Top 5 Prospects of the Month: January 2026
New year, same series
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.
I went into a legit panic last Friday night, trying to prep this entire thing for a release on Saturday. Then I realized that there are 31 days in January. Sometimes, you forget the small things in life.
Oh yeah, Honorable Mentions.
Timur Kol, D (MHK Dynamo Moscow, MHL): 9 GP, 4 goals, 5 assists, 9 points
Kurban Limatov, D (MHK Dynamo Moscow, MHL): 9 GP, 3 goals, 6 assists, 9 points
Oskar Vuollet, W (Skelleftea, SHL): 10 GP, 1 goal, 4 assists, 5 points
Stanislav Yarovoy, W (Khimik, VHL): 7 GP, 2 goals, 3 assists, 5 points
That Kol and Limatov duo for MHK Dynamo Moscow has been great. Limatov has been a killer in transition, normally leading it out from his own zone. Timur Kol has also been a killer, but mainly on the power play and with his shot. Also, he has to be one of the most well conditioned MHL athletes right now. He’s getting an average of 25:03 TOI per game! That’s the highest in the MHL by almost 2 minutes! The next closest is sitting at 23:14! Oskar Vuollet, after having one of the slowest starts out of any Canes Prospect, has turned his season around. With 7 points on the year now, he’s only 3 points away from breaking his career high in SHL points. Yarovoy, who also had a slower start to the year, has found his groove in the VHL. He’s been a third line winger for the most part and has been pretty solid in that role.
5. Jakub Vondras, G (Pardubice B, Czechia2)
This month’s stats: 4 GP, 2.00 GAA, .923% save percentage
Well, well, well, what do we have here? That’s back to back really solid months for Vondras, who is putting together one hell of a season with Pardubice B. He’s currently sitting 11th in save percentage with a .915%. There are only 2 other goalies that are under the age of 21 in the top 11. With the goalie situation the farm system looking interesting for next year, I don’t think I’d mind seeing Vondras get an opportunity in North America next year.
4. Jayden Perron, W (Michigan, NCAA)
This month’s stats: 6 GP, 4 goals, 4 assists, 8 points
Perron has been a perfect player for this Michigan team this year. One of the best teams in the country, he’s consistently been on the top line while also helping quarterback a power play, something somewhat rare for a forward to do.
Again, I know people will always worry about size. It’s a genuine concern in the modern day NHL. I think there are some concerns about Perron in terms of size, but his dynamic ability with the puck on his stick is unreal. He’s able to do things with the puck that not many players are able to do. Combine that with his underrated shot and good skating and you create an interesting player. My biggest concern with Perron (outside of size) was consistency, something he struggled with while at North Dakota. Those concerns have been quieted.
3. Felix Unger Sorum, W (Chicago Wolves, AHL)
This month’s stats: 13 GP, 0 goals, 14 assists
It was a rather great month for some of the prospects on the Chicago Wolves, with Felix being no exception. Wonder what sort of reaction people will have when they see the prospect that myself and Matt have compared to Teuvo Teravainen have a month where he’s over a point per game but he doesn’t have a single goal.
Felix has been perfect on the Wolves second line, handling much more responsibility this year compared to last year. Spiros Anastas gave a great answer about the what and why Felix has looked so much better. To me, he’s handling everything about the pro game better. Two of the main things he struggled with was the pace and physicality, but he’s gotten so much better at handling both. According to Spiros, he’s been elite when it comes to the work in the gym and nutrition, while the pace of play slowly comes naturally over time.
Note: Last night’s Wolves game was a pretty clear indicator of how his development is going.
1a and 1b. Bradly Nadeau, W and Justin Robidas, W/C (both Chicago Wolves)
Yes, I know that Nadeau won AHL Player of the Month. But you could’ve had either Nadeau (8 goals, 10 assists) or Robidas (9 goals, 9 assists) as player of the month, as they both had 18 points over the course of 13 games in the month of January. The Shaq and Kobe (or Jordan and Pippen) of the Chicago Wolves.
Starting with Nadeau, what else can you even say about him at this point. After putting up a historic AHL season as a 19 year old, he’s only putting up a 2nd historic AHL season as a 20 year old. Currently, he’s on pace for 78 points. A U21 AHL player hasn’t had more than 70 points since Artyom Anisimov back in the 2008/2009 season. The caveat being that he played 80 games that season while Nadeau will play 63 (if he’s not called up again). He’s become a much more complete player this season (shown by him being one of the Wolves more reliable penalty killers), one that can be a top 9 NHL winger right now, even if his ceiling is higher.
Justin Robidas has become an unreal AHL player. Just everything about his game is good. From his work at even strength, whether that be as a center or on the right wing, his defensive ability, his work on the power play, his work on the penalty kill. Hell, even his shot has gotten better. I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again, he’s going to play a good amount of NHL games in future.