***
The 32-in-32 Series is an annual event here at DobberProspects! Every day in August we will be bringing you a complete breakdown of a team’s draft, and insights into their off-season movements thus far. Following this up in September, we will dive into every team’s prospect depth chart with fantasy insights and implications for the upcoming seasons. Check back often, because we plan on filling your hockey withdrawal needs all off-season long!
***
It feels like a rinse-and-repeat season for the Carolina Hurricanes, even after finally making a move for a rental at the trade deadline which they had not done in a very long time, that being trading for Jake Guentzel. The Canes were great in the regular season, started strong in the playoffs, but then floundered out in the second round due to a mix of goaltending miscues and never getting goals when they needed it. Going into next season, though, they have re-tooled in a way to allow some younger players to potentially make the team and revamp pieces of the defense by bringing in Sean Walker and Shayne Gostisbehere.
The Canes also added upfront with the additions of Jack Roslovic, William Carrier, Tyson Jost, and Eric Robinson. Roslovic and Carrier are primed to be middle-six wingers while both Jost and Robinson are going to be fighting for playing time on the bottom line or in Chicago with the Wolves at the AHL level. Other than that, the Canes mainly focused on adding pieces to head to the Chicago Wolves after finally putting to rest the AHL situation that plagued prospects and the Wolves last year.
It is going to mainly be the same group as the year before, which was good enough to get them to the second round in the previous year. Losing Guentzel is going to hurt a good amount as he was a 40-goal scorer that the Hurricanes had not had in a very long time, but it seems like they are going to trust in some younger prospects to potentially bolster the top-six instead of going out and acquiring a talent to play there. To add to the rinse-and-repeat season feel, it was another solid NHL entry draft for the Canes, even without a first-round pick.
***
Draft Recap
Round 2, pick 34 – Dominik Badinka, D
After trading out of pick 27 in the first round, the Carolina Hurricanes made Dominik Badinka their first player taken in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. Ranked 14th on Central Scouting’s list of European skaters, Badinka is a smart, all-around defenseman who played up to 22 minutes per night as a 17-year-old with the Malmo Redhawks in the SHL. It was a tale of two players for Badinka in his draft year, with the offensive production showing up in his minutes in the J20 Nationell league and his defensive ability showing up in his time with Malmo.
With Malmo’s J20 team, Badinka had 13 points in 17 games while with Malmo at the SHL level, he had four points in 33 games. Staying up in the senior league before turning 18 years old is something not a lot of young defensemen can do but Badinka did it and did quite well in those minutes. Badinka sees Brent Burns as a player he models his game after, and he even got to speak with Burns after being drafted!
https://x.com/Canes/status/1807212830392730095
Round 2, pick 50 – Nikita Artamonov, LW
A high-motor forward who has an incredible hockey IQ, Artamonov is an energizer bunny on the ice. He worked his way into being a trusted forward for Torpedo in the KHL, playing in 59 total games for them and gathering seven goals and 23 points in those games. He also spent some time at the MHL level, where he had 11 points in 13 games. Artamonov bounces from player to player on the forecheck, always wanting to separate them from the puck and he does it at a rather high rate. Ranked 19th on Central Scouting’s list of European skaters, Artamonov has a playmaker’s touch with a forechecking mind, which is something not seen too often in 18-year-old players. Described by AGM Darren Yorke, “He can play a bunch of different styles. He can get in on the forecheck, he can go and make plays.”
https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/draft-knowledge-learn-more-about-carolina-s-picks
Round 3, pick 69 – Noel Fransen, D
An all-out offensive defenseman, Fransen is an interesting player. Putting up almost a point-per-game with Farjestad’s J20 Nationell team (44 points in 45 games) as well as getting his SHL debut and staying with Farjestad for four games, it was a good draft year for Fransen. His playmaking stands out above all else, with his shot and his skating being solid attributes to a very well-rounded offensive game. Fransen will have to develop on the defensive side but he’s already a player that has powerplay quarterback potential at the next level.
Round 4, pick 124 – Alexander Siryatsky, D
One of the youngest players in the 2024 draft, Siryatsky is a rangy defender who understands the defensive side much more than the offensive side. His IQ is good for a player his age but he takes every simple play that the defense gives him which limits his ceiling a good amount. Putting up 23 points in 42 games at the MHL level, there seems to be some level of playmaking locked within Siryatsky, but he will need the correct coaching to get it out of him at the higher levels of hockey.
Round 5, pick 133 – Oskar Vuollet, LW
Ranked as the 90th International skater by Central Scouting, Vuollet is an incredibly cerebral player, always knowing where his teammates are on the ice and how to get them the puck. His shot is also solid which is shown by his production at the J20 Nationell level, that being 29 goals and 32 assists in 41 regular season games. In the playoffs, Vuollet was the top goal scorer even though he only played in nine games, putting up 14 goals and 21 points. He also got an extended run at the SHL level with Skelleftea and even though he did not produce a point, he played the same way he did for them as he did at the J20 Nationell level, which is important for younger prospects who normally change the way they play to stay with the senior team. One of the drawbacks of Vuollet’s game is that he doesn’t utilize the middle of the ice all that often, mostly trying to keep his game on the perimeter. This played to his advantage as he sees extended power play time on the bumper with Skelleftea at the SHL level, which he can translate to the NHL level easier than others.
Round 5, pick 156 – Justin Poirier, RW
The Hurricanes have a type, that being smaller players who produce at great levels in juniors who they hope can keep developing into players. The biggest example of that “boom or bust” level player in this year’s draft class is Justin Poirier. Scoring 51 goals and adding 31 assists for 82 points in 68 regular season games is absurd, even for a higher-scoring league like the QMJHL. On top of that, scoring 18 goals in 17 games while also tallying 27 points in the playoffs is something that cannot be ignored. Poirier’s shot is close to NHL-ready, even as a 17-year-old, his skating, while it might not be the prettiest, is also a very good asset in his game. Combine that with his compete level and his physicality and you have a good player. The drawback with Poirier is that he is undersized, standing at 5-8. If he grows, spectacular but even if he doesn’t, Poirier has a real shot of being an NHL player who gets power play time if he continues the upward trajectory in his development.
https://x.com/MikLalancette/status/1780767420296167605/video/1
Round 6, pick 168 – Timur Kol, D
To start the run of Russian players, the Hurricanes selected the massive Timur Kol, who stands at 6-4 and 205 pounds. Playing at three different levels of Russian hockey, Kol played 47 games combined at the KHL, MHL, and VHL teams in the Avangard Omsk system, gathering 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points. Described as “boring, but effective”, Kol is a solid defensive defenseman who has some playmaking potential, but it didn’t show up at the KHL level. A super raw player outside of that, Kol could be an effective bottom-pairing guy at the NHL level one day.
Round 6, pick 184 – Roman Shokhrin, D
A gigantic human being, Roman Shokhrin stands at 6-5 and 205 pounds at just 18 years old. A good thing for Shokhrin is that he understands he is bigger than almost everyone at the MHL level, so he uses his excess physicality in the right ways most of the time, just barreling over offensive players and separating them from the puck with relative ease. Offensively, Shokhrin has rather solid hands, being able to make moves around defenders to get as deep in the zone as possible. Production-wise, he managed two goals and 14 points in 36 games with both Loko-76 and Loko Yaroslavl at the MHL level. Shokhrin, just like Kol, projects as a decent bottom-pairing NHL defenseman with the right development path.
Round 6, pick 188 – Fyodor Avramov, LW
The first player to be drafted from Kapitan Stupino since Pyotr Kochetkov, Avramov is a physical forward who has a good shot. One thing to understand with Avramov is that his team was rather not good in the 2023/24 season, as Avramov’s 44 points in 49 games were the best on his team and better than the next closest player by 15 points. There is a lot to like about Avramov’s game, that is his physicality for his size (6-3, 190 pounds), his shot and his willingness to use it, and his offensive ability. Avramov needs to clean up the rest of his game outside of that, but he has a strong base to build off going forward.
Round 7, pick 220 – Andrei Krutov, LW
The final player to be taken by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2024 NHL Draft, Krutov is a smaller but incredibly skilled forward playing for Chaika Nizhny Novgorod in the MHL. In 55 games, Krutov had 28 goals and 32 assists for 60 points, with 7 of those goals coming in the playoffs. Krutov’s puckhandling stands out the most when watching him, viewing defenders as nothing but inanimate objects in the way between him and the goalie. His stickhandling bag is incredibly deep, always finding a new way to make moves around defenders. If he can keep improving the other aspects of his game that have fallen behind in his development, there can be a legit NHL player there. As things look right now, this is just a “pick a player and hope he gets there” pick that you can’t be mad at in the 7th round.
*****
Off-season Moves
Incoming
William Carrier signed a six-year contract
Tyson Jost signed a one-year contract
Shayne Gostisbehere signed a three-year contract
Sean Walker signed a five-year contract
Riley Stillman signed a one-year contract
Jack Roslovic signed a one-year contract
Josiah Slavin signed a two-year contract
Joakim Ryan signed a one-year contract
Outgoing
Jake Guentzel, Traded
Teuvo Teravainen, UFA
Stefan Noesen, UFA
Brady Skjei, UFA
Brett Pesce, UFA
Tony Deangelo, UFA
Max Comtois, UFA
Dylan Coghlan, Traded
Blake Murray, UFA
Tuukka Tieksola, UFA
Antti Raanta, UFA
Re-signed
Jaccob Slavin re-signed to an eight-year contract
Jordan Martinook re-signed to a three-year contract
Ryan Suzuki re-signed to a one-year contract
Jalen Chatfield re-signed to a three-year contract
Ty Smith re-signed to a one-year contract
Jack Drury re-signed to a two-year contract
Martin Necas re-signed to a two-year contract
Dominik Badinka signed a three-year entry-level contract
Joel Nystrom signed a two-year entry-level contract
Charles-Alexis Legault signed a three-year entry-level contract
Ruslan Khazheyev signed a three-year entry-level contract
*****
Development Camp
The Carolina Hurricanes held their development camp from July 8th to July 10th and showcased the future of the Hurricanes. Even though only two draft picks from the 2024 Draft were able to attend, the camp featured a healthy contingent of players who might be ready to take the next step in their development. Among the many on-ice activities, the players also took part in practices to help their future lives as adults, including cooking.
https://x.com/Canes/status/1811415838039179383
During the ending of the scrimmage on the last day was a shootout which included a nifty move from 2021 draft pick, Joel Nystrom.
https://x.com/WaltRuff/status/1811145201773138218
While it has not been announced, fans can look forward to seeing the prospects next at the Prospects Showcase Tournament hosted by the Nashville Predators which will feature prospect teams from the Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, and Tampa Bay Lightning. This Tournament will take place sometime in September.
*****
Final Thoughts
It’s been a very low-key offseason for the Hurricanes besides the loss of Jake Guentzel and rumors of a Martin Necas trade that dissipated after he signed an extension. Re-tooling the defense and hoping a prospect can step up in place of losing players like Teravainen and Guentzel seems like their plan heading into next season. Re-affiliating at the AHL level is going to be a big help in terms of development for these prospects who have recently signed their entry-level deals or had to play elsewhere besides North America last season. Other than that, it seems like another year where the term “We like our group” stands true and tall.
Nick Bass