With the No. 62 overall pick, the Carolina Hurricanes select... William Whitelaw, Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)
Why pick him? Whitelaw is another high-octane offensive player that the Hurricanes could really use to bolster their prospect pool. Although he's another undersized winger, listed at 5-foot-9 (although he is 173 pounds) Whitelaw has the attributes to be a successful forward, namely strong skating and a good shot. Carolina has been in the business of targeting these high-ceiling, low-floor players and so Whitelaw fits that bill, especially for a team looking for scoring.
Scouts say: "It's hard to question the production. He can really skate, he can shoot a puck, and in terms of NHL intangibles, he has a couple of them. Because of the skating and shooting, he'll be a relatively high pick." -Scout 1
"He's fun. He'll be a really good college hockey player. It will come down to whether he's elite enough to play in the NHL. His best trait is that he's a finisher and a shooter, but he's not Cole Caufield. When he wants to, he plays the right way and has some piss and vinegar, but there's a lot to unpack with that one." -Scout 2
Who are the other options? While Carolina is always prone to trade down and move about in the draft, there's still a lot of high-end talent that could be worth taking a swing on. If Kasper Halttunen manages to fall far enough in the draft, he should be an automatic pick. Additionally, Kalan Lind, a potential first-round talent that saw his stock fall after an injury, or Maxim Strbak, a physical, puck-moving defenseman, would also be great pickups.
*All picks and quotes are from The Hockey News' Top 100 2023 Draft Prospects rankings which is featured in their 2023 Draft Preview issue, available here. Also be sure to check out the all the THN team sites to view the other top picks too.