Carolina Hurricanes NHL’24 Draft: Draft Projections and Prospects Analysis with Nick Bass (Canes Prospects)

By Tom Ray & Nick Bass

Tom Ray:
With the NHL draft just a week away, Carolina Hurricanes fans are wondering who are the Canes going to select in the first round. A lot of names are being bandied around Teddy Stiga, Nikita Artamonov, Charlie Ellick, Emil Hemming, and a lot more. There’s a lot of different options for the Hurricanes and I had the opportunity to spend some time with Nick Bass, who is deep into the Canes prospects, for both Canes Prospects and Dobber Prospects, and Nick and I took a look at several of those players. Lots of announcements with the Hurricanes recently. We had the announcement that Eric Tulsky is now the GM, so that’s big news. I wanted to talk to you about the announcement yesterday, the news that Cam Abbott’s going to be the head coach of the Chicago Wolves. This is big news. Obviously, the Canes did not have a team in the American Hockey League last year, so now they have a place to put some of these young players that are coming along in their system, and Abbott looks like a good one. What do you think about this announcement?

Nick Bass:
Cam Abbott, I really do like the hire. I’m not gonna say I was completely familiar with him before the hire, just because, even though I do watch a lot of Swedish hockey and European hockey in the first place, I kind of just didn’t pay attention to Rogle, even though they had a former Cane on there. They had Dominic Bokk for a while. I think Jesper Sjögren was there, or perhaps Luleå, not sure.. Rogle was a very solid team since 2017-18. Since he took over, sometime around then, they have been an incredibly solid team. They’ve gotten a ton of young players that he’s been able to coach. The big one one for me was Mo Seider, turning him into a first round pick and now a first pairing defenseman for Detroit. Nils Hoglander, Simon Ryfors. For Tampa Bay, tom Willander, there is also William Wallander. He’s done a ton of good things with development in terms of getting them to where they’re supposed to be and getting them to be high NHL picks and ultimately, getting them to play in the NHL. So I really do like the hire. I think he’s got a lot of youth talent coming into Chicago this year that he’s going to be able to work with and I’m really interested to see how he deals with that.

Tom Ray:
Well, a couple of comments. First, Jesper Sjellgren. I had a chance to watch him when he was in North America briefly and actually won a Calder Cup with the Checkers, and I was really impressed. I was kind of hoping at some point the Canes would sign him up and bring him over, but it looks like he’s probably past that now. So, I’m not sure we’ll see Jesper Sjellgren. For sure, I think I think this is going to be good news for the Hurricanes and lots of good prospects coming, as we know, and it’s great to have a guy with his background coming in to take it over. So, it’s exciting.

Nick Bass:
I’m pleased about that and I’m really interested to see how he does because he’s going to have almost they signed a ton of the guys from the just a ton of them to contracts this year. So, he’s going to have a lot of young guys 21 and under to work with.

Tom Ray:
Just before we close on this one, you mentioned Nils Hoglander. Now Hoglander has been rumored to be part of any deal that Vancouver would do with the hurricanes. There’s been a lot of discussion about a any deal that Vancouver would do with the Hurricanes. There’s been a lot of discussion about a possible deal for Martin Necas. It would probably include Hoglander. What’s your thoughts on Hoglander?

Nick Bass:
I like Hoglander as a player. I’m one of those people that advocated for him on social media, even though I don’t use my personal social media for it I don’t really use the canes prospects one I really do like the player. I think he has a lot of talent that hasn’t been tapped yet. You kind of saw that a little bit in the playoffs whenever he was moved onto the line with Petterson. I don’t know if you can make him the centerpiece of a deal in any Necas trade. I think, again, he’s an incredible player, but with a Necas trade you have to be able to do star power or it’s not going to work out, even though me personally I want to see them get prospects, I want to see them get high-end futures.

Tom Ray:
And I think you’re probably right, but he certainly was somebody whose name came up frequently in some of those trade rumors. You know, the other thing I thought we would touch on would be the Russia connection. You know, the Canes in recent years have gone a little bit against the grain. They’ve decided to draft a lot of Russian players. Several other teams, because of the world situation decided not to do that and, to the Canes credit, they’ve been able to draft some excellent young players way down from where they were actually rated. I mean, I think about, you know, Gleb Trikozov and Vladimir Grudinin and Timur Mukhanov and some of the other guys, Alexander Perevalov, there’s lots of them, there’s just a whole bunch, and I know you’ve written on several of them and I’m quite impressed with a bunch of them. In fact, Trikozov’s coming over this year. That’s kind of an interesting direction. Do you think the Canes will continue with that?

Nick Bass:
I really do, ever since getting their current Russian scout, Oleg Smirnoff. An incredibly good guy, an incredibly nice guy. I’ve had a few conversations with him. He helps me a lot with Russian because I took Russian in high school, but let me tell you it does not translate that well to where I am right now, even though I watch it all the time. He’s an incredibly nice guy and he’s an incredibly good scout. He knows a lot about what he’s talking about and a lot of the times with these Russian players it is part of the whole world situation and not knowing if they are ever going to come to North America. But in the Hurricanes case, they really like to take that upside more than look at everything else. Guys like Vlad Grudinin and Gleb Trikozov, especially Gleb, and Ruslan Kazheyev, who the other Russian prospect who’s going to play in Chicago next year, yes, they just realize the upside is too much there to not worry about if they’re ever going to come to North America. And, while there was some actual downside and concern with some of these players and you’re seeing that kind of with a few of them, you just have to hope for upside. And they’ve been continuing to do that and so far at least with a few of them, it looks to be working, because now they got them in North America and they’re going to play for Chicago.

Tom Ray:
I think you’re right. And, of course, whenever you talk about Russian players, you have to think about Alexander Nikishin. Lots of discussion, in fact, I’ve seen in the interviews with Eric Tulsky lately. Just about every interview has the question what’s going on bringing Nikishin over this summer? I mean, nobody’s really thought much about that, but he brought it up and it’s opened up a whole can-of-worms. Nikishin obviously is one of the best players outside the NHL in the world. What are your thoughts about the Nikishin situation?

Nick Bass:
So, whoever mentioned him in that interview with Eric Tulsky Wednesday, I give you credit. It’s one of those things where I don’t think a lot of people understand KHL contracts. It’s just an unfortunate situation that Russia is incredibly hard to get news from, and especially with the KHL website and contract news. I do have a lot of people that try and help me out, that do know the Russian system a lot more. But with Russia, it is so incredibly hard for a player that is still under contract to get them to North America.

Nick Bass:
You’re kind of seeing that with with Mishkov right now and Danny Briere’s comments yesterday that they’re planning on him not coming over this year. I can’t really say much more about it. So, realistically, while the sentiment was really cool and it was very nice to hear them even talk about the possibility of it, and the former general manager, Don Waddell, was the first one to say anything about it. While it was a great idea, it is just not happening. And, I understand people want to see Orlov stuff Nikishin in a carry-on bag and bring him back after they play together in the Media league this summer, they will have to wait until the SKA season ends. I would say like maybe a few weeks after that you’ll have Nikishin signed and he’ll be in North America as soon as he physically can. It’s just one of those things where you just have to wait, and I know people don’t want to wait because he’s just that good, but it’s unfortunate.

Tom Ray:
SKA is probably the most affluent team in the league and they’re funded through a Russia utility that’s associated with the government, so they don’t have a problem financially and, of course, he’s been one of their top players. So, I wasn’t sure how he would possibly come out. If we see him in March or April, I think that would be incredible and hopefully, you know they can get something done, so that’s in place and ready to go. So that’s good news and exciting news. I wanted to take a look at now some of the prospects that we think might be on the radar of the Hurricanes, who they might be thinking about and who they’re going to be drafting 27th overall. This is going to be a an interesting opportunity. You and I have talked about this a little bit. Uh, once you get past what, #10 or #15?

Nick Bass:
Yes. After #10 or #15, it’s kind of an open field, it’s going to get really random and complete honestly, probably after Ottawa picks at seven. I think after that Ottawa pick, whatever they decide it’s probably going to get a little more interesting.

Tom Ray:
There’s a lot of different players out there that could be available at #27. So, let’s touch upon some specific positions, to kick this off. When I look at the Hurricanes, my thinking is that certainly center ice and defense might be on the list. What do you think might be the priority?
Nick Bass:Center. It’s 100% center. As of right now, your center that is closest to playing in the NHL is Ryan Suzuki, and the center that probably has the most, I would guess, potential is either one of Justin Robidas, who had an incredible first rookie professional season with Norfolk before he got hurt and Lucas Mercuri, who is not a bad player by any means. His ceiling just might, unfortunately, cap him out, but he’s really fun to watch, so that’s always a possibility he’ll play for the Canes someday. I’m not so sure about Robidas. He’s quite small. He is a fast skater and he’s a buzz saw out there, but he’s not a big player. And you know, Suzuki to me is he’s had so many injury problems. He’s a guy that I always felt had the skill, so I have to agree with you with his potential for the future.

Tom Ray:
I think center ice is a real concern and when I took a look at centers, a couple of guys had jumped out at me and I thought we could talk a little bit about them. One of them is Cole Beaudoin. Cole Beaudoin currently playing with Barrie in the OHL. Of course that’s a great program. The late Dale Hawerchuk, of course, coached there for a long time. And Andrei Svechnikov came out of Barrie. Beaudoin is a big guy. He’s 6’2″, he’s 200 pounds. He’s one of those guys that’s a hard worker. Some of the guys that kind of saw him up in the round of where the Canes would be. Chris Peters of FLOHockey had him at #27. Dobber Prospects had him at #30. Corey Pronman of the Athletic had him at #20. What do you think about Beaudoin?

Nick Bass:
I do like him as a Center. He has incredible tenacity on the fore check. He loves to play on the boards. He knows how to use his body, which is always a very good thing for somebody that’s just 18 years old. His skating is pretty solid. I think his offensive upside has some real potential there. I don’t know if I’m the biggest fan that he’s a left-handed guy. I think right-handed center is probably the biggest thing, even though those are incredibly hard to come by in today’s current prospect, climate and just in general. Right-handed centers just don’t grow on trees. No question offensively, and I think he’s got some defense.

Nick Bass:
I want to see if he can keep continuing that defensive development. I think if he continues to become a complete 200 foot player, he’ll probably be very, very good and make the NHL. I will say, though, on any CHL guys I don’t know if the Canes like to take them high, like I said, like you mentioned, with Svechnikov, and Suzuki, they just haven’t taken a guy from the CHL that high in a while. Not that it can’t happen at all, I’m not saying that but I would just kind of be wary about any guys in the CHL that go high just because the Canes’ repertoire in the past few years is is not with the CHL in the first round.

Tom Ray:
This is what Adam Kimmelman of nhl.com said. “Beaudoin is a fantastic athlete with high-end compete who patterns his game after Columbus Blue Jacket forward Boone Jenner.” So, that’s pretty good statement about Beaudoin.

Nick Bass:
If the Kings got a guy like Boone Jenner, I think that would be fun yeah. Obviously, anytime you can get a guy that’ll give you a thousand NHL games and be a serviceable NHL man, you always hope that’s what you get in the first round. Anything higher than that’s going to be a gigantic positive. Especially late in the first round, you’re probably not ever going to draft a true superstar, unless something messes up and your name is Dallas and you can find guys like Logan Stankoven or Wyatt Johnston. In the really late first and early second, you’re always going to try and find a guy that can give you any sum above 500 NHL games and be a serviceable NHL’er. Beaudoin definitely has a good chance to be that, so not the worst option I’ve ever seen.

Tom Ray:
Well, you know when you talk about late round guys, how about Bradly Nadeau. We got him last year, I think it was #30. And, he’s a great player.

Nick Bass:
I, to be honest, I was really, really hoping for Andrew Kristall. That was my big one. The, Gavin Brindley, who got drafted by Columbus in the early second round and made his NHL debut in that same game Nadeau did or Jayden Perron, who funnily enough, ended up becoming a Hurricanes pick anyways, and I think that was just due to his size. But with Bradly, he’s an incredible player, his shot is something that I have not seen in a prospect in a while. He has an unbelievable shot. They put him in that one NHL game. They had him in OV’s spot on that left circle on the power play and they just kept feeding him the puck. Actually, I had an opportunity to watch him in college at Maine during their series against UMass and he’s just an incredible player, incredibly cerebral. His play making with the puck on a stick and off a stick grew a ton. In his freshman year at the University of Maine he finally developed a passing ability, which is not to say he didn’t have it before, but it finally showed up a little bit more and I got to talk to him and a lot of his family and his brother, Josh, who I do hope the Hurricanes sign and I hope, I hope, I hope he signs, eventually I hope he makes it to Canes’ development camp.
But, with Nadeau he’s just an incredibly nice guy. He’s from I don’t want to say the middle of nowhere, Canada, but his family was telling me it’s a town of like 500 people. They have to travel like an hour, two hours to go to practices, go to games. They’re incredibly humble and they understand what to do and the hard work it requires to get to where they are. I know it’s kind of early to talk about, but I do think Bradly Nadeau makes the team out of camp next year.

I think it’s hard to keep that shot and his overall ability out of the NHL, especially with how much attrition is coming to the roster. I think having that forward at $925,000 is way too invaluable.

Tom Ray:
I agree, and you know you think about. You know we’ve got Seth Jarvis coming along, you get a Bradly Nadeau in there. You’ve got some great young players to really build this team over the years. I’m a big Bradly Nadeau fan, as well. I watched all the action, some of the action in the NCAA at the end of the year and he looked fabulous. Quick point on Jayden Perron. You mentioned Jayden Perron and you know one of the things that we see with the Hurricanes is their ability to pick up players that are highly regarded well down in the draft. I mentioned that with the Russian players, but they do it with some others as well.

I mean we can talk about the past, when they got, you know, Jacob Slavin and Brett Pesce, and, even Alexander Nikishin was a third rounder. So they’ve been able to do very, very well. But, Perron is interesting. You look at some of the ratings on Perron. Dobber Prospects had him at #12. McKeen’s at #34. You know, some of these guys had him pretty high. We got him at #94.

Nick Bass:
In terms of that, I think the biggest thing NHL teams still value is size. Unfortunately for Jayden Perron he’s one of those short kings. If you doubt a short man’s skating ability, anybody under 5’9”, if you doubt their skating ability, it’s really tough to project them in the NHL eventually. The great thing about Perron is that his skating was already good in the USHL in his draft year and during his freshman year at the university of North Dakota it got better and as long as his offensive play making can translate next year, even though he scored a lot of goals, a lot more than his assists, I think he’s got a real shot. I really do like Perron and with a lot of teams kind of passing on him, I think the big thing there is just teams value, size and a lot of the times they’ll take these guys that are bigger and they’ll try and mold them into what they want, instead of just taking the smaller guy who probably has a higher upside down the line. But he’s a boom or bust prospect so you got to hope he booms.

Tom Ray:
Absolutely, and I’m a fan of Perron, as well. I think you know he’s in a great program in North Dakota. Of course, that’s where Jackson Blake came out of, so I think that’s going to help him a lot and a couple more years there and then we’ll see what he can do, but he’s definitely a guy with high skill. Speaking of centers, I wanted to check one other center in some detail, and that’s Sacha Boisvert.

Sacha Boisvert, he’s a guy again with good size. He’s over six feet, he’s about 180 lbs. He’s a guy that definitely is going to bring a lot of skill to the table. He was drafted twice in Quebec junior but decided to go to the US under 18 program and that’s kind of exciting news, and I think he’s a guy that is probably going to go higher in the draft. Elite Prospects had him at 21, McKeen’s at #28. So, he’s right where the Canes are. Flo Hockey had him at #22, and Pronman at #23. If he could slip to #27, I think he might be a real nice addition. What do you think about Sasha Boisvert?

Nick Bass:
Yeah, like I was just talking about with that USHL, the Canes have decided to look harder at that in a lot of recent years. Perron, Blake, and Michael Emerson was another later round guy that ended up getting taken. They like USHL. They’re starting to turn around on it. It’s becoming a better league overall. They’re getting a lot more talent than they used to, so it’s becoming a lot better of a league.

Boisvert is somebody that has an incredible shot. I wouldn’t say it’s anything close to what Nadeau had in his younger year, but he has an incredible shot. His passing ability, even though it’s kind of rush-based and he likes to move a lot in transition, it’s good. Again, the tall 200-foot package might be a little bit of a question mark, but I I never expect young guys to come out of the gate and just be that full 200-foot player, because that is so incredibly rare nowadays. He’s a very good prospect. I like his size. His age is very solid. He likes to throw the body around and anytime you get a guy that’s 6’2”, that understands how to use his body, that is more advanced for his age, always a good thing, because you need to have people like that, and especially now that I see that he’s going to end up at the University of North Dakota.

Yes, there’s another guy that I think might have a chance to get drafted by the Canes, that’s taking that same development path. But, anytime they like it, they really like to stick with certain things and they’ll always try and find one kind of like how Ron Francis always had one person that he had to take. You know he was taking was like his staple. Didn’t really matter if it happened until the later round. They have their thing and as of right now it’s just USHL to college and he would be obviously be a very good add. When I saw he’s going to to North Dakota, I kind of felt the same thing.

Tom Ray:
You know, Cory Pronman is a big proponent of Boisvert. He said “He’s well-liked in the league as a good-size center who can skate, score and make plays and I expect him to be a mid first.” So that’s pretty high regard from Pronman, who usually is pretty close to the mark. So, yeah, if we could get Boisvert I think that’d be a great day for the Hurricanes for sure.

So the Canes defensive situation again, looking at that, you know, down the line the Canes do have some prospects. I mentioned a couple of Swedes a minute ago Forsmark and Nystrom and of course they’ve got Grudinin and a few other players floating around. I think this is an opportunity for them to pick up a heck of a player. And I was going to talk a little bit about Charlie Ellick. So Charlie Ellick to me, he would be kind of interesting. This is a big guy. He’s six foot three. He’s over 200 pounds. He’s rock solid defensively. He’s a great skater for a big man. He’s rated again all over the map Elite Prospects had him at #26. McKeen’s at #45, Chris Peters of FLOHockey had him at #24. And Corey Pronman of The Athletic had him at #32. What would you see if we had a defensive pairing of a Charlie Ellick and Alexander Nikishin?

Nick Bass:
Well, if you ever have a pair of Nikishin/Ellick, I’d be terrified if I was an opposing forward because that 6’4 and 6’3 trying to hit you real hard that would not be a fun time. I really do like Charlie Ellick. He was one of those guys I covered a lot more in depth and I I really do believe in the potential of his defense. He was put into a shutdown role for the Brandon Wheat Kings. He was put into a shutdown role for Canada during the U18s.

He was put into these big shutdown roles and he would continuously provide very good results. Obviously, being 6’3 and a righty, he’s going to be somewhat valuable to anybody. I don’t think there’s any chance he goes later than #40, because, again, big body, right-handed defenseman, you’re going to make a lot of money. It’s just one of those things that always seems to happen. I think there is genuine concern, though, about his offense. There’s flashes of his play making ability, trying to transition the puck from his own zone and out. The issue is that play making has been sporadic and even when he’s using it a lot more, it’s kind of shaky. It doesn’t connect all the time. It might lead to a turnover. I compared him to guys like Kaiden Guhle for Montreal and Brayden Schneider from New York. I love both those players and I do think Ellick can get there. I just do have genuine concern about his offense. That would warrant some drawback if he gets to your pick and he’s on the board.

Tom Ray:
He would pair nicely with with an offensive-minded defenseman and somebody that can move the puck quickly, and certainly there are those that that are available that could also be considerations in the future. Yeah, I agree with you. I do see this, and in some of the highlights I’ve seen of Charlie Ellick, he seems to have a pretty good shot.

Nick Bass:
He seems to get it on net and creates opportunities, so I think that’s a good part of his game as well, his shot gets through a lot more than normal, but I think that’s just a proponent of being six foot three and having decent lateral movement skating wise you can you can. You can kind of just move and make your own space and get a shot off. I do like his shot, though his shot’s a lot better than his passing ability, which says something.

Tom Ray:
So I think if we look at what people are saying about him, I think clearly he’s a guy that is a physical defender who takes care of his own end, especially well. “Skating ability is a standout trait, which is why I think he can potentially be a top four shutdown defenseman in the league.” That’s Chris Peters of FLOHockey. He usually knows what he’s talking about. Scott Wheeler of the Athletic said this, “led by standout physical attributes and excellence, skating both forward and backward. Ellick is a steady, engaged defender with real defensive upside and a developing offensive game.” So, Wheeler thinks he’s making progress on the offensive side as well. So, high praise for Charlie Ellick.

Nick Bass:
I think Ellick can get there offensively. It’s just a matter of can he? I think he could and his offensive game can be very serviceable and translatable, especially to the NHL. It is just a matter of can he get there.

Tom Ray:
Well, something interesting also about Charlie Ellick. McKeen’s does this skills analysis and they have a top 10 in a number of different skills and with Charlie Ellick, he was in the top 10 of Best Defensive Defender and Best Body Checker/Most Physical. So, that’s high praise for health.

Nick Bass:
Yeah, and that came through on my viewings of him. I watched him with the Canada U18s. I watched him with a lot with Brandon. It’s just his defensive game. He can read a play very well. He’s a lot more of a proactive defenseman than maybe a reactive one, even though his reactions are very good.

Obviously, being six foot three, his stick is going to be a little bit longer, which makes it a little bit easier to play and one of his favorite things is, if a player is trying to run it, take a run at him and try and go around him. He just doesn’t let it happen. He kind of just throws himself and throws his body weight at the player in a manner to just break the seal of the stick to the puck and the player in the puck, and most of the time it works out, so can’t complain.

Tom Ray:
You know, when I talked about those top 10 skills with McKeen’s, the next defenseman we’re going to talk about was in there as well, under Best Overall Skater and Best Offensive Defender, and that’s Alfons Frey. Alfons Freij rated again kind of a little bit lower in some cases than where the Canes will be at #27, but this guy’s a pretty interesting prospect. Elite prospects had him at #37, Craig Button at #31, McKeen’s had him at #19, but Corey Pronman had him at #60. What do you know about Alfons Freij?

Nick Bass:
Alfons Freij is an incredible puck mover. He is very, very talented with it. He knows the amount of touch that it needs to go to a certain player. It needs to go hard, fast, it needs to be a saucer, it needs to be slower. He just understands the timing of everything with the puck on his stick, especially in the offensive zone. His skating is incredibly good. Elite Prospects raves about his mechanics, in terms of skating.
Defensively it might be a little bit shaky right now but then again, for defenseman, you either get one guy who is incredible offensively, who may have a lot of downfalls defensively. As of right now and in the same regard you might have a guy that’s incredible defensively but also might have some genuine issues offensively. Alfons would be one of those defensemen that is incredible offensively. He just understands that half of the game. It’s just the other half of the game that might slow him down. I do like him. I like him a lot. In that Corey Pronman mock draft from a few days ago where, unbelievably I give him all the credit in the world he did all seven rounds for every single team. And, I couldn’t believe it. In complete honesty, I can barely sit through doing a Canes mock draft myself. Not that it hurts, but it just takes a while and it uses a lot of your brain power.

Yes, and I think Alfons is very good. I don’t know if he can. I don’t know if he’ll go in the first round. I know he’s rated all over the place and I know in draft rooms it’s going to look a lot weirder because you’re going to see some players listed all over the place. With Freij, I think, late first. If he doesn’t go in the late first, it might be a little while till he does go. But if he’s the pick at #60, I would be ecstatic if he goes. I wouldn’t necessarily take him at #27. I think there’s gonna be a lot better players on the board at #27, but if he falls to #60, I think that’d be a spectacular pick.

Tom Ray:
Yeah, I agree. Interestingly enough, Jeff Svoboda, who writes for the Columbus Blue Jackets did an interesting analysis. He took several of the mock drafts I think 15 of them, and he kind of crunched them all together and, as it turns out, Alfons Freij is tied at number 27. So, that’s interesting. When you look at some of the higher numbers and then some of the lower numbers, he ends up at #27 overall. So, who knows? The other thing about Alfons Freij that I liked is that he does have some size. He’s just over six feet, but he’s almost 200 pounds, so he’s not a skimpy defenseman, he’s got some size back there.

Here’s something that Steven Ellis at Daily Faceoff said. He said “with just some refinement, the 6’1” defenseman could really take the next step in his development. His numbers have been great. Internationally. He’s one of the best offensive defensemen in the Swedish under-20 league.” So, that’s high praise for Freij and it goes along totally with what you said as well, Nick. So yeah, skilled defenseman, really like the guy. Might be a little bit past #27, might be into that second round, but it would be great if the Canes could somehow get Alfons Freij.
Now, moving on to one other area I wanted to talk about which was forwards. We’ve looked at center ice, certainly an area of concern for the Hurricanes prospect-wise, defense, always looking for defensemen, and now looking at the forwards. One of the guys that I’ve really been watching has been Emil Hemming. Now, interestingly enough, in that Jeff Svoboda list he actually had Hemming at 27 as well, tied with Freij. So it seems like the views of Hemming are all over the map Again. Elite Prospects have him at #40, Craig Button at #28, McKeen’s at #25, and Pronman at #40. This guy, good size, he’s got a wicked shot, can skate, seems like an interesting player. What do you know about Emil Hemming?

Nick Bass:
So, I’m one of those people that really enjoys playing NHL’24 game and doing their franchise modes, and I know last year Hemming was very highly regarded. They thought he was going to be a little bit further ahead than where he is now. His shot is something that you don’t see a lot. I think his shot is probably the closest to what you would say Nadeau’s is. It’s just unbelievable. The way the puck comes off his stick and the way he can manipulate where the puck comes off his stick Second to none. It’s something that you cannot teach in players. That is something that is given to you at birth. He is incredible. The one thing I worry about is kind of the other parts of his game Off the puck. Can he really make a difference defensively? I don’t know if it’s one of those things where I focus a lot on defense, just because I do know that’s what the canes value in a lot of these prospects is having some sort of defensive ability. So, I wonder if he can make an impact defensively off the puck. His shot and his skating is going to get him taken highly. He’s probably what I would describe as in this draft as the Finnish Cole Eiserman, where you know his shots good, his skating’s good, it’s the issues of off the puck. Can you make something happen? Now, I will say Hemming played in a lot harder league in my eyes than Eiserman this past year. Eiserman plays in the United States National Team development program which is a very good program Do not get me wrong, I do consider the Liga, the Finnish top league, a lot tougher At that point, you’re playing grown men, grown 20 and 30-year old men. I think Hemming is going to be a great player. I think if he’s there at #27 and a lot of guys are off the board at that point, you’d look at him. I just don’t know if I’d take him at #27. I think he’s an incredible player, though.

Tom Ray:
Well, the interesting thing about Hemming, he’s still 17. So this guy is a younger player coming into the draft. Here’s what Mike Morreale of NHL.com said, and I think he’s right on “A natural sniper with a good physical presence. Hemming plays a power forward-type game. The 17-year-old right-hand shot is strong on his skates and difficult to contain down low.” I think he’s a guy you’d really like to have him in your lineup two or three years from now if he can grow that defensive side of his game. As you say, guys that can shoot like that and score like that, they’re hard to come by. So yeah, I’m kind of hopeful Hemming is the name they call.

Nick Bass:
I did not realize that Hemming was 17. That’s another thing. The Hurricanes have made it not known, as they’ve kind of done in recent years, shown with Nadeau and, especially Felix Unger Sorum, that they will take guys that are younger in their draft year because Felix isn’t even 19 yet. He’s still 18 years old. That is ridiculous for a guy that is already done with his draft year plus one. He is not even 19 years old, when a lot of guys in his class are 19, 20, and 21. And with Hemming being 17, I think that might move me a little bit more, just because I know now that he’s a little bit younger. Also, from that same team, I’m gonna throw out a nice little name. In the later rounds I’ve heard some talk about another TPS player, Kasper Pikkarainen that might be looked at. He’s been talked in the same circles as a person that I talk to a lot who talks to a lot of draft people, as well. He’s heard Kasper Pikkarainen in the same circles as Jayden Perron, and you know the Canes valued Perron last year. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if Kasper Pikkarainen goes. He’s another 17-year-old young winger for TPS. He is 6′ 3”, 200 pounds, right winger with a right-handed shot. He’s a big physical dude. He likes to use his body weight. His offense is kind of interesting. He produced very well for the U20 league and his passing seems to be a little bit more ahead of his shot. I just wanted to kind of throw that name out there as a guy that I’ve kind of heard that might be in contention after the second round.

Tom Ray:
He sounds like he would be a nice addition. One thing for sure, the Canes have to get bigger, and a player like that certainly would have a lot of attraction to them. Looking at another forward now. This is a guy I know you like a lot, Nikita Artamonov, again coming out of Russia. Artamonov is a guy that looks like he’s a real hard worker. He’s not that big, he’s 5’11”, but he’s a guy that has a lot of skill. He’s very young guy playing in the KHL, which is kind of rare. I think last year at his age group he was the number two scorer in the league for 18-year-olds in the KHL. So, he’s definitely a guy that’s on a good trajectory. Elite Prospects had him at #25. McKeen’s had him at #50, which is interesting, but Dobber Prospects had him at #23 and Pronman at #33. Seems like it’s all over the map, but this guy, he looks like a real player and could be an interesting add for the Canes. What do you think about Artamonov?

Nick Bass:
He’s one of the guys I went more in depth on. I really do think Artamonov. He is going to be a that middle six forward at the NHL level that is going to make sure you know where he is on the ice, cause he’s going to be a pest. He’s going to hit you when you have the puck. He’s going to continuously haunt you when you have the puck and when he gets the puck, he is in a very adept play maker. If the puck’s on his stick, he knows where people are. He understands how to get the puck to them. He doesn’t hesitate to shoot either. Elite Prospects had him compared to Michael Bunting, former Cane. After viewing Artamonov a few times, I do agree. Michael Bunting as a Cane, he bounced off players and he was relentless on the fore check and he was a pest after the whistle. And Artamonov seems to be a guy in that exact same caliber. Well, he’ll just hound you, he’ll just go after you. His play making is good and maybe it’s like a 40 to 45, maybe a 50 point guy at the NHL in that middle six third line checking line, second line, maybe a scoring forward. He’d be great. Another guy in Russia that I have taken a look at that seems to have fallen, especially in Cory Pronman’s rating, I don’t know if it’s the russian factor, I think he talked about a little bit was Igor Chernyshov. He is a 18 years old, a lot bigger of a winger. He had him at #27 yesterday going to the Canes likely because of the Russian factor, even though I don’t believe in it. I think it’s kind of dumb to believe in it, but I do know it’s a real thing. If he can somehow hit #27, Chernyshov would be a great pick because he’s big. He is an adept scorer. He’s a good skater for his size. But, Artamonov would also be a very good pick. It just kind of is the matter of who is going to be there at #27 and is the Russian factor ever going to play into a thing with these two guys?

Tom Ray:
Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff said this about Artamonov, “he’s quickly become one of my favorite wingers due to his high end hockey IQ and how he gets into scoring position. Certainly the video that I’ve seen on him shows him exactly that way. So, yeah, he’s an interesting one again. With the Russian prospects, sometimes they can slip, so it might be that the Hurricanes end up with a nugget that we haven’t really thought would end up at #27, because they’re Russians, of course.

Nick Bass:
Another thing when talking about Artamonov, especially when you were mentioning his IQ, that’s another thing that Darren York values incredibly high, is players that have a high hockey IQ at a young age. That plays a huge part into how your skills translate to the NHL level, and having that high IQ is something that I do know the Hurricanes value a lot in their draft picks.

Tom Ray:
Yeah, exactly, and again, I think you know, with the strong Russian connection that we have, it would be great to add some more to the mix, and it helps with them, of course, joining the team where there’s already countrymen available. So I think that’s a real positive for the Hurricanes and I’d be very happy if Nikita, if his name, was called as well. A couple of other guys I wanted to mention, just to see what your thoughts were, that seem to be talked about around #27 fairly frequently. One of them is Leo Sahlin Wallenius, a big defenseman out of Sweden. You’ve got Teddy Stiga. He’s a smallish center in North America playing in the under-20 league. He looks like he’s come a long way in the last year. And also another center man that’s getting a lot of attention but usually is expected to go higher in the draft, and that’s Jett Luchanko. Any of those guys stick out for you, Nick.

Nick Bass:
I do like Sahlin Wallenius. His ability to move the puck is something that you really like, especially in those left-handed defensemen. His skating is very good and as for the back 50 feet in his own zone, he’s a lot better of a player than you would expect for somebody at his age. So I do like Sahlin Wallenius at #27, although I don’t know if I’d be the biggest fan of that pick. I think early second is going to be his perfect spot, maybe mid second.

I do know I have a lot of people that like to talk to me on social media. They really like Teddy Stiga and it’s not that I do not like him. I don’t want that to come across as I don’t like the player. I don’t think he sticks as a center at the NHL level. It’s just one of those things that if you’re a smaller center you’re going to have to work really, really hard to become a full fledged center, because you have to focus so much more than if you would a winger. With wingers you can kind of just stay on your side. You don’t have to worry about the middle. You don’t have to worry about everything defensively taking face-offs and worry about the middle. You don’t have to worry about everything defensively taking face-offs. And, Stiga is an incredible player. I think offensively he is probably at the high end. He could easily be a 60 to 65 point player. The issue is, does he stick as a center at the NHL level? I’m not 100% sure defensively. Will he ever be someone that you can play on a penalty kill or play in like a high leverage situation at the end of a game? I’m not 100% sure, but skill wise I think he’s great and I think that’s why you see he’s so wildly rated all over the board. Bob McKenzie has him at #68, but Elite Prospects has him at #23. He’s such a volatile player in rankings and I think that’s just because there’s a lot of uncertainties in his game. Now you did mention Jett Luchanko. He’s a guy that, in complete honesty, I haven’t looked a ton at. It’s just I don’t know if the Canes really like the player. I don’t have anything source wise, so I’m not 100% sure. I don’t know if Jett Luchanko is a guy that they really look at in a higher regard. I think he’s more of a late second, but like mid second round guy. He’s a good player. He’s a right-handed center and his offensive game took a gigantic step. I like that a lot. But with Sahlin Wallenius and Stiga, I don’t think maybe the worst pick at #27, but they wouldn’t be high up my board of picks I would like to see at #27.

Tom Ray:
He’s a hard-working guy, very industrious. He’s smaller though, which is something I think the canes would shy away from. They need bigger centers. Sahlen Wallenius, he’s good. He’s another guy that is good at everything. He’s a great offensive player. He’s a great skater, just a real nice solid defenseman. But again, there might be better players ahead of him. Luchanko, man, Corey Pronman really likes Luchanko. He had him at #17. He thinks he’s a heck of a player. Now, Luchanko’s playing in the OHL, he’s playing with Guelph. So, maybe that’s something the Canes may not be as interested in. Lots of good players to choose from.

Nick Bass:
Just one last thing, because I know I mentioned Kasper Pikkarainen, another late-round guy I think the Hurricanes might look at, just because I’ve done a lot of research into this draft, is Max Swanson. He’s one of the smaller players in the line of Jayden Perron, where he produced at a high level in the USHL. He’s a little bit smaller, but at that same point, he’s going to the University of North Dakota and, like Perron, he is a very high-end playmaker and he is a very solid skater. So, he might get there.