Answering Your Questions

The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma.

We’ve reached a lull in what has been a relatively boring offseason around the NHL, so I figured it’s time to see what you all want answers on. I’m by no means an expert, but I’m happy to give my takes on things.

Where have all the Finnish prospects gone? Is there a playing style in the Russian leagues that’s more attractive to the canes vs the Finnish leagues or are the canes just tapping new frontiers. - Howie Handorf

Howie asked me this question on twitter a while ago and I gave him an answer that 280 characters would allow. I’d like to dive into this answer a little more, because I believe there’s a reason why the Hurricanes have stopped taking Finnish players altogether. The last time Carolina took Finnish players was 2021 where they took Aleksi Heimosalmi and Ville Koivunen. Heimosalmi has since had a disappointing start to his professional career, while Koivunen was traded in the Jake Guentzel deal and has seven assists in eight games with Pittsburgh. There was a while where the Hurricanes were regularly selecting players from Finland, but in reality, Sebastian Aho is the only Finn they’ve drafted that has worked out for them at the NHL level. Eetu Luostarinen has become a great NHL player, but he was traded before he could stick as a full-time NHL player.

If you look at the amount of Finns the Hurricanes have drafted since 2016, it’s ugly.

2016 - Janne Kuokkanen (11 NHL games played for Carolina)

2017 - Eetu Luostarinen (8 NHL games played for Carolina) Eetu Makiniemi (0 GP) Ville Rasanen (not signed to pro contract)

2018 - Lenni Killinen (not signed to pro contract)

2019 - Patrik Puistola (not signed to pro contract), Anttoni Honka (left for Europe), Tuukka Tieksola (not qualified after awful pro career)

Including the two 2021 draftees, the Hurricanes have gotten less than 20 NHL games played from Finnish players they’ve drafted since Sebastian Aho. That’s certainly one of the factors behind why the team has moved away from drafting Finns. But, if you look at recent drafts, you’ll also see that Finland has had some very underwhelming draft classes in recent years, so the Hurricanes have likely felt unimpressed by what they’ve turned out in the past few years. Let’s explore that a bit.

Here are the Finns with NHL games played in the past five drafts, going back to 2020 since the 2025 draft just happened:

• Anton Lundell - 295 GP

• Roby Jarventie - 7 GP

• Joel Blomqvist - 15 GP

• Leevi Merilainen - 14 GP

• Mikael Pyyhtia - 66 GP

• Ville Koivunen - 8 GP

• Aatu Raty - 48 GP

• Samuel Helenius - 50 GP

• Oliver Kapanen - 18 GP

• Ville Ottavainen - 1 GP

• Joakim Kemell - 2 GP

• Brad Lambert - 6 GP

• Jani Nyman - 12 GP

• Niklas Kokko - 1 GP

Zero Finnish players from the 2023 or 2024 drafts have made their debuts yet, although we’re still very close to those drafts. Still, this is likely why Carolina has avoided Finnish prospects in recent years. Aside from Lundell, there hasn’t been a legitimate prospect to come from Finland. Lambert could still potentially pop, and Nyman had a decent stint with Seattle, but there’s not a ton that wows me. What’s worse is a lot of these players were picked relatively high. In 2022, Finland had six players drafted in the top two rounds, including two in the first round. Nyman is the only one with over ten NHL games. In 2021, Finland had six players taken in the second round. Neither Raty nor Helenius look like long-term options in the NHL. So, while the Hurricanes have found success in Russia, it’s not necessarily to replace Finland. It’s that Finland hasn’t had many prospects worth a ton as of late. The Finnish Liiga is a weaker league and with the growth we’ve seen from leagues like the DEL and the SHL, it’s less of an attractive option for players. Right now, the Liiga compares to the Swedish second tier league, HockeyAllsvenskan. The teams at the top may be better, but overall, it’s a concerning trend.

Why would Pyotr cut off all his hair when it was so beautiful? - CasTimber on Twitter

For this, we have to understand that goalies are a different species of hockey player entirely and it’s difficult to rationalize their decisions. I will say that he looks much more his age now than with the long hair, where he looked like he was trying out for the local high school hockey team rather than a goalie in the NHL.

Which prospects would you package in a trade for Tage Thompson? - Howie Handorf

This is a specific player, but my answer won’t vary for many other players. Earlier this offseason, I mentioned that Bradly Nadeau and Scott Morrow were at their peak value for the Hurricanes to use in a trade, and the team has already used Morrow to improve the roster. Nadeau is their premier trade chip right now, coming off of a 30-goal AHL season and looking like a future NHL player. I’ll say what I’ve been saying about Nadeau all offseason: he could be a good, even great, NHL player, but if you have the opportunity to trade him for a proven top line player, you do it.

Nadeau and other prospects in the system are mystery boxes. They could be a 30-goal scorer, but there’s also the chance that they don’t pan out. Nadeau wasn’t good at 5v5 last year and struggled with the physicality of the AHL. He wasn’t great in his handful of NHL games at the end of the year, either. He’s still a ways away from the NHL despite a productive 19 year old season, unless he has a truly tremendous offseason. Nadeau could still be a productive NHL player, but in all likelihood, he’s not helping the team right now. If they can find someone to improve the team in the present, they should do it.

I’d say this for any prospect in the system, too. Given how Carolina likes to draft players that other teams don’t like, I’m not sure which of their prospects have any value. Players like Charles-Alexis Legault would be attractive to other teams based on the size and skating profile, plus a strong start to his pro career. However, I’m more inclined to keep Legault because Carolina’s defense isn’t getting any younger and I could see him making an impact sooner rather than later.

There’s a reason why we usually see draft picks traded rather than prospects when we look at trades. The fact of the matter is that once a player is drafted by an NHL team, their value goes down league wide. It’s weird, but that’s how it is. NHL teams prefer the idea of getting “their guy” and not someone else’s, which is strange. You’d think that they would want players close to the pros, but that’s how it works. Typically, you’ll only see a handful of prospects get moved in deals. Callum Ritchie comes to mind as an example, as he was traded to the Islanders as a part of the Brock Nelson trade.

Give me your best Canes fan story - Michael Oneill on Twitter

There’s so many. I was raised a Canes fan and have been a fan for all 27 years of my life. I’ll share one funny one and one slightly heartwarming one. We’ll start with the latter.

The team released their black jerseys when I was a kid, and at the time, they had the Caniac Carnival in September to mark the start of the year. It was usually during training camp and fans could watch a practice or scrimmage (real ones will remember when it was a free preseason game). The team doesn’t do this anymore, nor do they have to. The hype surrounding the team speaks for itself where they don’t need an event to remind people that there’s a hockey team in Raleigh. During the Carnival, fans could wait in line for autographs from players, and my family did that this year. My mom took my siblings and I while my dad worked in the merch store downstairs. We met up with a family friend and her kids, and we all waited in line. We had gotten a few tables in, and I mentioned wanting to get Rod Brind’Amour’s autograph. I had a feeling that it was one of the last times I’d be able to get to see him and get his autograph as a player. We didn’t know he’d become a coach, obviously, so we waited in line.

Now, that year, the team ran a promotion where if you purchased a new black jersey, you got to skip the line for autographs. We didn’t buy the jersey, so we were stuck in line. We get all the way to the front and we’re the last family to get cut off before they shut things down. My siblings and I were devastated. Rod takes one look at the folks in line and tells security to let more through. He couldn’t have been nicer. It’s a testament to how great of a guy he is, and I’ll always respect the hell out of the guy.

Now, the funny story. I met my wife in August of 2017 and we started dating shortly afterwards. She obviously knew that I was a big hockey fan, although the extent of which was only partially known to her at the time. There was some mild optimism heading into the season, with Sebastian Aho looking like a future star, Justin Williams returning to Raleigh, Scott Darling signing with the team, and fresh extensions for Brett Pesce and Jaccob Slavin. The team looked like they were finally ready to make the playoffs. They were missing a captain, however. So, the team calls a press conference to announce that there would be not only one captain but two captains: Jordan Staal and Justin Faulk. I, like the collective fan base, lost my mind.

Now, picture this. You walk into a room and the person you’ve been dating for a little less than a month now is in the fetal position on his bed mumbling something about “there’s two of them, why are there two?” Clearly, this person is beyond help and it’s time for them to take a trip to the grippy sock emporium. My future wife just takes one look at me and goes “they fucked it up, didn’t they?” And at that moment, I knew that I had found my soulmate. Someone that understood the dark days of being a Hurricanes fan.

Should Svechnikov be on PP1 or PP2? My knee-jerk reaction is to say PP1, but then Jarvis is the only right shot in that group. Would being on PP2 let Svech be more of a leader and play driver on that unit? - Katie Bartlett

I was hoping that when the Hurricanes traded Martin Necas, it would allow for Svechnikov to take on a bigger role on the Hurricanes’ power play. That didn’t happen this past year. I’ve also wondered what the Hurricanes do with Svechnikov in order to maximize his potential with the team. He’s best suited when he’s in a shooting position on the power play, not working from down low. I think the power forward element to his game isn’t there consistently enough, nor do I think he’s a good enough skater to be the guy on the entries. Here’s what I could see the team doing:

Jarvis - Aho - Ehlers - Svechnikov - Gostisbehere

Hall - Stankoven - Blake - Kotkaniemi - Nikishin

The second unit is much weaker, but if you move Svechnikov down to that unit, you’re taking away a lot of offense from the first unit. Now, I do think that Svechnikov could benefit on the second unit by being a screen out in front, because Nikishin is going to want to shoot and he’ll need to have a screen in order to get shots through. However, I don’t think that’s worth keeping Svechnikov off of the first unit. He’s not a play driver on the power play, he should be a shooter. Carolina’s second unit is certainly weaker, but if Blake and Stankoven take steps forward, they’ll be in a much better spot. They still need a 2C, though, because Jesperi Kotkaniemi isn’t that guy. He doesn’t have enough offense to do that.

With Blake locked up for 9 years. And no room for Nadeau on the current roster. Do we see Nadeau as a trade chip, or as someone that will be made room for next year? I’d love that shot on the main roster not just chilling in the AHL. - Zac Rogerson

I would love to know your thoughts on Nadeau’s chance to make the canes. It feels like he’s got a tough road ahead. He’s not got the RBA favored skill set like Blaker did and there’s not a spot right now for him to really showcase his talents. But we could use his goal scoring. - JWBS

I’m combining these two since they both center around Bradly Nadeau. Both questions come after Jackson Blake’s eight year extension was announced, so there are some questions about Nadeau’s future with the team right now. I’ll say what I’ve been saying all summer: if you’re going to trade Nadeau, the time to do so is now while his value is sky high. He’s coming off of a historic rookie season in the AHL and looks like an NHL goal scorer. That’s awesome, but the fact of the matter is that he struggled at even strength last year and isn’t ready for the pace and physicality of the NHL just yet. Plus/minus is a flawed stat, but Nadeau was a -20 in the regular season and a -3 in Chicago’s two playoff games. This backs up what I was seeing during games. Nadeau wasn’t much of a factor at even strength, and the majority of his production came on the power play.

I say all of this to let you all know that unless Nadeau has a truly phenomenal camp, he’s back with Chicago next year. And that’s fine, since he’s only 20 years old. Both people mention the shot, and it’s definitely a weapon, but I’ve yet to see Nadeau look dominant at even strength. So, is it worth having Nadeau on the lineup only to bolster the second unit? It’s likely that he’ll produce more than he’ll give up on the defensive side of the puck, barring a good offseason. If Nadeau comes to camp stronger and impresses at even strength in the preseason, then maybe we can see him getting a look. But for me, I don’t see a path for Nadeau right away unless that happens. Is that concerning? Goodness, no. Nadeau is 20 years old and isn’t even close to his prime years. I’d argue that he’s ahead of schedule, even. It’s fine if he gets more time to adjust to the pro game in the AHL. He jumped quickly from the BCHL to the NCAA and then from the NCAA to the AHL. He made his NHL debut less than a year removed from playing in the BCHL. That’s unreal.

Thanks to everyone that submitted questions!