16 Thoughts: The 100th Post

Shocked it got this far to be honest

Welcome back to 16 Thoughts, a series a kin to Elliotte Friedman’s 32 Thoughts but cut in half due to only talking about Carolina Hurricanes prospects.

This was supposed to come out before Christmas, but a whole heap of things delayed that. It honestly worked out for the best since a LOT has happened since I last wrote one of these, so I’m not complaining. Let’s tackle the big ticket item first.

1. Ivan Ryabkin (18) was assigned to the Charlottetown Islanders of the QMJHL from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. A shocking amount of people saw this as a completely abhorrent thing, seeing someone get “demoted” from the second highest pro league in North America to the juniors of Canada. I know it looks like a demotion on paper, but let me explain the reasons why you shouldn’t view it like that.

2. First, it was great for the Canes to get a benchmark of where Ryabkin is in terms of his pro development by letting him play in the AHL. He’s already played pro hockey, albeit in Russia with limited games, but it’s not like he’s coming in completely blind. I had mentioned it a while ago but he looked physically ready out there, but the rest of the game needed work. The big one was discipline, seeing as he had a casual 56 penalty minutes in 25 games. His defense was shaky and some skating concerns remain. Offensive flashes were there, mainly his work as a net front and his passing, but it wasn’t super consistent.

3. This is where having the ability to get him to the Q is best for him. For one, he’s going to get much more game time there than he did in Chicago, going from the 4th line center with limited (if any) power play time to a top 6 or top line center while also getting premiere power play opportunities. Yes, the Q is a weaker league relative to the AHL, but this is best for him. He gets sent there with a good amount of feedback on the things to work on to better prepare him for the pro game and he gets to hone in on those skills.

4. What else has happened since the last one? Let’s tackle Simon Forsmark (22) signing a new contract with Timra in the SHL. After rumors of him signing an ELC popped up last summer, nothing came of it until I saw that he had inked a new deal until the end of 2029. With his rights expiring in June, I’d imagine this ends his run as a Canes Prospect. Liked his steady game, reminded me of Joel Nystrom in that way. But the Canes have about 250 LHD in the system now.

5. Sticking with contract news in the SHL, Oskar Vuollet (20) signed a new deal with Skelleftea until 2028, where he will be 23. He has 2 points in 34 SHL games this year. There are some good aspects in his game, he just hasn’t put it together yet.

6. Injuries up next, Semyon Frolov (19) is still hurt. Alexander Siryatsky (19) is still hurt, which stinks because I’d imagine he would’ve been a KHL U23 All Star if he was healthy. BUT we finally got someone back, that being Roman Bausov (18). He’s doing what most of these young Russian defenseman do in the MHL, eat minutes. His lowest ice time so far came in his first game back at 16 minutes. Doesn’t help that he also had 4 penalty minutes, but I digress. He’s averaging over 20 minutes a night and seems like himself. Super smooth skater with good defensive traits. Offense is a work in progress, but the defensive stuff is nice.

7. Timur Kol (19) also returned from injury, missing a month with I believe a groin injury sustained in the Futures Cup. He’s come back and continued his great start, putting up 3 points in 3 games while getting about 24 minutes a game. MHK Dynamo Moscow recently united the gigantic left handed defenseman that happen to be Canes Prospects, using Kol and Kurban Limatov (18) as a pair. So far, the pair are a combined +5 while also having 6 points in 3 games. Seems pretty decent to me!

8. If I told you last year that Justin Poirier (19) was leading all Canes Prospects in points, I don’t think people would be shocked. He was a premier player in the QMJHL. But now, what if I told you he is still leading all Canes Prospects in points? The freshman at the University of Maine is having one hell of a year, with 27 points in 21 games. That’s good enough for 8th in the country, while his 17 goals has him 2nd in the country. Some quick milestones I’m looking at for Poirier, he needs 19 points to beat Bradly Nadeau’s (20) point total at Maine (had 46). He needs 3 goals to beat Nadeau’s 19. Finally, while probably unlikely, he needs 15 goals to tie Macklin Celebrini’s freshman goal record of 32.

9. It was weird to not put emphasis on the World Juniors this year, since the Canes had nobody playing in it. It was still a great viewing experience though. But my time was spent watching the Spengler Cup and the United States Collegiate Selects for Charlie Cerrato (20). It was the first time he’s played against genuine pro competition and I thought he handled it well. He was a decently important penalty killer, was relied to work on the wing (and sometimes bumper) on the power play, and was the 2C throughout the 4 games. 2 points in those 4 games won’t blow anybody away, but I thought he did pretty good.

10. I’m officially fully intrigued about Jakub Vondras (21). Not saying that I was completely checked out on him, but if you take quick glances at his OHL stats and his stats from last year, you probably wouldn’t think twice about him. But wow, what a difference a year makes. He’s improved from a .890% save percentage to a .915%, while lowering his goals against average from a 3.32 to a 2.63. He’s 6’4 with fluid movement and his rights expire on June 1st. With both Cayden Primeau and Amir Miftakhov being on one year deals, plus with what has been shown by Nikita Quapp (22) and Ruslan Khazheyev (21) so far, I wouldn’t hate to see them take a chance on Vondras.

11. Let me also say that I think Khazheyev has shown great strides in his development so far this year. He’s had a nice start in the ECHL while getting a good amount of game time and had one of the better performances of any goalie that has played Grand Rapids in the AHL this, getting a shootout win. The technical aspects of his game that were shaky last year have become much more well rounded, but still need some work. But he’s progressed a ton since this time last year. As for Quapp, he’s had some good starts and some bad starts. He also got into a goalie fight and showed that he can throw some real haymakers.

12. Alexander Rykov (20) has tied his career high for points in the KHL with 8 this year. It’s not a ton, but he’s been a 4th line player for the majority of the 107 games that he’s played in the KHL. Still wonder what happens with him after this year, seeing as his contract will expire at the end of the KHL season. Was cool seeing him at development camp this past year.

13. The last thought, presented by a flight to Alaska that I am very much unprepared for, is about Spiros Anastas. I just want to mention how nice of a guy he is. Got the chance to meet him at this past Development Camp and he’s just a genuine good dude. I’ll tell the story about the interaction on Developing Hurricanes soon (next week) because I think it’s funny (it’s probably not).