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The 32-in-32 Series is an annual event here at DobberProspects and has been condensed from two articles to one. The article will bring you: The highlighted team’s draft; insights into its off-season moves; looking at prospect risers, fallers and likely prospects to play NHL games; and of course, the writers’ top-20 prospects. Articles may be brought back when an important team update occurs, so check back because we plan to fill your hockey withdrawal needs all off-season! 

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Make sure to check out the Carolina Hurricanes team page here: https://dobberprospects.com/team/carolina-hurricanes/

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After yet another earlier than expected exit in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Carolina Hurricanes decided to shake up some of the long standing pieces of their team and try to further advance their brand of hockey for deeper and sustained playoff runs, seeking the team’s first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 2009. Trading and signing defenseman K’Andre Miller fits the bill for big, rangy defenseman that Carolina have coveted in the draft over the past two to three years. Finally landing the “big fish” of unrestricted free agency in Nikolaj Ehlers, who might not be as high of a superstar as their two previous attempts (Jake Guentzel and Mikko Rantanen), but one who should fit the offensive ideology well. Losing veteran defense Brent Burns and Dmitri Orlov might seem like a big loss on paper, but bringing in the aforementioned Miller and finally seeing a full season of North American hockey from top prospect Alexander Nikishin should easily replace both Orlov and Burns. Going into next season, it is yet another season of cup or bust for the Hurricanes.

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NHL Draft Recap

Round 2, 41st overall: Semyon Frolov, G

If there was a clear need within the Hurricanes prospect pool, it was goalie. Nobody outside of Ruslan Khazheyev really stood out and the depth was depleted further with the loss of Patrik Hamrla after his rights expired. Frolov immediately becomes the number one goalie in the Hurricanes system and there is a lot to like about the guy some scouts had ranked as the number one goalie in the 2025 Draft. He is mechanically sound with great skating ability. He has the prototypical size that you would like in an NHL goalie, standing 6-3 and just around 200 pounds. He has a knack for the fantastical, being able to make highlight reel saves like nothing. This is also his downside, as right now his style in net is much more chaotic than a normal NHL goalie and something that needs to be toned down and calmed down in the future. But make no mistake, Frolov is a potential 1A starter at the NHL level.

Semyon Frolov is one of the top 2025 draft-eligible goalies to know. The Russian netminder brings a good blend of size, clean movements, technical positioning and sharp play-tracking

I've only just started following him but so far I've seen a lot to like and no major weaknesses pic.twitter.com/9bxud3OIpK

— Derek Neumeier (@Derek_N_NHL) October 4, 2024

Round 2, 49th overall: Charlie Cerrato, C

If there was a clear secondary need within the Hurricanes prospect pool, it was center. With Ryan Suzuki on the older side for a prospect and Justin Robidas might not have the highest potential, even though he made his NHL debut this season and has looked really solid at the professional level, the prospects down the middle looked none too great. Enter Cerrato, a ferocious two-way center who will never, ever give up on a play and thrives in intense situations. A double overager in the 2025 draft, his great freshman season for an upstart Penn State team led him to being taken higher than most projected, but that does not mean this was not warranted. He might not have the highest ceiling of a player, capping out around a middle six center, but his floor all but makes up for that, as this is a player that could play NHL games within the next calendar year. He’s a natural center who has a high level of compete and a solid all around game that teams, especially the Hurricanes, love.

Round 2, 61st overall: Ivan Ryabkin, C/W

Going into the year as a potential top five pick, Ryabkin had an “interesting” draft year. Moving around a ton in the Dynamo Moscow system, then moving from Russia to the USHL and the Muskegon Lumberjacks, and then eventually winning the USHL Championship with Muskegon while looking solid in those playoffs games. With rumored red flags surrounding him and a decent fall on draft day, has there ever been a more Carolina Hurricanes-branded draft pick? The team bets on the upside of a player and hopes the kinks work themselves out. Talent wise, he’s a hyper skilled offensive player with a great shot, good playmaking, and an impressive physical game, even with his slightly smaller stature. Skating might be a question mark but again, they’re betting on the pure skill, which Ryabkin possesses. If the talent ends up panning out, this is a top ten to fifteen talent in the 2025 draft and a top six forward with power play one potential.

Ivan Ryabkin x A.J. & Big Justice#2025NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/PDscyxKCoT

— dylan griffing (@GriffingDylan) November 17, 2024

Round 3, 67th overall: Kurban Limatov, D

One trend that the Hurricanes have loved over the past year has been big defenseman that have skating as their best attribute out of the draft. Limatov fits that trend perfectly, as the 6-4 lefty was regarded as one of the best skaters in this class. His four way mobility is impressive, both as someone of his size as well as his age. He has a good understanding of how to chip in offensively, mainly being able to help transitional offense. Combine that with a solid defensive game and you have a defenseman that probably should have been taken higher than where he was, something which most scouts predicted.

Round 3, 87th overall: Roman Bausov, D

When the Hurricanes were doing a post draft recap, AGM Darren Yorke mentioned a want for “defensemen that can take away time and space.” Bausov is a perfect example of one of those defenders. Standing 6-5, Bausov easily takes away time and space with both his reach and his excellent skating ability. He has the ability to close out attackers and push them towards the boards, where he can rub them out with his physical presence. He will need to find a more consistent offensive game going forward in his development, but the strong base of his skating and his physical play creates an intriguing project prospect to monitor going forward.

Round 6, 183 overall: Viggo Nordlund, W

Nordlund is an example of a prototypical Hurricanes pick in the later rounds. He has all the skill in the world, having a good shot and better passing ability, and a solid skating foundation. But the downside is obvious, with Nordlund only being 5-9. Again, they bet on the offensive talent that Nordlund has and hope that he can continue to adapt to his smaller size and become a more complete player.

Round 7, 221 overall: Filip Ekberg, W

Ekberg seems like a solid bet on offensive talent, as he dominated players his own age on the international level but had a down scoring season in the OHL, aided by the fact that the Ottawa 67s were not that good and he dealt with injuries during the year. Ekberg is a smart playmaker who thrives in small area situations. His skating has some question marks surrounding it and the shot might not be a plus attribute at higher levels of hockey, but the hockey IQ and playmaking makes for an intriguing bet.

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Off-season moves

Incoming

• Nikolaj Ehlers, W: 8 years, $8.5 million AAV
• K’Andre Miller, D: 8 years, $7.5 million AAV
• Mike Reilly, D: 1 year, $1.1 million AAV
• Gavin Bayreuther, D: 1 year, $775k AAV
• Cayden Primeau, G: 1 year, $775k AAV
• Amir Miftakhov, G: 1 year, $775k AAV

Outgoing

• Riley Stillman, D: Signed with the Edmonton Oilers
• Scott Morrow, D: Traded to the New York Rangers
• Spencer Martin, G: Signed with CSKA Moscow in the KHL
• Brent Burns, D: Signed with the Colorado Avalance
• Dmitri Orlov, D: Signed with the San Jose Sharks
• Ty Smith, D: Signed with Dinamo Minsk in the KHL

Re-signed

• Logan Stankoven, W: 8 years, $6 million AAV
• Jackson Blake, W: 8 years, $5.1 million AAV
• Tyson Jost, C: 1 year, $775k AAV
• Noel Gunler, W: 1 year, $813,750 AAV
• Skyler Brind’Amour, C: 1 year, $775k AAV
• Domenick Fensore, D: 1 year, $775k AAV
• Ronan Seeley, D: 1 year, $813,750 AAV
• Ryan Suzuki, C: 1 year, $775k AAV

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In the System

Risers

Charles-Alexis Legault, D: One of the best rookie defenseman in the AHL this past season, he did not get a ton of recognition for his play due to his style, being much more defensive oriented. But Legault was one of the most important defenseman for a young Chicago Wolves team, being heavily relied on for the penalty kill, where he was normally the first defenseman on the ice, and for tight game situations. His overall defensive play combined with the fact that he plays with a mean streak moved him up the prospect rankings and moved up his NHL ETA by a year or two.

Bradly Nadeau, W: Nadeau was already one of the best prospects in the Canes system, but 32 goals in the AHL before turning 20-years-old moves him into the upper echelon of all forward prospects across the NHL. His World Juniors with Team Canada was not great, due to a litany of reasons outside of his control, but he used that fuel from loss and turned it into a raging fire in the second half of the AHL year. Nadeau is going to be a top six NHL winger, and it is just a matter of when.

Timur Kol, D: A sixth round pick in 2024, most did not expect Kol to play the role he did this year for SKA St-Petersburg, that being the seventh defenseman at the KHL level as just an 18-year-old. While his playing time was still lower at the highest level of Russian professional hockey, he was outright stellar in the MHL playoffs for SKA-1946, helping the team to a Championship appearance and being named the best defenseman in the final. He is a smooth skating, defense first defenseman that has some solid offensive traits, mainly being his play-making from the point. Averaging around 24 minutes a night during the playoffs while running the second power play unit, Kol made a name for himself this season and should see VHL time with Dynamo St. Petersburg after being traded there this past off-season.

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Fallers

Nikita Guslistov, W: After playing well over 100 KHL games before turning 21, Guslistov has been through the ringer. Moving from Severstal to Dinamo Minsk, where he played just nine games before being moved to Admiral Vladivostok, he has barely seen consistent KHL playing time. He seemed to play better in both the VHL and the Belarus league, but it is nothing compared to his first few years post draft. He was also released from Admiral just a week ago and is now signing with VHL side Metallurg Novokuznetsk, where he will hope to regain form. 

Aleksi Heimosalmi, D: It is always rough for younger players that make the transition from European styles of hockey to North America and Heimosalmi was an example of that. A staggering -29 while being outclassed physically and positionally most of the time while on ice, he just did not look good. With both Dominik Badinka and Joel Nystrom making a similar move, Heimosalmi might find himself fighting for playing time with the Wolves.

Felix Unger Sorum, W: This was more of a case of the first half of his season being wasted, as he was used mainly as a center until the World Junior Championships came around. Still, Unger Sorum struggled at times with the physical level in which the AHL operates at and needs more time to adjust to North American hockey, something that fans did not see happening after having back to back great NHL training camps.

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Likely to see NHL action

Bradly Nadeau, Charles-Alexis Legault

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Top 20 prospects

This section is intended to paint a picture of the Carolina Hurricanes prospects whose current trajectory projects them to make the most positive fantasy impact at the time that they reach the NHL. Arrival date and NHL certainty have been taken into consideration; however, potential upside is the most important factor in determining this list.

1. Bradley Nadeau
2. Nikita Artamonov
3. Felix Unger Sorum
4. Semyon Frolov
5. Ivan Ryabkin
6. Dominik Badinka
7. Kurban Limatov
8. Justin Robidas
9. Charles-Alexis Legault
10. Alexander Rykov
11. Andrei Krutov
12. Timur Kol
13. Charlie Cerrato
14. Noel Fransen
15. Vladimir Grudinin
16. Justin Poirier
17. Fyodor Avramov
18. Simon Forsmark
19. Jayden Perron
20. Gleb Trikozov

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Final Thoughts

It has become automatic for the Hurricanes to have a strong regular season, a playoff run cut short by one or two outstanding problems, get a ton of media praise for what they do during the draft, and repeat. This off-season, the teams draft class has a ton of potential talent that addressed areas of need while also still sticking to their philosophy of taking more boom or bust players in the later rounds. But GM Eric Tulsky was not afraid of shaking the core, losing mainstay players while also bringing in a big name defenseman and the cream of the crop for unrestricted free agency, something they have not done too often. It might be more of the same next year, but the additions of Miller, Ehlers, a full season of North American hockey for Nikishin, and further development from players like Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake will be enough to take them to the Stanley Cup final for the first time in 16 years.

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Make sure to check out the Carolina Hurricanes team page here: https://dobberprospects.com/team/carolina-hurricanes/

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Thank you all for reading! Follow @Canesprospects on all social media to keep up with all things related to the Carolina Hurricanes prospects.