Carolina Hurricanes

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With Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin, Seth Jones, and Aleksander Barkov all off the board, in that order, the Canes Country staff decided to select Valeri Nichushkin with Carolina's pick, the fifth overall of the draft. Nichushkin seems to be the consensus pick at this spot by most scouting services, but of course he does not come without some risk. At 6'4 inches and over 200 pounds, he certainly has the size that Carolina fans have been craving. He also has the skill set to bring fans out of their seats. Most scouting services and pundits have him ranked at either four or five in this draft. Here is what some of the top scouting services had to say about the potential superstar: Nichushkin is the absolute beast of the bunch having grown to gargantuan proportions (6-4, 202 pounds) while retaining the fluidity and elusiveness in his stride, and his trademark vision and playmaking abilities. His hands are both strong and soft, and he's able to control the puck like he has it on a string. It's almost unfair how easy it is for him to just walk down even strong defensemen and take the puck straight to the net at will. Red Line Report (via USA Today) "He’s a guy with all kinds of talent. He’s big, he’s a tremendous skater, but in February at the Under-18 tournament, that was maybe the most dominant performance I’ve seen at any of those Under-18 or World Junior tournaments. He absolutely took over the tournament. He was good on the forecheck, he was finishing checks, he was making plays or scored big goals in the third period when his team was behind, he never quit on a shift and he was just spectacular. I think when you see that potential and the level he played at in the Russian men’s league, you see a very good prospect."Caveat: "He’s got great one-on-one individual skills with the puck, and that was maybe the problem with him, is that you thought maybe he didn’t see the other options and he didn’t play with other players real well."Comparable NHL Players: Alex Ovechkin or Evgeni Malkin Director of Lightning Scouting, Al Murray The package of size, skill, and sheer dynamic ability that Valeri Nichushkin brings to the table has some considering him as not only a Top 3 talent, but someone who could be worthy of top honours. The Chelyabinsk native made a big splash on the world stage over Christmas showing flashes of the dynamic skillset many NHL teams will covet.Nichushkin is particularly strong off the rush, similar to players like Rick Nash. He does a great job of attacking lanes and driving his body through defenders to the net where an accurate shot and quality puck handling make him an impressive threat. Consistency is the main area of concern with his game at this point in time. The Scouting Report, (via My NHL Draft) But even with all the superlatives being thrown out there, like with most prospects there are some questions. A couple of scouts have mentioned that he needs work on his defense and he is inconsistent. A couple of others say that he seems "selfish" with the puck and does not complement his teammates well. Over at the Copper and Blue, they ran a "comparables" report which showed that Nichushkin scored fewer goals and points in his draft year than some of his peers, such as Vladimir Tarasenko. The season prior to his draft year was even lower. The following is from that article: Another thing that might help is looking at Nichushkin's Draft -1 season. Nichushkin spent that year in the MHL, Russia's top junior league, and it just so happens that quite a few Russians did the same before heading to North America for their draft year over the last few seasons. That means comparing Draft -1 seasons should give us a larger sample of talented Russian players who are receiving a reasonable amount of ice time. In the chart below I've included all of the players listed in the Consensus Top 100 for 2013, as

Interesting read on trading up/down in the upcoming draft: Price is steep for top picks in NHL draft Here are a few interesting tidbits: Flames general manager Jay Feaster recently made a bold move, offering his three first-round draft picks (sixth, 22nd, 28th) to Colorado for the No. 1 overall selection. The Avalanche said no. Canes appear to be the only one with Top 5 willing to consider trading down. Supposedly, a "Top 4 defenceman with experience and term remaining" and a first round pick is the price. Edmonton, selecting seventh overall, had discussions with the Hurricanes, but it sounds like those talks cooled. Another note about the Hurricanes. Word is that "some players who were previously untouchable may no longer be untouchable," according to one source. Apparently, this does not include anyone with the last name Staal. Interesting read on trading up/down in the upcoming draft: Price is steep for top picks in NHL draft Here are a few interesting tidbits: Flames general manager Jay Feaster recently made a bold move, offering his three first-round draft picks (sixth, 22nd, 28th) to Colorado for the No. 1 overall selection. The Avalanche said no. Canes appear to be the only one with Top 5 willing to consider trading down. Supposedly, a "Top 4 defenceman with experience and term remaining" and a first round pick is the price. Edmonton, selecting seventh overall, had discussions with the Hurricanes, but it sounds like those talks cooled. Another note about the Hurricanes. Word is that "some players who were previously untouchable may no longer be untouchable," according to one source. Apparently, this does not include anyone with the last name Staal.

Mile High Hockey, the SB Nation blog covering the Colorado Avs got the annual mock draft underway by making Nathan MacKinnon the number one pick. Obviously, there was much discussion between their writers who should go first, but MacKinnon got the nod. Litter Box Cats, the Florida Panthers blog followed up by choosing Jonathan Drouin. The Cats need offense, so there was little debate among them about this choice. They would have preferred MacKinnon, but Drouin will do. Raw Charge, the Lightning reps were surprised that Seth Jones was still on the board, so they grabbed him up. Tomorrow morning, On The Forecheck will be on the clock for the Preds and then Canes Country will be posting our choice at 1 p.m. Follow pick by pick at SB Nation Hockey.

Thanks to all the dads who put us on the right path. Own The Moment.

Congratulations to Alex Ovechkin on winning the 2013 Hart Trophy! The Hart Trophy is given out each year to the "player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team." Ovechkin had a league high 32 goals this season, along with 24 assists for a team high 56 points. In his final 29 games, Ovechkin had 22 goals and 41 points, and helped the Capitals go 20-7-2 to reach the postseason.

Congratulations to Jonathan Toews on winning the 2013 Selke Trophy! The Selke Trophy is awarded to the NHL's top defensive forward as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Toews had 23 goals, 25 assists and 48 points this season. He also finished the season tied for the league lead with 56 takeaways and had a +28 rating.

Who is the best player available in the NHL Entry Draft coming up later this month? The answer depends upon who you ask. Seth Jones was the clear front-runner at one point, but since Nathan MacKinnon was named MVP of the Memorial Cup, the dynamic center has been mentioned at the top more and more often. Of course that doesn't mean he will be selected by the Avs, who have the number one pick, but MacKinnon is getting his fair share of love. The ISS recently named MacKinnon their number one prospect. With the close of the junior hockey season this past weekend and in advance of the upcoming NHL Draft, ISS Hockey has named Nathan MacKinnon the #1 ranked prospect, supplanting Seth Jones who had held the position for much of the season. Rounding out the Top 5 are #2-Seth Jones, #3-Jonathan Drouin, #4-Valery Nichushkin, and #5-Sasha Barkov. The current ISS Top 30 can always be viewed at: ISShockey.com/iss-top-30 Although with Carolina picking at number five, it doesn't much matter who goes first, second, and third. Or does it? Hockey Prospectus has Jonathan Drouin as their number one guy, though they admit it's virtual a coin flip. In making the final call, I leaned towards the large edge for Drouin in puck skills and hockey sense. For forwards, these are the two most important skills. Skating is a close third, and MacKinnon's skating skills nearly close the value gap. Taking into account the edge MacKinnon has in physicality, along with his shot, defensive skill, his position, and his handedness—in that order—the argument for MacKinnon at number one is legitimate, to the point where I view this decision as a coin flip. While some argue who is better, Drouin or MacKinnon, it's been noted that Seth Jones has no weakness in his game. The Red Line Report, (via USA Today), McKeen's Hockey, and the CSS still have him at the top. At Red Line Report, we have Seth Jones positioned atop the entire draft board, and he had to be pretty special to earn top honors in a year filled with a bevy of flashy forwards. Jones represents as complete a package as we've seen in any defenseman over the past decade. With his mix of size, puck skills, natural athleticism and poise, Jones can dominate and take over games at both ends of the ice, and has an impact on the game in every aspect. Most will say that the top three of the draft are in a class of their own, but not far behind are Valeri Nichushkin and Aleksander Barkov, two dominating players in their own right. After the two top Europeans, there are several more players who could possibly be game changers. In the coming two weeks, we will be taking a closer look at each of the top prospects and will also look at several mock drafts. As always, I will be taking a crack at my own mock draft next week. Below we can see how the experts rank the prospects. Barkov and Nichushkin seem to be nearly consensus selections for fourth and fifth. Which player is better? Who would be better for the Hurricanes? We will try to answer those questions and more in articles coming up next week. Hockey Red Line ISS McKeen's Prospectus Report CSS (projected) (projected) 1 Nathan MacKinnon Seth Jones Jonathan Drouin Seth Jones Seth Jones 2 Seth Jones Nathan MacKinnon Nathan MacKinnon Jonathan Drouin Nathan MacKinnon 3 Jonathan Drouin Jonathan Drouin Seth Jones Nathan MacKinnon Jonathan Drouin 4 Valeri Nichushkin Elias Lindholm Valeri Nichushkin Aleksander Barkov Aleksander Barkov 5 Aleksander Barkov Aleksander Barkov Aleksander Barkov Valeri Nichushkin Valeri Nichushkin 6 Darnell Nurse Valeri Nichushkin Elias Lindholm Darnell Nurse Darnell Nurse 7 Elias Lindholm Nikita Zadorov Sean Monahan Elias Lindholm Sean Monahan 8 Nikita Zadorov Darnell Nurse Rasmus Ristolainen Max Domi Elias Lindholm 9 Sean Monahan Max Domi

On Wednesday, the Charlotte Checkers revealed their new look uniforms. Not surprisingly, they are very similar to their parent team's. The Checkers will be taking orders for these starting June 30, for delivery toward the end of September. For more info, check out the team's release that follows: CHECKERS UNVEIL NEW UNIFORMS Charlotte will debut new look beginning with 2013-14 season CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Charlotte Checkers have unveiled new home and road uniforms, which are based on the new look earlier presented by their NHL affiliate, the Carolina Hurricanes. Several key changes include the removal of the hurricane warning flag strip across the bottom of both jerseys, the new font for letters and numbers and a distinct look between the home red and road white uniforms. Like the Hurricanes, the Checkers have not changed their primary colors or logo. - Video showcasing the new uniforms in action: http://vimeo.com/68170600 - Webpage, including changes and similarities/differences between the Checkers and Hurricanes jerseys: http://bit.ly/1bwn9Nw A pre-sale of new Checkers jerseys will begin June 30, with adult jerseys priced at $120 and youth at $99. Personalization will also be available and jerseys will be delivered on the last week of September. Additionally, the team is holding a special 2012-13 game-worn jersey sale, which is the last opportunity for fans to get their hands on authentic, game-worn jerseys from the inaugural AHL era.