Over the past few years, the Carolina Hurricanes have assembled a prospect group that ranks amongst the largest and most talented in the NHL. Every year in the draft, they continuously trade back and add more picks, stockpiling more darts to throw at the board. As such, they’ve built a very large and deep group of youngsters, seeing recent selections like Seth Jarvis, Alexander Nikishin and Jackson Blake graduate to the NHL roster on a full-time basis.
While the Hurricanes have had plenty of success stories via drafting, it’s no secret that not every draftee will amount to an NHL player. There are an endless number of factors that can stunt a player’s growth, and scouting teenagers is not an easy job to begin with. Today, I decided I wanted to take a look at some promising youngsters within the organization who, for one reason or another, are worth keeping a particularly close eye on this coming season. Without further ado, let’s get started.
Ivan Ryabkin
Maybe the most polarizing prospect in the system now, the Hurricanes’ 2025 second-round selection Ivan Ryabkin is a player who really divided scouts in the draft process. He entered the 2024-25 season as a projected lottery pick, but flaws arose that saw his stock plummet as the season went on. After struggling to repeat his previous success with Dynamo Moskva in his native Russia, a mid-season move to the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League (USHL) produced even more questions, despite him scoring 19 goals in 27 games and winning the league championship.
As far as what he does this coming season, it’ll be interesting to observe. He was selected by the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) in their entry draft, so if he chooses to go to Canadian junior, that’s where he’ll play. It seems like a worthy option considering the jump in competition from the USHL. Considering he departed Dynamo for a different route in North American hockey, I’m not sure returning to Russia at this point would be a smart idea, if that’s even a possibility at all.
Regardless, it will be a big season for Ryabkin to prove to everybody that he was overlooked in the NHL draft. Going nearly 50 spots later than he was initially projected was quite the statement from NHL clubs, which you’d hope the player will use as motivation. Despite being listed between 205 and 210 pounds during the draft process, the Hurricanes listed him at just 196 in development camp earlier this month — which should benefit him to play with more quickness. He has a similar profile to a player like Nazem Kadri, and projects to play center at the pro level, so the Hurricanes will really hope his development will go the way they envision.
Justin Poirier
The coming season will be a big test for young winger Justin Poirier, who will be looking to prove that his lethal offensive game can translate to a higher level. In the 2023-24 QMJHL season, he became the first 17-year-old player to score 50 goals since Sidney Crosby — who I’m assuming you’ve probably heard of. And while I definitely wouldn’t use that statistic as any kind of potential career trajectory, it’s obvious that Poirier possesses serious talent.
The fact that Canadian Hockey League (CHL)-based major junior players are now allowed to leave the CHL to join college hockey is a big step for player development. After scoring 43 goals and 80 points in 58 games for the Baie-Comeau Drakkar last season, it’s pretty clear that Poirier has outgrown the QMJHL ranks, and a step into college hockey will do a lot more for his growth as an overall player. He signed on to play at the University of Maine, which is the same program fellow Hurricanes prospect Bradly Nadeau played at in 2023-24 — and really helped his transition into pro hockey.
What will be most beneficial for Poirier is learning how to use his skills against bigger and stronger young men, rather than dominating teenagers in a pretty defensively-lackadasical league like the QMJHL. Poirier will also benefit from a pro-type system, and the fewer amount of games in the NCAA will translate to more time in the weight room — which will undoubtedly aid the 5-foot-9, 175-pound winger. Overall, a year or two at Maine will paint a better picture of what exactly Poirier can become at the NHL level. While he has a lot of similarities to Alex DeBrincat and Cole Caufield, you’d hate to set unrealistic expectations, especially considering the rarity of those types of players. I believe he has a bright future, but translating his goal-scoring ability to the next level will be a key step, and that starts now for him.
Gleb Trikozov
Considered to be one of the steals of the 2022 NHL Draft when he slid to the Hurricanes at 60th overall in the second round, Gleb Trikozov’s trajectory since then has yet to match the hype. While that’s not entirely his fault, the organization is undoubtedly hoping to see the player make good on the extreme promise he showed leading up to his draft year. Standing at 6-foot-1, 191 pounds with great offensive talent, this coming season will be a massive chapter in Trikozov’s story.
Now entering his sophomore year in North America after coming over from Omsk in Russia, Trikozov will hope to build on what was quite a disappointing rookie season. Unfortunately for him, he dealt with two serious injuries last season which really hindered his growth, and he was unable to really establish himself and move up the lineup. In mostly a depth role, he scored two goals and one assist in 20 games as a rookie, but spent more time off the ice than on it.
The promising thing for Trikozov is that he’s still very young and raw, and the talent is there. He’s shown at the Russian junior and minor level that he can create offense and put the puck in the net, and as of this writing hasn’t even celebrated his 21st birthday yet. He has a lot of time ahead of him to refine his game and establish himself, but this coming season seems like a defining one for him. He desperately needs to lock down a spot in the Chicago Wolves’ lineup, be a factor on the power play, and begin to round out his overall game. I’ll be keeping a close eye on how he progresses this season.
Related: Revisiting the Hurricanes’ 2018 Draft Class
As always, the important thing to remember with prospects is that development is non-linear. Some players take longer to figure it out than others, and some players never do. Wisely, the Hurricanes’ philosophy over the past few drafts has been to trade back and add more picks, therefore adding more players to their system, which has helped their prospect group grow into one of the deepest in the NHL.
