Hurricanes Draft

[CarolinaPanthers8789]

Source: http://hurricanes.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=425445

For the peopkle that are interested in the Hurricanes draft they have a section called 10 players to watch on their website. These 10 players are put up their based on what they can bring to the team and how well they stood out at the prospect pool.

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Landon Ferraro

ISS: #18 NHL CS: #18 North American Skater THN: #28

Position: RW Height: 6-0 Weight: 170

Another player with an NHL pedigree, Landon is the son of Ray Ferraro, who played 442 games for the Hartford Whalers between 1984 and 1990. Although that didn’t happen on Jim Rutherford’s watch, Ray Ferraro was teammates with Ron Francis during that entire span. In a more modern-day connection, Landon Ferraro played with Carolina center Brandon Sutter in Red Deer (WHL).

While size isn’t his strongest suit, he’s got the qualities you would expect from the son of an NHL player – smarts, work ethic and consistency. He’s also a very fast skater.

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Zack Kassian

ISS: #19 NHL CS: #10 North American Skater THN: #16

Position: RW Height: 6-3 Weight: 210

Most comparisons are to Boston Bruins winger Milan Lucic for his blend of rough play and scoring prowess, with 63 points and 136 penalty minutes in 61 games last season. The rankings have him higher than 27, and the only reason I have him listed here is because his stock may have been hurt a bit by a disappointing playoff performance (just two assists in a four-game sweep). Fair or not, that can hurt a player (Tyler Myers fell victim to that last season), but how much? It’s a long shot that he’d still be around for the Canes, but he seems to be just what they’re looking for.

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Carter Ashton

ISS: #22 NHL CS: #12 North American Skater THN: #20

Position: LW Height: 6-3 Weight: 205

He’s got the size, but isn’t known to throw it around as much as you might think. That may or may not work against him. He’s been a teammate of Hurricanes prospect Zach Boychuk’s with Lethbridge for the past two seasons, so the scouting staff is obviously quite familiar with him already.

He’s also got the hockey bloodlines that the Canes seem to covet, as his father Brent was taken 26th overall in 1979 and played almost 1,000 NHL games for nine different teams. Like Kassian, the rankings put him a bit out of reach, but scouts were also a bit disappointed by his playoffs, where he scored just three points in 11 games.

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Jordan Caron

ISS: #24 NHL CS: #21 North American Skater THN: #33

Position: C Height: 6-2 Weight: 202

Another player with a good blend of size and scoring touch, Caron has power forward potential at the next level. That, along with his consistency, physical play and a complicated injury history reminds me a little bit of a young Tuomo Ruutu, although Ruutu was much more highly-touted at that age.

His numbers have improved each year, but there is a feeling they may be skewed by the fact that he plays on a good team.

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Chris Kreider

ISS: #29 NHL CS: #14 North American Skater THN: #24

Position: LW Height: 6-2 Weight: 201

Even as a bigger player, Kreider is one of the fastest skaters in the draft. That sounds great, but what makes him a little risky is that he hasn’t yet advanced past the high school level, so his numbers, although great with 55 points in just 26 games, are hard to gauge with a questionable amount of competition. For the psychologists out there, he had a few really interesting out-of-the-box answers to some standard bio questions about his dream car and goal celebration. That’s not a whole lot to go on, but character is always a big plus as far as the Canes are concerned.

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Carl Klingberg

ISS: #33 NHL CS: #7 European Skater THN: #37

Position: LW Height: 6-3 Weight: 205

Has the size and isn’t afraid to use it. He plays a very physical brand of hockey, which he did not shy away from in brief stints in the Swedish senior circuit last season despite playing against much older competition. Is very competitive and scores a lot of points in front of the net while also playing responsible defensively. The Hurricanes typically don’t draft European-based players this high, but there doesn’t seem to be much risk here when it comes to adapting to the North American game.

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Dylan Olsen

ISS: #34 NHL CS: #27 North American Skater THN: #41

Position: D Height: 6-2 Weight: 195

A poised, well-rounded defenseman who does a little bit of everything. Reminds me of Dennis Seidenberg with more of a mean streak, as he racked up 123 penalty minutes last season. The only knock here is that his academics weren’t strong enough for him to play at his first-choice college, which may say something about his work ethic and commitment. There is still some uncertainty as to whether he will go the US college or Canadian major junior route next season. A few mock drafts floating around have him going to Carolina at 27.

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Zach Budish

ISS: #55 NHL CS: #22 North American Skater THN: #44

Position: C Height: 6-3 Weight: 225

A risky player because of a knee injury that caused him to miss the 2008-09 season. He put up big numbers at the high school level prior to that, and he would likely be ranked much higher if not for the injury, which he suffered while playing football. Although he’s got great size and scoring touch, he’s not known to be a good skater. The team that’s brave enough to draft him could have quite a sleeper on their hands. If the Canes don’t get size with their first choice, he could be a good pick at 49 if available.

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Seth Helgeson

ISS: #48 NHL CS: #41 North American Skater THN: #58

Position: D Height: 6-5 Weight: 220

There really doesn’t seem to be a knock on Helgeson’s game, other than that he’s a one-dimensional stay-at-home defenseman, but every team needs a shutdown guy or two, right? Another player with the mean streak to match his size, Helgeson is known to make life very difficult for the opposition’s forwards. Due to an early October birthday, he’s also one of the oldest players in the draft, so he may be a little further along the developmental curve than most defensemen in his class.

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Eric Gelinas

ISS: #72 NHL CS: #38 North American Skater THN: #46

Position: D Height: 6-4 Weight: 285

Another player with good size, he’s already 6’4” and may still be growing amid reports that his father stands at 6’9”. Despite his stature, he skates very well and also put up a respectable 39 points in 67 games with a Lewiston team that struggled last season. However, he may be a bit of a project as he’s prone to mistakes in the defensive end. There’s a lot of development to be done here, but it could pay off for a team that’s willing to be patient.

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For more information on the players, click the link at the top.