When Ron Francis and company left their draft table and began their walk to the podium at KeyBank Arena to announce the 13th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, speculation started running wild as to which 18-year-old would become the newest member of the Carolina Hurricanes.
After drafting defensemen in the top-ten in consecutive years (Haydn Fleury - seventh overall in 2014, Noah Hanifin - fifth overall in 2015), it seemed like a lock that the Canes would go in the direction of a forward. Among the players available were University of Wisconsin goal-scorer Luke Kunin, USNTDP power winger Kieffer Bellows, reliable and offensively gifted center Brett Howden, and dynamic Russian pivot German Robtsov, among others.