Top 5 Prospects of the Month: February 2026
Second to last one of the year (programming note at the end)
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.
With March being the last real regular season month for a lot of prospects, alongside playoffs starting for others, March will be the last Top 5 for the year. Which means it’ll be the normal top 5 plus a recap of the year afterwards, including who holds the belt going into next year (because that’s still a thing). This month was also just weird, with a lot of injury and some lengthy breaks, alongside just a down month for the prospects overall. With that said, the honorable mentions.
Honorable Mentions
Filip Ekberg, W (Ottawa 67s, OHL) - 11 GP, 4 goals, 4 assists, 8 points
Pretty much a normal month for Ekberg now. Flashes of a player that can lead his team in points but injuries derailed part of his season. Has a 20-20 season going though, which is nice for a 18 year old.
Kurban Limatov, D (MHK Dynamo Moscow, MHL) - 9 GP, 5 goals, 2 assists, 7 points
This guy rules. Just a rangy defender who loves to run in transition and use his superb skating. His lowest ice time total in the month of February was 22:30.
Jayden Perron, W (Michigan, NCAA) - 8 GP, 3 goals, 3 assists, 6 points
He’s been a perfect player on the top line for a contending team in college. Playmaking is awesome, skating is a plus attribute.
Stanislav Yarovoi, W (Khimik, VHL) - 10 GP, 4 goals, 3 assists, 7 points
They gave him ice time and it worked! He plays offense with much more flair than I expected. Injuries haven’t helped him this season either. Has made a KHL appearance after not seeing it since the start of the year, which I didn’t think would happen.
5. Ivan Ryabkin, C (Charlottetown Islanders, QMJHL)
The “Justin Poirier” rule, introduced last year while Justin Poirier was doing his thing for Drakkar, returns with Ivan Drag-, I mean Ivan Ryabkin. February was a nice month for the young center, who had 3 goals and 7 assists for 10 points in 6 games.
Matt’s statement about Ryabkin stands completely true in my eyes, “I hope he never loses his sense of wonder.” When talking about Ryabkin’s move to the QMJHL, I wanted to see him take certain aspects of his game from the Wolves and further refine them. I also wanted to see him find that offensive confidence again. I can confidently speak to the second statement and say he’s found it. He’s deking (and sometimes decking) opponents before giving his teammates a perfect pass. His shot is still electric, being able to beat goalies in a whole host of ways. Most importantly to some, he still loves to start things with his physicality and his antics. Perfect example is a goal he scored from this past weekend (from March but it works really well).
Scores with a nice shot, hits an ELITE celebration, and then talks junk to the opposing bench on the way to the handshake line. If his effort level comes up further, he’d get serious consideration for the #dawg stamp.
4. Bradly Nadeau, W (Chicago Wolves, AHL)
Ugh, my 20 year old prospect only had 4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points in 8 games. What a shame (please understand sarcasm).
Nadeau, one of the Wolves’ 3 headed monster, is the team’s most important player. When he’s going offensively, he’s able to carry his line. One trend I’ve noticed is his ability to find open space consistently. If I’m the coach of an AHL team that’s playing the Wolves, I’d try to cover 82 at all times. He’s still on pace for back to back 30 goal AHL seasons, which would be rather ridiculous.
Fun fact: Bradly Nadeau, if he scores 7 goals in the next 21 games, would become the first player in AHL history to have two 30+ goal season before turning 21. Unreal
3. Yegor Velmakin, G (Dynamo St. Petersburg, VHL)
After flirting with the top 5 for a few months, Yegor Velmakin makes his triumphant entrance into the top 5 for the first time EVER. It’s well deserved too, as in 5 games played, he had a .952% save percentage and a 1.6 Goals Against Average.
Is this slightly inflated by a 9 save appearance where he came in relief? Partially, yes. But he also posted his first shutout of the season, he made 36/38 saves in a 4-1 loss, and he made 35/38 saves in a 4-3 win. I’m still really interested in what he does after this season. With his contract running out and with 3 out of the 4 goalies the Canes have in the AHL/ECHL on an expiring contract, I wonder is Velmakin gets a chance to try his hand in North America.
2. Justin Robidas, W/C (Chicago Wolves, AHL)
Justin Robidas, the most consistent of the Wolves’ 3 headed monster, just keeps doing what he’s supposed to. He’s killing penalties, he’s helping the top unit on the power play, he’s doing great at even strength, AND taking faceoffs on the right side of the ice. I’m going to keep stressing this, but Robidas is good enough to be an NHL guy right now.
1. Felix Unger Sorum, W (Chicago Wolves, AHL)
The third head of the three headed monster in Chicago, Felix Unger Sorum is the most improved out of any Chicago Wolves player this year. He’s on pace to TRIPLE his rookie year production! In February, Felix had 3 goals and 6 assists for 9 points in 8 games.
There is just so much intrigue about Felix. If you listened to the most recent Developing Hurricanes episode, you would’ve heard Matt and I rant and rave about the player he is. The way he can process the game and make plays is something the Canes haven’t seen since Teuvo Teravainen, someone who we compared him to multiple times (even if Matt was sheepish about his other comp, but for good reason). He’s an unbelievable playmaker, moreso now that he’s able to handle the physicality of the professional game much, much better now. When the Canes make callups for Wolves players at the end of the year (barring he isn’t traded by the deadline), he will be among those making his NHL debut this year.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: I am headed to Vegas on Sunday so don’t expect anything written from me until sometime after March 16th. I’ll try my hardest to keep the normal updates going on the account, but I can’t promise anything.