In life, I believe it’s vital to always focus on the future just as much as the present. I bring that same line of thinking to my hockey coverage. It’s paramount to have just as much an eye on the future of the game as it is on today’s generation. Over the past few years, the Carolina Hurricanes have assembled a prospect group that ranks amongst the largest and most talented in the NHL.
The team’s strategy of amassing draft picks by continuously trading back on draft day seems like a smart one, as the draft can be a bit of a crap shoot at times, so why not throw as many darts at the board as possible? They’ve made 10+ selections in four of the past six drafts, including in both the 2023 and 2024 classes. As such, they have a ton of young kids in the system with strong potential and on the development path. Let’s take a look at three of these prospects who are worthy to keep a keen eye on this season.
Alexander Perevalov
I mentioned Perevalov as the “prospect to watch” in the recent Hurricanes Roundtable piece, but I will include him on this list as well so I can go a little more in-depth about why I think it’s such a vital year for him. He’s a player that would excite any hockey scout. The combination of puck skills, hands, vision, flair and the ability to use that skill while playing at a high pace makes him a treat to watch. It also makes his ceiling extremely high, if he can continue to develop and figure out the other aspects of the game.
The problem so far for Perevalov has been consistency, and translating his skill into offense. His exceptional production at the Russian junior level has not followed him into pro — where he has just five points in his 42 career Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) games thus far. The KHL is a league where NHL-affiliated youngsters rarely get favorable deployment, so it’s not entirely Perevalov’s fault, but really you want to see such a prolific offensive talent…producing offense. He’s a guy that puts up points pretty much at will in the junior leagues, and if he’s unable to bring at least some level of his offensive game to the pros, then it becomes a question of what exactly this player provides.
Related: 5 Hurricanes Prospects to Watch in the KHL This Season
Thankfully at just age 20, he still has ample time to round out his game and decipher what he needs to do to bring the same effectiveness against grown men. That’s why I think it’s such a vital year for him — he’s set now for the first time to play the entire season outside of the junior level, so he’ll have a full season under his belt to grow. Ideally, his offense will start to translate at the VHL level and he will become one of the leading scorers for his club, and thus earn himself some time in the KHL later in the year.
Justin Poirier
I think it’s fair to say that Justin Poirier is one of the most intriguing prospects in the organization. A fifth-round pick this summer, the value of this pick was exceptional. As a draft-eligible for the Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) last year, Poirier became the first 17-year-old to score 50-plus goals in the league in the last 20 years. The guy who did it last? Maybe you’ve heard of him — Sidney Crosby. Yeah. Pretty good company to be in.
So maybe you’re wondering how on earth a kid that accomplished that kind of feat was still available in the fifth round of the draft. The answer is pretty simple. He’s listed at 5-foot-8 and just 185 pounds, so to say he’s undersized would be…an understatement. Since I’m located in Ottawa (just a 20-minute drive from the Gatineau Olympiques home arena), I was fortunate enough to see Poirier live in person last season, twice. I can confirm that he is tiny, and he looks small on the ice. But that does not mean he’s not an extremely impressive and versatile offensive player. His IQ in the attacking zone to find the soft spots in coverage, as well as his shot, is very high-end.
Combined with his playoff stats, this kid scored 69 goals in 85 games — which, at his age, is absolutely absurd. That does not happen by accident. I will say that in person, his skating looks kind of awkward — he takes really short strides, but he manages to generate a lot of power. I came away quite impressed with his overall speed and burst, especially at the junior level. He can fly out there. Overall, I absolutely love the skillset of this guy. It’s easy to compare him to the likes of Alex DeBrincat and Cole Caufield — small wingers who can really skate and put the puck in the net. And while expecting him to reach their level isn’t realistic — who’s to say it’s not achievable? He has all of the tools, and a long road of development ahead of him. I really believe in the upside, and I can’t wait to watch him in person again a few times this winter.
Jayden Perron
The 5-foot-9, 163-pound winger Jayden Perron is the type of player who’s worth the price of admission on his own. He’s electric with the puck on his stick. His stickhandling and vision are the real standouts of his game, and he has real patience to allow the play to develop when he needs to. I feel like his game is already very mature, he knows when to try to take on defenders one-on-one on the rush, but he’s smart enough to get the puck deep and/or slow down when he’s outnumbered to allow his teammates to provide an outlet for him. He has really high hockey sense and on-ice IQ.
Now entering his second season at North Dakota, I expect him to take a pretty sizeable step forward this season. His stat line of 11 goals and seven assists in 39 games as a rookie may not jump off of the page, but it’s still pretty impressive for a tiny 18-year-old winger who was adjusting to the NCAA level. The UND program has seen multiple forwards graduate to the pro level (including fellow Canes prospect, Hobey Baker finalist Jackson Blake), so it’s likely Perron will get a largely increased role this season. With added minutes and increased powerplay deployment, as well as another full offseason of training and growth, I’m expecting a real breakout year for him. He could reasonably approach point-per-game status and become one of the key offensive players for his school, which would be a very positive outcome for the Hurricanes.
Final Thoughts
The Hurricanes prospect group is as deep as it’s ever been, which is a very promising sign considering they’re in the midst of a six-year playoff run. They haven’t sacrificed their future at all for current success, which has the organization in a very good spot moving forward. Of course, development of the youth is vital for success, but the team has identified a strategy of drafting players with unteachable intangibles like hockey sense and raw skill, which makes for high upside swings. For a player like Perevalov, this coming year will be about refining those skills and growing his overall game. Of course, development is non-linear and some players take longer than others — physical and mental traits have a really big impact in that regard. Alas, the team is in great hands with the quality of their young depth, and it’ll be very interesting to track the progress of these players.
