Top 5 Prospects of the Month: November 2024

What a weird month

By Nick Bass

Welcome back to everyone’s favorite series on the internet, where I go over what Carolina Hurricanes prospects had the best month in terms of production and give everyone those updates. With October wrapping up, prospect hockey is fully back in the swing of things, which should mean no more months with guys sneaking in while only playing 3 games. As a reminder, this is not a list of where they rank amongst prospects. This is just for the given month.

This month, the Chicago Wolves have found their game and you will see a few of their prospects on this month’s list. I would also like to take a moment of silence, as this will be the first Top 5 Prospects list in the history that they have been running (since January of 2024) that Alexander Nikishin doesn’t make. I touched on what’s going on with Nikishin in the November 30th edition of 15 Thoughts, so go read that if you didn’t, or don’t. With that said, let’s get underway with some Honorable Mentions.

HM: Roman Shokhrin, D (Loko, MHL): 7 GP, 1 goal, 6 assists, 7 points

HM: Domenick Fensore, D (Chicago Wolves, AHL): 10 GP, 0 goals, 6 assists, 6 points

HM: Justin Robidas, C (Chicago Wolves, AHL): 10 GP, 3 goals, 3 assists, 6 points

Domenick Fensore has been someone that is incredibly fun to watch. Everyone will immediately point out his height but when you watch him play, you really don’t notice it because of his skating ability. Fensore can legitimately skate circles around a good amount of players and he uses that ability to his advantage. That pair of Fensore-Legault has been incredibly enjoyable to watch and has been a godsend for the Wolves.

In a piece that I wrote a while ago looking at the Wolves roster, I was bullish on Justin Robidas. I said his high level of compete and offensive game would be perfect for a 3rd line center role. In that 3rd line role that Robidas has now taken over, Robidas has been awesome. Mainly, he has developed in the Wolves’ number 1 penalty killing forward and he excels in that role. He’s a buzzsaw when forechecking and will give opposing forwards hell in board battles.

5. Ryan Suzuki, C (Chicago Wolves, AHL)

First line center Ryan Suzuki has arrived in full force and I couldn’t be happier. In 10 games in November, Suzuki had no goals and 7 assists for 7 points. He’s been a key piece on the power play and the penalty kill and his line of Lemieux/Jaaska-him-Nadeau has developed into a true first line in the AHL. I’ve said it before but this version of Ryan Suzuki is an NHL player and I’m holding out hope it happens this year.

Season stats: 17 GP, 1 goal, 11 assists, 12 points

4. Andrei Krutov, W (Torpedo-Gorky, VHL)

It was pet day recently in Russia, and now everyone has learned that this is Krutov’s cat, Boomer.

Andrei Krutov took being sent down to the MHL personally and has come back like a player who doesn’t want to play at the level again. In 11 games in November, Krutov posted 5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points. His shot, while maybe not as good as a Bradly Nadeau or a Fyodor Avramov or a Justin Poirier, his shot is accurate and quick. Krutov’s ability with his hands and the ability to weave in and out of defenders to make plays keeps him afloat in the Torpedo-Gorky lineup.

Season stats: 28 GP, 11 goals, 7 assists, 18 points (split between MHL/VHL)

3. Noel Gunler, W (Chicago Wolves, AHL)

Speaking of “players I enjoy watching when they are fully healthy”, seeing Noel Gunler doing well just makes me happy. After battling through injuries for the past two years, Gunler is finally healthy and showing why he was a second round pick back in 2020. He’s been bringing along the second unit of the Wolves’ power play by being their shooter and Gunler can get some real power behind his shots. A 6-game point streak, with a 4-game goal streak included, has helped Gunler regain his confidence to be the player the Hurricanes drafted him to be.

Season stats: 17 GP, 5 goals, 3 assists, 8 points

2. Justin Poirier, W (Baie-Comeau Drakkar, QMJHL)

The “Justin Poirier Rule”, as a reminder, is while Justin Poirier is doing incredible things, other leagues where prospects are playing against hockey players much older and more experienced than them are going to be valued slightly more. But it’s really hard to keep Poirier away from the top, as he continues his absolutely historic pace on track to back-to-back 50 goal seasons. In the month of November, Poirier had 12 goals and 6 assists for 18 points in just 11 games. He’s currently tied for 3rd in points in the QMJHL, while also holding on to 2nd place in goals.

Season stats: 24 GP, 22 Goals, 16 Assists, 38 Points

1. Scott Morrow, RHD (Chicago Wolves, AHL)

Scott Morrow is the new World Heavyweight Prospect of the month! The Wolves have slowly been finding out the team that they can be, winning 4 out of their last 6 games and Scott Morrow is playing a big role in it. In the month of November, Morrow had 3 goals and 5 assists for 8 points in 10 games. Now, I understand that 4 of these points came in one game, but Morrow has been making leaps and bounds in his development over the last month. He’s become a regular on the penalty kill, the power play is slowly becoming more threatening, and his work 5v5 is getting a lot more refined.

Season Stats: 17 Games Played, 5 Goals, 6 Assists, 11 Points