Hurricanes Draft Review
Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 9:32 am
After a highly disappointing playoffs in which the Hurricanes, one of the favorites for the cup, bowed out in the first round GM Dave Greybill decided to take a different direction with his drafting this year. Here's what direction the Canes went in the draft, and how it affects the future outlook of the team:
1st round - #21: RW Thomas Wilson - Plymouth Whalers
It was expected that the Canes would load up on forwards this year with the development of Jank and Gravel in the AHL this past season. And while it played out as expected, the lack of high end offense at the #21 spot, and the lack of physicality in their prospect pool made Wilson an intriguing and borderline obvious choice here. Offensively he should pan out to be a pretty nice scorer, eventually replacing Dustin Penner or Tuomo Ruutu in the teams lineup. But physically he trumps either of them and it could make Wilson one of the top power forwards in the league in the future.
ETA: 2013-14
2nd round - #51: W Sammu Markkula - JyP Jrs
While the Canes went physical in the first, Markkula being on the board in the 2nd lead them to take another route entirely. The undersized Finn winger is one of the best pure playmakers in the draft and is competent enough positionally in his defense to not be a liability out on the ice. He'll need protection down the middle, but pairing him on a line with countrymate Teemu Pulkkinen could pay dividends for the Hurricanes down the road. Markkula's skating ability should also help to negate the impact of his lower size. While he's projected to be a 3rd liner for the Canes due to their unusual roster build, he's projected to also be an impact player on the PP.
ETA: 2014-15
3rd round - #81: D Slater Koekkoek - Peterborough Petes
Koekkoek's presence on the board in the 3rd came as a surprise to GM Greybill, who had no qualms breaking his draft strategy to pick up the physical defenseman. While Koekkoek projects more as a #5 guy long term, the team also has little past him to take over for Gleason when he's ready to move on eventually. Offensively he shouldn't be too bad either as he has decent skills in that regard already. But with Pitkanen, McBain, and Jank in the fold already it's expected that he won't play much of a role in that regard, especially if the Canes keep running a forward on one of their PP unit points.
ETA: 2014-15
4th round - #111: W Andreas Athanasiou - London Knights
Keeping with the OHL trend of their draft, the Canes selected Athanasiou, a project of a player that should have tremendous skating and puck handling abilities. One of the most gifted offensive players in the draft, yet alone at this stage of the draft, his defense won't get much better then it currently is so he'll have to have protection in the lineup. Thankfully for the Canes, he projects as a possible top 6 forward and should be able to slot in on a line with Staal and Boychuk eventually should they decide to go that route. The key is going to be keeping him from busting so don't expect him in the AHL any time soon.
ETA: 2015-16
5th round - #141: G Frank Palazzese - Kitchener Rangers
The Kitchener tender was one of the best left at this spot in the draft, and while he's a bit undersized and is a long term prospect, he could eventually fill in as a backup for the Canes. Though with Ward, Peters, Murphy, Conz, and Mahalak in the organization that may take some doing.
ETA: 2016-17 unless traded
6th round - #171: C Matthew Deblouw - Muskegon
It's not expected that he'll have much of an NHL impact given his potential upside. But with that said, the Hurricanes could certainly use some more talent in their AHL as they re-tool the organization while still trying to remain contenders, and Deblouw might even luck out and crack the roster as a callup if necessary.
ETA: N/A, callup player/AHL star
7th round - #201 D Dillon Fournier, - Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
Another player like Deblouw who should, at least for the most part, remain an option only in case of emergency but also should make an impact at the AHL level. A solid all-around defenseman for that level, the only thing he seems to be lacking is much of a shot.
ETA: N/A, callup player/AHL star
so overall a good haul for the Hurricanes, and their roster crop going forward should look a bit like this:
Zach Boychuk - Eric Staal - Andreas Athanasiou
Thomas Wilson - Brandon Sutter - Mikko Koivu
Teemu Pulkkinen - Artem Voronin - Samu Markkula
Philippe Paradis - Nicolas Blanchard - Dmitri Mikhailov
Konstantin Komarek
Joni Pitkanen - Casey Borer
Martin Gravel - Bohumil Jank
Jamie McBain - Slater Koekkoek
Cam Ward
Matt Mahalak
Of course, future draft picks can change that entirely, especially on the front end.
1st round - #21: RW Thomas Wilson - Plymouth Whalers
It was expected that the Canes would load up on forwards this year with the development of Jank and Gravel in the AHL this past season. And while it played out as expected, the lack of high end offense at the #21 spot, and the lack of physicality in their prospect pool made Wilson an intriguing and borderline obvious choice here. Offensively he should pan out to be a pretty nice scorer, eventually replacing Dustin Penner or Tuomo Ruutu in the teams lineup. But physically he trumps either of them and it could make Wilson one of the top power forwards in the league in the future.
ETA: 2013-14
2nd round - #51: W Sammu Markkula - JyP Jrs
While the Canes went physical in the first, Markkula being on the board in the 2nd lead them to take another route entirely. The undersized Finn winger is one of the best pure playmakers in the draft and is competent enough positionally in his defense to not be a liability out on the ice. He'll need protection down the middle, but pairing him on a line with countrymate Teemu Pulkkinen could pay dividends for the Hurricanes down the road. Markkula's skating ability should also help to negate the impact of his lower size. While he's projected to be a 3rd liner for the Canes due to their unusual roster build, he's projected to also be an impact player on the PP.
ETA: 2014-15
3rd round - #81: D Slater Koekkoek - Peterborough Petes
Koekkoek's presence on the board in the 3rd came as a surprise to GM Greybill, who had no qualms breaking his draft strategy to pick up the physical defenseman. While Koekkoek projects more as a #5 guy long term, the team also has little past him to take over for Gleason when he's ready to move on eventually. Offensively he shouldn't be too bad either as he has decent skills in that regard already. But with Pitkanen, McBain, and Jank in the fold already it's expected that he won't play much of a role in that regard, especially if the Canes keep running a forward on one of their PP unit points.
ETA: 2014-15
4th round - #111: W Andreas Athanasiou - London Knights
Keeping with the OHL trend of their draft, the Canes selected Athanasiou, a project of a player that should have tremendous skating and puck handling abilities. One of the most gifted offensive players in the draft, yet alone at this stage of the draft, his defense won't get much better then it currently is so he'll have to have protection in the lineup. Thankfully for the Canes, he projects as a possible top 6 forward and should be able to slot in on a line with Staal and Boychuk eventually should they decide to go that route. The key is going to be keeping him from busting so don't expect him in the AHL any time soon.
ETA: 2015-16
5th round - #141: G Frank Palazzese - Kitchener Rangers
The Kitchener tender was one of the best left at this spot in the draft, and while he's a bit undersized and is a long term prospect, he could eventually fill in as a backup for the Canes. Though with Ward, Peters, Murphy, Conz, and Mahalak in the organization that may take some doing.
ETA: 2016-17 unless traded
6th round - #171: C Matthew Deblouw - Muskegon
It's not expected that he'll have much of an NHL impact given his potential upside. But with that said, the Hurricanes could certainly use some more talent in their AHL as they re-tool the organization while still trying to remain contenders, and Deblouw might even luck out and crack the roster as a callup if necessary.
ETA: N/A, callup player/AHL star
7th round - #201 D Dillon Fournier, - Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
Another player like Deblouw who should, at least for the most part, remain an option only in case of emergency but also should make an impact at the AHL level. A solid all-around defenseman for that level, the only thing he seems to be lacking is much of a shot.
ETA: N/A, callup player/AHL star
so overall a good haul for the Hurricanes, and their roster crop going forward should look a bit like this:
Zach Boychuk - Eric Staal - Andreas Athanasiou
Thomas Wilson - Brandon Sutter - Mikko Koivu
Teemu Pulkkinen - Artem Voronin - Samu Markkula
Philippe Paradis - Nicolas Blanchard - Dmitri Mikhailov
Konstantin Komarek
Joni Pitkanen - Casey Borer
Martin Gravel - Bohumil Jank
Jamie McBain - Slater Koekkoek
Cam Ward
Matt Mahalak
Of course, future draft picks can change that entirely, especially on the front end.