Preseason is in full swing, and prospects are settling in to where they will spend the 2016-17 season. It’s been an exciting past few drafts with GM Ron Francis re-stocking the Hurricanes prospect cupboard for the future. In three short years, the Hurricanes have shot up organizational prospect rankings and currently sit with one of the best prospect groups in terms of upside and depth across the league. Let’s take a deeper look into what to expect from some of the team’s potential breakout and under-the-radar prospects at the Junior and Collegiate level this season.
Noah Carroll (D) - Guelph Storm - 2016, Sixth Round - 164th Overall
Jeremy Helvig (G) - Kingston Frontenacs - 2016, Fifth Round - 134th Overall
Janne Kuokkanen (F) - London Knights - 2016, Second Round - 43rd Overall
Steven Lorentz (F) - Peterborough Petes - 2015, Seventh Round - 186th Overall
Breakout Performer: Janne Kuokkanen - London Knights
The trend of drafting exciting, high-upside, Finnish forwards in the second round continued for the second season in a row at the 2016 NHL Draft.