Carolina Hurricanes are No. 12 in 2023 NHL prospect pool rankings

Carolina Hurricanes are No. 12 in 2023 NHL prospect pool rankings
By Scott Wheeler
Jan 29, 2023

Welcome to Scott Wheeler’s 2023 rankings of every NHL organization’s prospects. You can find the complete ranking and more information on the criteria here, as we count down daily from No. 32 to No. 1. The series, which includes in-depth evaluations and commentary from sources on nearly 500 prospects, runs from Jan. 9 to Feb. 8.

The toughest pool to rank in the last several years but especially this year, the Hurricanes have the largest group of relevant prospects in the NHL.

Where I have to scrape up enough names to get to create these 15-player lists for most teams, and the better prospect pools have 20 players who are worthy of consideration, I considered 13 other Hurricanes prospects for this year’s ranking — enough for nearly two lists.

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But for all they have in quantity, and even quality within that quantity, they lack in true star power. On one hand, there are several pools whose top three or four prospects would all rank No. 1 on the Canes’ list here. On the other, there are several players who didn’t make their list here who’d rank in the upper half on a majority of other teams’ lists.

The result will be several good NHL players, an enviable depth of call-up-worthy options and plenty of trade chips, but maybe no first-line, first-pairing guys.

2022 prospect pool rank: No. 9 (change: -3)


1. Scott Morrow, RHD, 20 (UMass-Amherst)

One of the most productive freshman defenseman in college hockey last season and the Minutemen’s leading scorer as a sophomore this year, Morrow is a real talent who made the jump from high school hockey directly into the NCAA look easy from a skill/level standpoint (he has had to do some maturing/growing up off the ice).

He’s an excellent transition defender who transports pucks confidently, plays boldly inside the offensive zone and possesses impressive handling skill for a defenseman. He’s an exit/entry machine who carves teams up through the neutral zone with head fakes, side steps and cuts (his skating really impresses on its edges, even if he’s not explosive). When he’s on the ice, he wants to take over and direct play in possession and does so by guiding opposing players out of his way. And on top of all of that, he’s a 6-foot-2 righty whose game defensively has taken important steps to cut back on mistakes, stay in better positioning and eliminate some bad habits that have often concerned scouts. There’s real top-four upside to Morrow if he continues to round out his game. UMass has a great track record developing top defensemen, too.

2. Alexander Nikishin, LHD, 21 (Spartak Moskva)

Maybe the biggest riser outside the NHL at his position in the last year, Nikishin is having a season for the ages in the KHL. He has already smashed the league’s U20 scoring record by a defenseman by double digits, he’s the highest-scoring defenseman in the league this year, and he has done it while playing huge minutes (nearly 23 a night) on the best team in the league.

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Nikishin’s a physically advanced (6-foot-4, 216-pound) defender whose strength is evident in his blistering point shot, his ability to win board battles and his net-front boxouts. I like the way he reads the play, closes off the wall and gets into passing lanes. He can more than hold his own defensively at five-on-five and on the penalty kill. He has taken huge steps the last two seasons to play the aggressive, trigger-happy style that made him a productive defenseman in junior. He has gone from moving the puck fine to moving it comfortably and even confidently. He manages the point effectively, he’s a decent skater and he’s a righty. He’s not talented enough to offer much offense at the next level but I’ve believed in his offensive game since his draft year and it has begun to show itself as an asset again at the pro level. He checks a whole lotta boxes that coaches look for. If they can lure him over here, the Hurricanes should have two important pieces of their top-six on the blue line coming.

3. Pyotr Kochetkov, G, 23 (Chicago Wolves/Carolina Hurricanes)

When goalies just keep getting results you have to respect them because of the ebbs and flows in performance that most of them face year-to-year. And Kotchetkov now has a body of work that you can’t ignore. After bouncing around levels and clubs for a couple of years in Russia in search of the opportunity those numbers demanded, it has been nice to see him find stability over the last two seasons in North America, establishing himself as the Hurricanes’ No. 3 for now and soon-to-be more than that (with Frederik Andersen and Antti Ranta both on expiring deals and Kochetkov on a new four-year contract, there’s a full-time job coming for him next year and maybe earlier). He used to be a little on the smaller side for a goalie but he grew a couple of inches late in his development to go from 6 feet to 6 feet 3, he’s quick on his feet (and knees), he’s technically sound, and he’s athletic, relying on sharp angles to control the first rebound and his movement to make recovery saves. I like the way he tracks the play, too. My only critique of him for a long time was that he’d let the odd mid-danger shot squeak through his body or occasionally scramble, but he has worked hard to cut down on both of those things. He’s probably not going to become a true No. 1, but I like him to become more than a backup as a bit of a strong 1B. I don’t tend to rank goalies this high but this is earned.

4. Jack Drury, C, 21 (Chicago Wolves/Carolina Hurricanes)

Drury just keeps playing good hockey at every level (though the counting stats haven’t come at the NHL level yet, his underlying results look really promising). First, it was the USHL. Then it was the NCAA. Then it was the SHL. Then it was the AHL. He doesn’t have dynamic qualities per se but he just looks like the kind of player who is going to become a solid up-and-down-the-lineup, everyday NHL player. Drury has always been known as a driven, 200-foot centre who involves himself in the play, plays within his team’s structure without cheating, works to get the puck back and excels at moulding his game to play alongside talented wingers. But his offensive skill has also developed nicely, with above-average tools across the board as a finisher, handler and passer who can now create offense in a variety of ways. So while his game starts with a strong foundation and sound commitment to the details, there’s skill that happens in between and an approach that takes what’s given and executes.

5. Jackson Blake, RW, 19 (University of North Dakota)

After torching the Minnesota high school circuit and getting his feet wet on a title run with the Steel in his draft year, Blake led the Steel in scoring in his post-draft season, was one of the USHL’s top playmakers as 18-year-old and now leads the Fighting Hawks in scoring as a 19-year-old freshman.

He’s a high-energy, up-tempo worker who compensates for his smallish 5-foot-11 frame (which he has the benefit of time to develop due to his August birthday) by playing hard and fast, while also having plenty of skill. I love his approach, which looks to attack the inside and make plays. There’s no backing down to his game, he makes a lot happen in and out of traffic, and I’ve seen him make difficult plays out of nothing with the puck on his stick (though he can also force it at times). He’s got quick hands in congested areas and a great sense of timing and opportunism around the offensive zone.

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I wrote last year that if he looked anything in college like he did in the USHL that I wouldn’t hesitate to move him up my list and this is me doing exactly that. There’s a lot to like.

Watch the way he navigates and waits for his look on the flank here:

6. Jamieson Rees, C/LW, 21 (Chicago Wolves)

In his third year with the Wolves, things have finally begun to click for Rees at the AHL level (though I think he was a victim of poor puck luck last year and was more effective than his counting stats showed).

His game is hard to miss and his presence can be felt on every shift when he’s dialed in (or up). Rees can impact a game in so many ways, whether he’s hunting down loose pucks, fighting for body positioning to win battles against bigger players, making something happen at the front of the net, or circling the offensive zone in possession to facilitate or cut to the slot for a chance. He’s a fiery 5 feet 11, is one of the Wolves’ most productive forwards and is also its penalty-minutes leader this year, after a career of getting into trouble in junior. He’s also a slippery stickhandler who changes directions on defenders to keep cycles alive and has a ton of talent in traffic to the slot (because of his hands he’s lethal in the shootout as well). He plays on the edge when he doesn’t have the puck and surprises defenders and goalies with his hands when he has it (though there are times when he tries to do too much). He’s a better passer than finisher, and he’s not the biggest kid in the world, but he plays a pro style and as he learns to control some of his decisions better he’s progressing toward his upside as a buzzsaw complementary NHLer with individual puck skill.

7. Noel Gunler, RW/LW, 21 (Chicago Wolves)

Loyal readers will know that Gunler’s a kid I stuck my neck out on throughout the draft process. Despite concerns about his consistency (which I still believe are overstated and which I know are unsupported by his underlying results), his effort level and his commitment defensively, Gunler is an undeniably talented player who has produced atop his age group at multiple levels despite never having the full trust of various coaches.

Gunler is a natural scorer whose shot, hands and bouts of ingenuity give him clear power-play, top-of-the-lineup upside in a perfect world. But there’s work that needs to be done to round out his game and it may now be difficult for him to break the reputation that has (often undeservedly, in my view) followed him. Because the production is there, his offensive-zone tools pop, his shot is lethal from a standstill or in motion (it generates significant torque through his stick, slinging off of his blade with a ton of spin) and he protects the puck extremely well on his backhand (which helps him drop a shoulder and cut to the net to shoot off of his forehand on his off wing). He’s always looking to shoot high but he rarely misses the net. Some scouts question his skating but he creates separation and breakaways for himself too consistently for me to argue against his straight-line speed (even if his stride can splay a little and he can pick up his stick into a pitchfork skating stride when he’s really pushing himself) or his timing (which a lot of the game’s open space comes down to). He’s got a pro frame at 6 feet 2 as well. It may take the right coach and development team to give him the confidence and opportunities he needs to fulfil his potential, but I think the Hurricanes are among the franchise’s most equipped to figure him out.

In the end, he’s always going to be able to do this (I’d actually like to see the Wolves move him from his spot on the bumper on the power play into the flank so that he can do this more often, like he did at prior levels):

8. Ville Koivunen, RW/LW, 19 (Karpat)

Koivunen’s a highly-entertaining, highly-gifted winger. But after an excellent age-adjusted post-draft campaign (especially considering his June birthday) in Liiga as one of Karpat’s top scorers in his rookie season at the level (and a strong showing as a piece of Finland’s best line through two games at the world juniors before the tournament was shut down), he has disappointed me in repeated viewings this season across two more world juniors and a second year in Liiga.

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He can be a delight to watch with the puck on his stick when he’s playing confidently. He’s a crafty problem-solver whose game tilts toward offense (he’s got work to do to become a more reliable player defensively). He can manufacture offense in a lot of ways off of the perimeter, whether that’s playing pucks into space with the perfect weight or baiting defenders into reaches so that he can cut past them. He’s one of those kids who can just carve the offensive zone up as a dual-threat scorer and passer. I’ve also seen him look quite effective taking pucks off the cycle to the interior (though not consistently), even though he’s more dangerous in open ice. I’ve seen him twist and turn away from good defenders. He has also had a bit of a growth spurt (he was listed at 5 feet 11 and 161 pounds in his draft year and he’s 6 feet and 172 pounds). I still see top-nine upside with the right development plan and some patience. I’d like to see him find another level down the stretch (he’s capable of it) but it’s also worth remembering that he’s still just 19.

9. Ryan Suzuki, C, 21 (Chicago Wolves) 

Were it not for lost time due to a growing injury history (including a permanent blind spot in one eye) and the pandemic, which necessitated an early jump to the AHL, I suspect Suzuki would be in a different place today than he is.

Suzuki’s a gifted player who plays a flow game that breezes around the ice in possession. He’s still got a propensity to hang onto the puck too long, but when he makes quick decisions and plays fast he’s a ton of fun. He has always had the line-driving on-puck skill of a top-six talent. He leads rushes and pushes pace through neutral ice as a primary carrier on his line, hitting the blue line with speed to make something happen. He can beat defenders and goalies one-on-one with his hands, particularly his unique ability to pull and drag pucks through his feat and across his body to leap around opposing players with a side step or cut. He’s also a creative, inventive passer who can run a power play, execute through layers and feed pucks into space for his linemates. His quick acceleration gives him defensive value in races and on lifts when he commits to them (an area which has improved a great deal). Suzuki doesn’t have the overall build, strength or shot to maybe reach that top-six potential to its fullest, though, and the lost time casts further doubt. Still, I think he’s still got a chance to become an offensively-inclined top-nine forward, even if it happens for him later in his career than you’d hope for a first-round pick.

10. Anttoni Honka, RHD, 22 (Chicago Wolves)

After establishing himself as a top offensive defenseman in Liiga for two seasons, Honka has been productive in his first season in the AHL this year. While his ugly plus-minus numbers in Liiga were ammunition for his detractors — who’ve argued his game defensively is a glaring corner — in those final two Liiga seasons, I argued then and I’d argue now that they were more a byproduct of the minutes he was playing on the league’s worst team than of his actually-favourable on-ice results and brutal on-ice luck and goaltending. And while the AHL doesn’t make publicly available the same level of data that Liiga does, my viewings this year have, anecdotally, suggested that he’s driving shot differentials and possession with a bottom-of-the-standings Wolves team as well.

There’s certainly a boom-or-bust factor to Honka’s projection given the way he is perceived, his propensity for getting caught out of position trying to play offense, and his size (5 feet 10, 179 pounds), but there’s also undeniable upside and if he hits he’s going to be just as good as he is fun. Honka’s one of the more purely talented defensemen in his age group. Offensively, he’s an impressive skater through his footwork (more than through his pushes, which aren’t super powerful), he’s a superb outlet passer, and his skill with the puck reminds me of talented forwards on entries or one-on-one off the point. He’s an extremely creative east-west seam passer, and he makes pro-level skill plays that lead directly to goals. Defensively, he still needs to refine his positioning and decision-making but he has made real progress in both areas and he’s sturdier than he looks. He’ll always have clear power-play utility and I think he’s closer to where he needs to get in the other areas than he gets credit for. He may top out as a good offensive defenseman in the AHL or Europe, but this is just the first year of his entry-level deal and if they can play the long game I won’t be surprised if he makes the most of an NHL look by the time the deal is done if the Hurricanes find themselves in need of a third-pairing, PP2 puck-mover.

11. Gleb Trikozov, LW/RW, 18 (Avangard Omsk) 

After scoring 33 goals and 63 points in 48 combined MHL regular-season and playoff games as a 17-year-old with an August birthday last year, Trikozov has bounced between the MHL and Russia’s second-tier VHL this season.

He spends a lot of time with the puck on his stick when he’s clicking. He can get his shot off in a split second out of catch and releases or carries and does so after attacking on angles and looking to beat defenders to openings in the offensive zone. He’s a very entertaining player who threatens with his skill and maneuverability off the rush, often creating good looks for himself or his linemates out of a quick dash immediately after entry. While his defensive commitment level needs work, Trikozov’s a boom-or-bust bet that could pay dividends if he can make the most of his extra runway. His game should translate nicely on North American ice if/when he comes over, too.

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12. Cruz Lucius, RW, 18 (University of Wisconsin)

After battling a wrist injury last year, Lucius came on strong down the stretch with 12 points in his final 10 games at the program on a dominant third line with captain Rutger McGroarty. He has picked up where he left off as a point-per-game freshman as well. The Badgers are a bit of a mess right now and while on one hand that means someone has to score, on the other it’s a credit to Lucius that he has been the guy to step up and create offense for himself and his teammates, especially after the way last year went for him.

Lucius is a patient playmaker who slows the game down and uses delays, lightly-weighted passes and the attention he pulls into himself to create through layers for his linemates. Like his older brother Chaz, his skating (which pitchforks) is the primary concern with his projection. But he plays within the pace of play so well, problem solves really effectively and has a sneaky quick and accurate release that I wrote last year I believed was going to produce greater goal totals than we’d seen to date (which we’ve begun to see in college). He will ultimately be defined, though, by his ability to continue to wait for plays to develop and stay cerebral as the speed of the level around him ramps up. If he can, he’ll be a complementary playmaking winger. He has never lacked confidence and decisiveness in his game.

13. Dom Fensore, LHD, 21 (Boston University)

You can count on one hand the number of 5-foot-8/5-foot-9 defensemen who can crack it in the NHL and the Terriers might have two on their team in Fensore and Habs prospect Lane Hutson.

He’s got all of the things you’d hope a player like him has if he’s going to make it as the exception to the rule. He’s an A-level skater forward and backward, and an even better one going laterally because of his footwork. He’s an excellent power-play quarterback because of his ability to maneuver against pressure, adjust his feet, change angles and play through layers as a passer. And he’s a brilliant exits/entries player who carves teams up in transition. Really the only part of his game on the offensive side of the puck that doesn’t pop is his shot. Otherwise, it’s all there. And because his feet are so smooth, he also has defensive value gapping up in transition to force dumps (and then pivoting to track back and collect them so that he can move play the other direction), or sliding into lanes to intercept passes and be disruptive when a player drops his head. If he’s to succeed in the NHL eventually though, it’ll be because of his ability to play in possession and spend more time on offense than defense. With the right partner, I think it might work. He’s an excellent college defenseman and he only just turned 21 in September even though this is his senior year. I’d willingly sign him after this season (assuming he sees a path forward for himself in an organization like Carolina’s).

14. Massimo Rizzo, C, 21 (University of Denver)

Red Wings prospect Carter Mazur is the Pioneers forward that gets the most attention and buzz, but Rizzo quietly capped off an excellent freshman season last year with points in both of the Frozen Four games (on Mazur’s line) to help them to a national championship and he has returned to become the team’s leading points producer as a sophomore (albeit a 21-year-old one) due to the pandemic and time spent marinating in the BCHL. He’s an incredibly smart player who understands how to facilitate and use spacing when the puck’s on his stick and where to go without the puck. He’s also a decent skater, a competitor and a diligent two-way player considering his average(ish) size. The Pioneers are better when he’s out there this year and while I’m not sure if he’s got NHL upside, he should get signed out of college and become a good AHL player at minimum. Not bad for the second-last pick of the 2019 draft!

15. Vasili Ponomaryov, C, 20 (Chicago Wolves)

After impressing in his first taste of the AHL last year, Ponomaryov has fit in well with the Wolves in his first full season this year.

I’ve watched him play a lot over the years and he’s a hard player to dislike. He’s always on the puck, he’s got great hands, he can penalty kill effectively, he passes the puck well and he opens up to make himself available offensively. While he’s not the biggest, strongest, fastest, or most talented kid, he understands how to play from A to B. He’s also stronger than you might think at a cursory glance and uses his body positioning to come up with a lot of pucks. And then he also has skill — enough to deceive good defenders, pick apart schemes with the puck and make plays off of all of the retrievals he wins. I’m a fan. He has some intriguing qualities, he’s versatile and he plays the same way regardless of how much he’s playing or who he’s playing with. I’m not sure if he’ll be an NHLer, but he has always been a well-liked player wherever he has gone.


The Tiers

Each of my prospect pool rankings will be broken down into team-specific tiers in order to give you a better sense of the talent proximity from one player to the next (a gap which is sometimes minute and in other cases quite pronounced).

The Hurricanes’ prospect pool breaks down into just two tiers. They are: 1-2, 3-15.

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Also considered were DEL star Dominik Bokk (one of the more confounding young players in the game, who is finally living up to his potential now that it may be too late), top Finnish ’03 defenseman Aleksi Heimosalmi, efficient Russian defenseman Vladimir Grudinin, talented work-in-progress Swedish defenseman Simon Forsmark, diminutive forward prospects Justin Robidas, Zion Nybeck, Alexander Perevalov, Alexander Pashin and Tuukka Tieksola (in that order), Wolves rookie and former Canadian world junior defenseman Ronan Seeley, 20-year-old SHL sophomore defenseman Joel Nystrom, Penn State assistant captain and leading scorer Kevin Wall, and one of my longtime favourites, Finnish forward Patrik Puistola.

You could make a case for several of those guys as high as third or fourth on this list and I’d listen. It’s a truly unique, giant group of similar-grade prospects. I hated leaving Heimosalmi and Robidas off in particular.

Rank
  
Player
  
Pos.
  
Age
  
Team
  
1
Scott Morrow
RHD
20
UMass
2
Alexander Nikishin
LHD
21
St. Petersburg
3
Pyotr Kochetkov
G
23
Chicago/Carolina
4
Jack Drury
C
22
Chicago/Carolina
5
Jackson Blake
RW
19
North Dakota
6
Jamieson Rees
C
21
Chicago
7
Ville Koivunen
RW/LW
19
Karpat
8
Noel Gunler
RW/LW
21
Chicago
9
Ryan Suzuki
C
21
Chicago
10
Anttoni Honka
RHD
22
Chicago
11
Gleb Trikozov
LW
18
Omsk
12
Cruz Lucius
RW
18
Wisconsin
13
Dom Fensore
LHD
21
Boston U.
14
Massimo Rizzo
C
21
Denver
15
Vasili Ponomaryov
C
20
Chicago

(Photo of Alexander Nikishin: Maksim Konstantinov / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images)

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Scott Wheeler

Scott Wheeler covers the NHL draft and prospects nationally for The Athletic. Scott has written for the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, The Toronto Sun, the National Post, SB Nation and several other outlets in the past. Follow Scott on Twitter @scottcwheeler