Carolina Hurricanes: Top 8 prospects worth getting excited about
6. Morgan Geekie
The 2019-20 season saw forward Morgan Geekie make his debut late in the year, and he certainly made the most of it. In his first ever NHL game, the 22-year-old scored a hat trick and added one assist in a 6-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. He played just one more game with the team before the regular season shut down due to the pandemic, but returned in the summer to suit up for all eight of their Stanley Cup Playoff games. He wasn’t able to keep up his hot start, adding just one assist, but suiting up for every game says a lot about how the coaching staff feels about him.
While his current NHL point per game pace is obviously not sustainable, Geekie does have a lot of offensive talent. The 2019-20 season marked his second in the AHL, and he was able to score 22 goals and 42 points in 55 games with the Checkers. It is also important to keep in mind he was just 21-years-old for the entirety of the season. Unfortunately, he was unable to make the Carolina Hurricanes main roster out of camp this year, instead being assigned to the Taxi Squad. If the team sustains an injury or two, we will likely see Geekie get inserted into the lineup where he will have a chance to stick permanently if he plays like last season.
5. Jack Drury
If Jack Drury continues playing like he has this season, he may climb even higher up this list in the near future. The nephew of longtime NHLer Chris Drury, chose to head to the SHL this season due to college hockey being postponed, and it has proven early on to be a great decision. Despite being the youngest player on the team at just 20-years-old, he is third in goals with nine and fourth in points with 22 through just 31 games played.
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It’s not like putting up big numbers is new for Drury, though not many would have thought he would have had this much success in one of the best leagues in the world given his age. Last season saw him play as a sophomore for Harvard University, where he had 20 goals and 39 points in just 28 contests. His 20 goals led the team by a long shot, while his 39 points trailed only Leafs prospect Nick Abruzzese, who had 44. Picking up Drury in the Second-Round (No. 42 overall) of the 2018 Draft is looking like a very nice move by the Canes.