Carolina Hurricanes 2026 Draft Preview: Wants and Needs
It's draft szn
We are just about a month out from the NHL Draft, so it’s about time to get started on the draft write-ups. While the Canes, currently, only have 4 picks in the draft (1st round pick in the range of 28-31, one 4th round picks, and two 6th round picks), this number will almost certainly change between now and the end of the first round.
Honestly, there isn’t a true set NEED within the Canes system. They have most of the main archetypes filled already so any player now is more of an added bonus than anything else. With that said, there are a good amount of WANTS, certain positions and player archetypes have very low prospect numbers or could use some more darts at the board. Let’s dive into those wants really are:
Want: A potential power forward
As of right now, the list of wingers within the prospect ranks that are 6’0 or taller is as follows:
Fyodor Avramov
Gleb Trikozov
Michael Emerson
Alexander Perevalov
Let me be ABUNDANTLY clear and say that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The two best winger prospects, Bradly Nadeau and Felix Unger Sorum, are listed at 5’11 but aren’t out there getting shoved into a locker. This is more of a “cupboard is a little bare at the moment” type situation. Especially when taking into consideration that Gleb and Perevalov aren’t known for their physicality (even though Perevalov does work netfront a good amount). Fyodor Avramov and 5’11 Ivan Ryabkin are the only real true “power forward” archetypes within the system and Ryabkin started growing into that role late in the season for Chicago. The modern day NHL doesn’t require every forward to be able to throw violent hits, but having one or two in your lineup that can score 15+ goals in a season is a premium at this time.
Want: Goalie
We discussed this on the latest episode of Developing Hurricanes but I’ve been team “teams should take at least one goalie in a draft and see what happens” for a few years now. The Canes followed this last year, taking Semyon Frolov with their first pick in the draft and he had solid showings when he was healthy. Outside of Frolov, it’s certainly interesting.
Yegor Velmakin just completed a season in which he played the most amount of hockey since his draft year back in 2022-23 and he looked good for the most part. He’s also 23. Ruslan Khazheyev just played 42 games, 41 of those in the ECHL where he was better than the stats say. With him being just 21 years old, next year will be a big one in terms of his outlook, but the intangibles are there. Nikita Quapp was a mixed bag for Greensboro and his contract is up this year. Jakub Vondras had a solid season in Czechia2, but his exclusive rights with the Canes expire on June 1st. So if Quapp is not re-signed and Vondras sees his rights expire, the Canes are down to 3 prospect goalies in the system.
Want: Center?
Ah, the age ole want. Some consider this a need but I must stress it is really, really hard unless you pick within the top half of the first round to find a player that can stick at the center position in the NHL. It’s the toughest position to stay in because of the demands of the role, both offensively and defensively. The Canes took two players listed at center last year and this is why I have a question mark at the end of center.
I can confidently say that Charlie Cerrato will stick as a center at the NHL level. He plays the position extremely well and he does the small, important things you want your center to do. As well, he’s really solid in the dot, going 80% (4/5) in his AHL debut while posting two season of above 56% at Penn State (57.2% as a freshman, 58.7% as a sophomore). Ivan Ryabkin was drafted as a center and while he played decently as a center in the early part of the season for Chicago and was a center for Charlottetown in the QMJHL (53.9% in faceoffs for them), he’s looked his absolute best on the wing during Chicago’s postseason run. He does take spot faceoffs for his line and I think he can be an NHL center, but his work as a winger since joining Chicago again is hard to deny.
Want: Offensive Defenseman
Slightly emphasized by the signing of Noel Fransen to his entry level contract as Fransen is the best offensive defenseman in the system. Depending on how you qualify Timur Kol and Kurban Limatov, you could say he’s the only offensive defenseman in the system.
Outside of Fransen (and Kol/Limatov depending on how you qualify their archetypes), the Canes have a ton of defensive minded defenseman in the system. Charles Alexis Legault, Dominik Badinka, Roman Bausov, Alexander Siryatsky (to an extent), Roman Shokhrin, and Alexander Pelevin all project as “shut down” defenseman. Canes adding a guy with some offensive pop in his game would fill a want within the pipeline.
Outside of that, the current prospect pool is pretty well stocked. We’ll start to tackle to position groups with “Names to Know” coming up in June and the last two “Years in Reviews” when the Russians and the Chicago Wolves finish their respective seasons.