The Matthew Wuest Memorial Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes are headed back up to Traverse City, MI to defend their title with a team similar to, and probably even better than, their title-winning squad from last year. The Canes will play in the Gordie Howe division with the Chicago Blackhawks, host Detroit Red Wings, and New York Rangers during the five-day tournament from September 8-12.
The team features 17 Carolina draft picks out of the 23 total players, including four from the 2017 NHL Draft in Martin Necas, Morgan Geekie, Stelio Mattheos, and Brendan De Jong.