Top 5 Prospects of the Month: December 2024

Happy New Year!

(Sappy start to the article)

Happy New Year everyone! Hope everyone had a great 2024. Personally, 2024 was monumental for Canes Prospects. It’s been a lot of growth, both analytical and as a person. Being able to interview players and spend time with the guys that could be big players for the Hurricanes down the line was awesome and I hope to do it again in the future. As well, I now do a podcast, which I truthfully never thought I would do. But Matt and I decided it would be good, so now Developing Hurricanes exists and that’s awesome, with a lot more to come. Here’s to 2025 and making it a better year than last! Now, back to the prospects.

Welcome back to everyone’s favorite series on the internet, where I go over what Carolina Hurricanes prospects had the best month in terms of production and give everyone those updates. With December gone, we get to see even more variety in players making the list. As a reminder, this is not a list of where they rank amongst prospects. This is just for the given month.

In December, we saw the Wolves continue their momentum into a strong month, even while losing key players like Bradly Nadeau and Felix Unger Sorum to their respective countries at the World Junior Championships and Gleb Trikozov to an injury. Without further hold up, let’s hop into the list with some honorable mentions.

HM - Ruslan Khazheyev, G (Chicago Wolves, AHL) - 3 GS, 2.67 GAA, .910% save percentage

HM - Domenick Fensore, D (Chicago Wolves, AHL) - 11 GP, 1 goal, 5 assists, 6 points

HM - Charles-Alexis Legault, D (Chicago Wolves, AHL) - 8 GP, 1 goal, 4 assists, 5 points

HM - Alexander Pelevin, D (Chicago Wolves) - 9 GP, 0 goals, 6 assists, 6 points

Two trends. One, a lot of Chicago Wolves. Two, a lot of defenseman. Ruslan Khazheyev put together an awesome month, including a 1 goal against performance with 29 saves to go along with it. The pairing of Domenick Fensore and Charles-Alexis Legault was amazing for the Wolves, with each having a good month. Alexander Pelevin caught me by surprise when I was working on the stats for all of the prospects because the points aren’t his game. He’s much more a physical presence that plays solid defense, so the points are a nice touch.

For this month, I also would like to include an NCAA tier. The Canes have 3 guys that play at the college level and each guys had a really nice month. The issue is that each of them played either 2, 3, or 4 games. But, I’d still like to give them some credit for the games they played

Michael Emerson, W - 3 GP, 2 goals, 0 assists, 2 points

Jayden Perron, W - 4 GP, 3 goals, 1 assist, 4 points

Lucas Mercuri, C - 2 GP, 0 goals, 3 assists, 3 points

Now, let’s get into the top 5.

5. Justin Poirier, W (Baie-Comeau Drakkar, QMJHL)

Another instance where the “Justin Poirier rule” comes into effect. In 8 games played, Poirier had 5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points. He’s deep in the race for the points lead (currently tied for 6th) and the goal lead (currently 3rd) and he’s tracking for 56 goals, which would break his personal record of 51.

4. Felix Unger Sorum, C/W (Chicago Wolves, AHL/Team Sweden, WJC)

From playing center for the Wolves and having a nice month, to going back to the wing for Team Sweden and looking unbelievable, December was very nice to Felix Unger Sorum. In 10 games with the Wolves and Team Sweden, Unger Sorum had 3 goals and 6 assists for 9 points. 5 of those 6 assists and 1 of the 3 goals came with Team Sweden, which is why the person ranked ahead is ranked ahead.

Still, Unger Sorum looked really good during the month of December. He helped the Wolves with a multipoint performance in a win against Texas before departing for Team Sweden, where he has been unreal. Felix has consistently been one of, if not, the best forward for Sweden in each and every game. A 3 assist performance certainly helps things along. The World Juniors should provide a big confidence boost for Felix when he heads back to playing center with the Wolves, where he looked like he was figuring it all out before departing.

3. Bradly Nadeau, W (Chicago Wolves, AHL/Team Canada, WJC)

Big Bad Bradly Nadeau goes higher in the rankings due to the nature of his points, most coming while still playing with the Wolves at the professional level. In 10 games with the Wolves and Team Canada, Nadeau had 3 goals and 6 assists for 9 points. Only one of those points (a goal) came away from the Wolves, which is why I rank him higher.

Nadeau, to be it frankly, was awesome with the Wolves. He was dynamic, he was making plays, he was scoring big goals. 3 out of his 6 games were multipoint performances. He’s figuring out the pro game and hopefully he continues this momentum into January.

2. Justin Robidas, C/W (Chicago Wolves, AHL)

God, I love watching Justin Robidas play hockey. He’s like Taz from Looney Tunes the second he steps onto the ice. Robidas is everywhere that a Wolves fan wants him to be and everywhere an opposing fan doesn’t want to see. In the month of December, Robidas played 11 games and in those 11 games, he had 5 goals and 6 assists for 11 points, a perfect point per game.

While describing his game, I use the term “buzzsaw” a lot because that’s what he plays like. But Robidas has a lot of underrated skill in his, showcased by the goals he scores. Example:

First up, sick pass from Juha Jaaska. Secondly, Robidas doesn’t have a lot of time or space before Magnus Chrona can get over but the placement of the shot, well above the glove, is just beautiful placement. Great touch and great shot from Robidas. As well, his playmaking is kind of sick.

1. Ryan Suzuki, C (Chicago Wolves, AHL)

Ryan Suzuki is the NEW Heavyweight Prospect of the Month! The fully healthy center went on a tear in the month of December, including a point streak that nearly lasted the entire month. In the 10 games that he played in December, Suzuki had 2 goals and 10 assists for 12 points. He, Robidas, and recently called up Juha Jaaska have been monumental in holding down the Chicago fort while the forward group has gone through changes due to injuries and calls to international service.

His shot is severely underrated, partly because he just doesn’t use it enough. But when you can score goals like this? Please, use it more.

Suzuki’s playmaking is also at the height of his career. The confidence he has from playing like this is fully shining through in this aspect, making insane passes look routine.

He quickly saw Noel Gunler backdoor before getting the puck and stared down that defenseman while delivering a perfect pass to Gunler, who decides to let Jaaska have a tap in.

In short, Ryan Suzuki had a great month of December. He’s been incredible for the Wolves this season.