Carolina Hurricanes: Top 8 prospects worth getting excited about
Though they don’t get talked about as much as some other star-studded teams, the Carolina Hurricanes have quietly become a very good hockey club.
Not only have they made the Playoffs the last two straight years, but they also advanced all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2019.
Obviously, a huge reason for this is the talent they have. Up front, they have arguably the most underrated forward in the league in Sebastian Aho, along with other underrated talents in Teuvo Teravainen and Andrei Svechnikov. Then there is the blueline, which is one of the best in the entire league. It consists of guys like Dougie Hamilton (who was a Norris Trophy frontrunner prior to being injured last season), Jaccob Slavin, and Brett Pesce.
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Another big reason for them turning into the team they have is due to Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour. The 50-year-old has been their Head Coach since the 2018-19 season, and has immediately turned the franchise around. By all accounts, players love playing for the former NHL veteran who suited up for 1,484 career NHL games himself, a run that included winning the Stanley Cup as Captain of the Hurricanes in 2005-06. With him behind the bench, along with their young talent beginning to mature, they could be in for an even better 2020-21 season.
As if all of what was said above wasn’t good enough, the Hurricanes have even more going for them, boasting what many consider to be the best prospect pool in the entire NHL. Many of the players on this list are close to being NHL ready, and will soon enough (possibly this season) be helping the Hurricanes as they look to achieve the ultimate goal of a Stanley Cup Championship, something they have not done since 2006.
As mentioned in every other Top 8 Prospects article throughout this series, any player who has played in more NHL games than any other league in a season, regardless of the season, will not be included.
Top 8 Prospects in the Carolina Hurricanes Farm System
8. Joey Keane
In mid-February of 2020, the Carolina Hurricanes chose to trade away prospect Julien Gauthier, who they had taken in the First-Round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, in exchange for defenseman Joey Keane. At the time of the trade, Gauthier was tearing it up in the AHL with the Charlotte Checkers, posting 26 goals in 44 games. Moving a prospect that offensively gifted speaks volumes to how high the Hurricanes brass thinks of Keane.
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Keane, 21, was taken in the Third-Round (No. 88 overall) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers. Last season marked his first as a pro, and he certainly impressed with 30 points in 49 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL. Those numbers are solid for any defenseman, let alone one who was 20-years-old for the entire season. His offense continued when he was traded, as he put up seven points in nine games with the Checkers. He will spend the 2020-21 season in the AHL as well, and look to further improve on his point totals from last season.
7. Anttoni Honka
Anttoni Honka is a highly debated prospect when it comes to ranking him on the Hurricanes depth chart. Some believe he is in their top five, while others (myself included) aren’t as high on him. While he is extremely talented, he is very small for a defenseman, listed at just five-foot-nine, 170 pounds. He is still just 20-years-old however, so he may still be able to add some size.
Honka, who was taken 83rd overall by the Canes at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, has spent the majority of the last three seasons in the SM-liiga, and is currently in his fourth. Last season was his most impressive to date, as he put up 19 points in 43 games for JYP HT Jyvaskyla. So far this year, he has appeared in 22 games, posting seven points. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to the North American style of play whenever he decides to give it a try.
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.
4. Jamieson Rees
No prospect on this list had a better improvement from one year to the next than OHL forward Jamieson Rees. The 19-year-old was taken in the Second-Round (No. 44 overall) in 2019 after posting 32 points in 37 games for the Sarnia Sting. There is nothing wrong with those numbers, but they certainly weren’t good enough to have him be considered as the team’s fourth best prospect.
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The 2019-20 season was Rees’ true coming out party, as he put up 18 goals and 61 points in just 38 games. Many thought he had deserved to be on Team Canada’s roster for the 2021 World Junior Tournament that just took place, but unfortunately for him he was one of the last players they decided to cut. It shouldn’t concern anyone however, as Team Canada had a stacked lineup this year. Rees is a fantastic player, and has a chance to become a very good NHLer in a few years.
3. Jake Bean
The best prospect the Carolina Hurricanes have on the backend is Jake Bean. It has taken the 22-year-old defenseman longer than some had hoped to make it to the NHL, but a big reason for that is simply due to the talent this team already possesses on their blueline. Regardless, it appears that Bean is now with the Hurricanes for good. Unfortunately for him, he won’t be on the main roster to start the 2020-21 season as it was announced he is part of their Taxi Squad, but given Rod Brind’Amour’s comments on how impressive he has been at camp, it is likely he will find his way into game action sooner than later.
Bean’s offensive skill has Canes fans very excited about what the future holds. Last season, his second in the AHL, he put up a team leading 48 points, 10 of which were goals, in 59 games. This was a big uptick on his already impressive rookie season in which he had 44 points in 70 games. The main concern with Bean since he has been drafted is his somewhat questionable play in the defensive zone. Still, there is no denying his raw talent, and it should only be a matter of time before he is putting up big numbers at the NHL level.
2. Ryan Suzuki
Canes fans were able to watch their second best prospect represent Team Canada at the World Juniors earlier this month. Ryan Suzuki, who is the younger brother of Montreal Canadiens forward Nick, had a solid tournament, posting two goals and four points in seven games. He has been apart of the Carolina Hurricanes organization since being selected 28th overall at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
The 19-year-old forward was drafted after his second season in the OHL for the Barrie Colts in which he scored 25 goals and 75 points in 65 games played. Those totals likely would have been better if he had any help, as the next highest scorer on his team that year was St. Louis Blues prospect Tyler Tucker, who had just 59. The following season, he was off to a somewhat disappointing start with the Colts, posting just 23 points in 21 games before being traded to the Saginaw Spirit. The trade helped get him back on track, as he ended the year off with 35 points in his final 23 games. He may not be as offensively talented as his brother, but he has all the tools to become an impactful NHLer.
1. Seth Jarvis
Another player who was one of the last cuts from Team Canada at this year’s World Juniors was Seth Jarvis. The reason he is first on this list while Suzuki, who made the team, is second is due to the fact that Jarvis is a year younger. The 18-year-old forward, who was taken 13th overall at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, had a fantastic 2019-20 season in the WHL for the Portland Winterhawks, registering 42 goals and 98 points in just 58 games. His 98 points were second in the entire league, trailing only Adam Beckman who had 107.
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Unfortunately for Jarvis, like many others, he has not been able to play in any games this season due to the pandemic. Last month, the WHL announced they were pushing back their January 8 start date due to a rising number of COVID-19 cases.
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For Jarvis’ and many other players sake, hopefully the league will start up at some point, but it is starting to seem less and less likely. While the year lost would be a huge bummer, he is still a fantastic talent and will be fine in the long run. The Carolina Hurricanes have a potential superstar in the making here.