start as the Hurricanes quickly announced that they would match the deal. They also acquired a first-round pick in 2020 by taking on Patrick Marleau<\/a><\/strong>‘s contract and then buying out the veteran. The team lost McElhinney in free agency, replacing him with James Reimer<\/a><\/strong>, who was acquired in a trade with the Florida Panthers<\/a>. Other trades brought in Erik Haula<\/a><\/strong>, Kyle Wood<\/strong>, Anton Forsberg<\/a><\/strong>, and Gustav Forsling<\/a><\/strong>. The Canes also added key free agents in Ryan Dzingel<\/a><\/strong>, Chase Priskie<\/strong>, and Jake Gardiner<\/a><\/strong>. The busy off-season might not be over yet as rumours about Justin Faulk<\/a><\/strong> swirl at the time of writing this article.<\/p>\n

2019 NHL Draft Picks (Grade A<\/a>):\u00a0Ryan Suzuki<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Pyotr Kochetkov<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Jamieson Rees<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Patrik Puistola<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Anttoni Honka<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Domenick Fensore<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Cade Webber<\/strong>,\u00a0Tuukka Tieksola<\/strong>,\u00a0Kirill Slepets<\/strong>,\u00a0Kevin Wall<\/strong>,\u00a0Blake Murray<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Massimo Rizzo
\n<\/strong>Graduations: Andrei Svechnikov<\/a><\/strong>, Warren Foegele<\/a><\/strong>, Lucas Wallmark<\/a><\/strong>, Saku Maenalanen<\/a><\/strong> (age)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Top Prospect: Martin Necas<\/a><\/h3>\n

Centre \u2014 shoots Right
\nBorn January 15th, 1999 \u2014 Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic
\nHeight 6\u20192\u2033 \u2014 Weight 190 lbs [188 cm \/ 86 kg]
\nDrafted by Carolina Hurricanes in the 1st round, #12 overall at the 2017 NHL Draft<\/p>\n