At NHL Draft, Carolina Hurricanes hope for a ‘home run,’ and not only in the first round

The NHL Draft has often been called a crapshoot — and who’s to argue?

Have the No. 1 pick and the chance to take a Connor Bedard, as the Chicago Blackhawks do this year? That’s not much of a gamble. The flashy forward is said to be a generational talent.

But deeper in the draft, even in the latter stages of the first round?

It’s all about potential.

The Carolina Hurricanes have the No. 30 pick in the first round of the 2023 draft, which will be held Wednesday at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. Even the Canes have to make a guess — albeit an informed, educated one — on who might be available at that point, and the best fit for their organization.

“Every year we’re trying to find the player we feel has the greatest chance to have the highest impact in the NHL,” Canes assistant general manager Darren Yorke, who oversees the team’s amateur scouting, said in an N&O interview. “The expectations and the bar we place on our athletes, they’re high.”

Hidden gems

The Canes’ best pick in any given draft, the player who eventually makes the biggest impact on the team, may not come in the first round.

Sebastian Aho was a second-round selection (2015), Brett Pesce a third-rounder (2013) and Jaccob Slavin a fourth-rounder (2012). Call them draft “home runs.”

Some believe Alexander Nikishin might be another home run, that he’s quickly becoming one of the best defensemen not currently in the NHL. A third-round pick by the Hurricanes in 2020, Nikishin is now under contract to SKA St. Petersburg in Russia’s KHL through 2025.

“He’s continued to develop and progress,” Yorke said. “He had one of the best seasons ever as a defenseman in the KHL.”

Nikishin, 21, had 11 goals and 44 assists in 65 games with St. Petersburg in 2022-23, leading all KHL defensemen in assists and setting a league record for points in a season (55) by a Russian-born D-man. Imagine Nikishin, big-bodied at 6-4 and 216 pounds, on the Canes’ blue line.

Trade up, or pick low

As for this year’s draft, the Canes have never made a pick as low as 30th in the opening round. Carolina would have had the No. 30 selection in 2006 but traded its first-round pick to St. Louis to acquire veteran forward Doug Weight and make its run at the Stanley Cup.

The Hurricanes picked 27th in 2009, taking forward Philippe Paradis, and 28th in 2019, selecting forward Ryan Suzuki.

Paradis was soon traded and has never played an NHL game. Suzuki remains in the Canes’ system, playing the past three seasons with the Chicago Wolves in the AHL while dealing with injuries.

But such is the price of success in the NHL. Have one of the league’s best teams and go deep in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and you have a low draft pick that year. Unless you trade up, you pick low.

In-person talent evaluation returns

Yorke, in handling amateur scouting for the Canes, has faced his share of challenges the past few years — including the unprecedented task of getting a good feel for prospects during a pandemic. The Canes were limited to video scouting for the most part but now are able to branch out more and get scouts’ eyeballs on more players.

“Video allows us to be at two places at once,” Yorke said. “Our coverage, because of what we learned in the pandemic, has grown considerably. We’re better and more informed as a staff because of what we learned about using technology.”

The Canes used four draft picks on Russian players a year ago — forward Kleb Trikozov taken in the second round, 60th overall — while relying on video but also the reports of Russia-based scout Oleg Smirnov, Yorke said.

The Canes were the NHL prospects combine in Buffalo this year, watching all the conditioning drills with interest while holding 68 individual interviews, Yorke said. Going one on one, even for no more than the allotted 20 minutes, is an important part of the draft process, he said.

“The maturity they showed in communicating what they want to do with their lives, it’s impressive,” Yorke said.

Canes have stockpile of picks

The Hurricanes go to Nashville with nine draft picks in all, including two each in the fifth and sixth rounds. The draft concludes with the second through the seven rounds on Thursday.

Some of the NHL mock drafts have the Hurricanes using their first-round pick on such players as forwards Andrew Cristall or Gavin Brindley. Cristall scored 39 goals in 54 games for Kelowna in the WHL last season, but he was ranked 15th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting and could be off the board by the time the Canes pick. So, too, Brindley, who played at Michigan last season with forward Adam Fantilli, who could be the second pick of the draft.

The Hurricanes could use some of their assets for potential trades. Put all the GMs and agents together in the same city, and arena, for a few days and a lot can happen — and often does. Don Waddell, president and general manager of the Hurricanes, figures to be busy.

During the 2018 draft, the Canes traded Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin to Calgary for Dougie Hamilton, Micheal Ferland and the rights to Adam Fox, then a defensive prospect. A year ago, they dealt defenseman Tony DeAngelo to Philadelphia for three draft picks.

Who knows, the Canes could get DeAngelo back this week in a trade with the Flyers if issues involving retained salary can be clarified with league officials.

Yorke said all contingencies were considered in advance of leaving for Nashville.

“In the event we use draft capital to acquire players, that’s fine,” Yorke said. “It doesn’t change the process we’re doing in planning our draft board.”

Hurricanes draft picks

First round: No. 30

Second round: No. 62

Third round: No. 71 (from Philadelphia)

Fourth round: No. 126

Fifth round: No. 139 (from Vancouver), No. 158

Sixth round: No. 163 (from Chicago), No. 190

Seventh round: No. 222