By Zackery Robert
Sixth in this draft day history series is the Carolina Hurricanes. A fairly new franchise in terms of drafting history, only drafting for what will be 26 years this draft in June. Never holding the number one pick, let’s see what the Hurricanes have been able to do in those 26 years.
To start off we will go with a Hurricanes legend, Cam Ward. Ward was drafted 25th in the 2002 draft and began to play for the Hurricanes in the 2005-2006 season. Ward burst onto the scene with a Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe in his rookie year. This was for sure a sign of things to come as Ward would backstop the Hurricanes for a total of 13 seasons out of his 14 and totaling 318 wins for the club, most by any Hurricanes goalie in franchise history.
The next player is probably one of their most successful players to put on the Canes jersey. Eric Staal was drafted in the 2003 in the first round pick number two and Staal burst onto the scene in his second season scoring 45 goals and 55 assists for a 100 point season at only 21. Staal would play the first 12 years in Carolina between 2003-2016 before being traded at the deadline in the 2015-2016 season to the Rangers. Scoring 775 points during his tenure with the Hurricanes, Staal will go down as one of the best Hurricanes in their history when he’s all said and done.
Third on this list is someone who has the potential, if they are here long enough, to be the best drafted Hurricane and that is Sebastian Aho. Aho was selected in the second round pick 35 in 2015. So far in his young career he has been electric and has brought that top forward back to Carolina since Eric Staal in his prime. So far Aho has over 450 points in a little more than 500 games played in his career, with four 30 goal campaigns already, Aho looks poised to be the best Hurricane when he hangs up his skates.
Now on to players who could have fared better for the Hurricanes during their respective tenures. First up would be third overall selection in the 2005 draft, Jack Johnson. Johnson never played one game for the Hurricanes before being traded away to the Los Angeles Kings in 2006 for not much of a spectacular return. In 2005 Johnson was third, but there were future hall of fame names selected shortly after him starting at number five with Carey Price, then at number 11 with Anze Kopitar and at 21 with Tuukka Rask. With many more viable options that had nice careers Johnson will definitely go down as a bust of a pick for the Hurricanes.
Next up is former fourth overall pick Andrew Ladd. Ladd was selected in the 2004 draft and played three years for the club before being traded to the Blackhawks. The Hurricanes had a solid return for Ladd in Tuomo Ruutu, but Ladd never played at a fourth overall selection level, in 137 games Ladd scored 50 points. It was more beneficial for Ladd then it was for the Hurricanes, winning a Stanley Cup and then being traded to a team that will also win a Stanley Cup in his short time with them.
Third and final choice is former seventh overall pick Haydn Fleury. The defensemen was drafted in 2014 and just never got it clicking in his career. Fleury played 167 games for the Hurricanes and scored 24 points. He struggled to gain footing in the league and was traded away to the Ducks part way through the 2020-2021. He has continued to bounce around since leaving Carolina and has played on four different teams in the last three seasons.
Currently the Hurricanes are a playoff bound team and are looking like strong contenders so the draft is probably not very high on their list of things to focus on just yet. But when June comes around the Hurricanes hold nine picks in total: 1st, 2nd, 3rd (PHI), 4th, 5th, 5th (VAN), 6th, 6th (CHI), 7th. Right now the Hurricanes are stocked up on forward and with their top prospect being rookie Seth Jarvis, the blue line should be their focus. Given their season, a pick between 27-32 wouldn’t be a surprise so to focus on that area and their need for defence they should keep close eyes on the following three defence, Theo Lindstein, Oliver Bonk, and Lukas Dragicevic. All three will add a steady mix of offence and defence which will benefit the Hurricanes greatly for such a low selection.
For more information on the 2023 NHL Draft class be sure to pick up your copy of the comprehensive DraftPro 2023 NHL Draft Guide.