Top 5 Prospects of the Month: December 2025
A finale of sorts
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. As a reminder, this is not a list of where they rank amongst prospects. This is just for the given month.
You know, I had an entire 16 Thoughts written out and ready to release before Christmas, but that obviously didn’t work out. Now here I am, writing this out on New Years’ Eve and with, honestly, very little research done into this month. With that said, let’s tackle the honorable mentions.
Honorable Mentions:
Fyodor Avramov, W (Yuzhny Ural Orsk, VHL): 6 GP, 5 assists, 5 points
Filip Ekberg, W (Ottawa 67s, OHL): 9 GP, 7 goals, 1 assists, 8 points
Kurban Limatov, D (MHK Dynamo Moscow, MHL): 10 GP, 2 goals, 3 assists, 5 points
Timur Mukhanov, W (Severstal System, MHL/VHL/KHL): 10 GP, 3 goals, 5 assists, 8 points
KEEP FYODOR “UNCLE” AVRAMOV AT THIS LEVEL. PLEASE. NO MORE OF THIS JUMPING AROUND LEAGUES THING. HE’S GETTING GOOD LEARNING EXPERIENCES IN THE VHL WHILE GETTING GOOD MINUTES.
Filip Ekberg continues to be one of Ottawa’s best players, as he’s recently turned on the “I have a good release” part of his game. I mean it’s ridiculous the amount of goals he’s scored recently. Good to see that part round into his game.
Big Kurban Limatov is a freak. Super good skater and the offensive instincts are intriguing. Even with Timur Kol making a return to the lineup, he’s still taking up 25 or more minutes each game.
Speaking of players going through the ringer of teams, Timur Mukhanov played at every single level of professional Russian hockey this month. 2 games at the KHL level, 2 games in the VHL, and 6 games in the MHL. Racked up the majority of them with the MHL team, but had one stellar game for the VHL side, with a goal and 2 assists.
5. Ruslan Khazheyev, G (Greensboro Gargoyles, ECHL)
December Stats: 4 GP, .932% save percentage, 2.00 GAA
Is that a man on a horse galloping towards my direction? It sounds like he’s saying something, and it seems urgent.
“THE RUSLAN IS COMING”
Is it premature for it? Yes, more than likely. But this has been an extremely inspiring stretch of games for Khazheyev, who has needed an inspiring stretch of games. When you watch this 6’4 freak of nature athlete play, you are drawn to the size and aggressiveness, attacking shooting angles while almost forgetting where the blue paint is. To me, it’s the reinforcement of the fundamentals and making sure to not get rattle after giving up a goal that have been major improvements. He’s making the saves he just didn’t make last year and he looks better overall. He’s become the starter in Greensboro and I don’t think he’ll look back anytime soon.
4. Justin Robidas, RW (Chicago Wolves, AHL)
December Stats: 8 GP, 6 goals, 2 assists, 8 points
It feels like Robidas is still underrated by some, even though at this point, he’s the most NHL ready player in Chicago right now. He’s able to play either center or wing, even though he’s mainly been used as a RW (while taking faceoffs from the right circle). He’s able to be an effective penalty killer, shown by being one of the most important PK forwards for the Wolves, alongside SBA and Josiah Slavin. He’s had success on the power play, whether that be in the bumper or on the boards. He’s a coach’s dream.
This month, Robidas reminded me of why he’s basically an NHL forward now. Without Nadeau for stretches, the Wolves need someone to step up the goal scoring and Robidas goes on a 5 game goal streak, getting 6 goals in that time. He’s everything you could ask for in a forward and would probably be a full time NHL player by now if he was 4-5 inches taller.
3. Jakub Vondras, G (Pardubice B, Czechia2)
December Stats: 5 GP, .944% save percentage, 1.6 GAA
Well, hello there goalie. I’ll be the first to the admit that I haven’t watched any Vondras tape this year, mainly because trying to watch a Czechia2 game is a little hard for a fella in North Carolina without using some fun measures. But those are some really good stats for Vondras.
I mentioned it a few weeks ago but I barely talk about Vondras, partly because of the league he’s in being harder to find for me and because he’s had up and down performances over the past year. But this year seems is lining up to be his best year as a pro, turning in an impressive 2.74 goals against average and a .914% save percentage in 16 games. That puts him at 8th in terms of save percentage out of all goalies in the league, with Vondras being the 2nd youngest (21 years old).
2. Justin Poirier, W (Maine, NCAA)
December Stats: 5 GP, 6 goals, 3 assists, 9 points
Now, he’s not first solely because of where the bulk of his points came from, a 3 game stretch against Lindenwood and UMass Lowell. But that’s also not a negative, seeing as he posted 2 goals and an assist in back to back to BACK games, which is impressive for a freshman.
I keep coming back to the question that I get asked a good amount now, “Will he turn pro?” I’m going to continue to say no, since I’m always a bigger fan of players taking a little bit longer to smooth out the other aspects of their game. But I’ve but swayed by his ability to continue to produce. A few stats, Poirier needs 3 goals to beat Bradly Nadeau’s freshman tally at Maine, Poirier needs 16 goals to beat the freshman goal record, Poirier has 9 more points than anyone else on Maine.
1. Bradly Nadeau, W (Chicago Wolves/Carolina Hurricanes, AHL/NHL)
December Stats: 8 GP, 5 goals, 4 assists, 9 points
Yeah, this feels right. The top prospect in the system shows why he’s the top prospect by having great performances at both the AHL level and NHL level. Even though the usage at the NHL level, mainly at even strength, is a little head scratching (FOR ME).
What I wanted to see from Nadeau was a willingness to engage physically more often and more 5v5 points. I have gotten my wish in my both regards. Nadeau is finishing checks at a higher rate than ever and isn’t afraid of getting to the dirty areas with bigger players, something that was a little more rare last year. I’ve also really liked his play at 5v5, consistently being one of the more dangerous players on the ice. The Nadeau-Suzuki-Robidas line is really, really good when they play together.
Also, on the day this releases, Saturday January 3rd, Matt and I will be doing a watch along for the Wolves game. Come out and join for live reactions, or if you have any questions about prospects or anything like that.