The Carolina Hurricanes announced their roster for the Southeast Rookie Showcase in Florida on Friday.
The showcase will be comprised of prospects from four teams - Carolina, Nashville Predators, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers - and will take place in Estero, Florida from September 15-18.
Carolina Hurricanes to participate in 2023 Southeast Rookie Showcase
The roster is composed of 13 draftees, two free agent signings - Yaniv Perets and Griffin Mendel - and seven invitees.
The Hurricanes will have a plethora of prospects who recently played in the AHL just last year for the Chicago Wolves including Ryan Suzuki, Jamieson Rees, Vasily Ponomarev, Anttoni Honka, Ronan Seeley, Noel Gunler, Blake Murray, Griffin Mendel (free agent signee) and Yaniv Perets (free agent signee).
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Other notable members of the roster are 2023 second-round pick Felix Unger Sorum who had a tremendous showing at the World Junior Summer Showcase and 2021 fifth-round pick Justin Robidas who recently won the Memorial Cup with the Quebec Remparts.
The remainder of the draftee list includes 2019 third-round pick Domenick Fensore, 2021 second-round pick Aleksi Heimosalmi and 2021 sixth-round pick Bryce Montgomery.
At the goaltending position, the Hurricanes will have both Perets, the former Quinnipiac goaltender and 2023 NCAA Champion, and Jakub Vondras, who recently performed well at the U20 Five Nations Tournament for the Czechs and who is also preparing for his first season in the OHL with the Sudbury Wolves.
To round out the remainder of the roster, the Hurricanes invited Jack Beck, Beau Jelsma, Gabriel Klassen, Anthony Romani, Colton Smith, Markus Vidicek and Charlie Wright.
Here's a breakdown of the game schedule for the upcoming showcase:
Friday, Sept. 15
4 p.m. - Nashville Predators vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
7 p.m. - Florida Panthers vs. Carolina Hurricanes
Saturday, Sept. 16
3 p.m. - Carolina Hurricanes vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
6 p.m. - Florida Panthers vs. Nashville Predators
Monday, Sept. 18
10 a.m. - Nashville Predators vs. Carolina Hurricanes
1 p.m. - Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers
*Sunday is a practice day and no games are scheduled then
All the games will be free and open to the public and will also be livestreamed on the Florida Panther' team website (floridapanthers.com).
The team's official press release:
-RALEIGH, N.C. – Don Waddell, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced the Hurricanes’ roster for the 2023 Southeast Rookie Showcase to take place from Sept. 15-18 at Hertz Arena in Estero, Fla.
The Hurricanes’ roster for the event features 13 players drafted by the team, including 2023 second-round pick Felix Unger Sorum, 2022 draft selection Jakub Vondras (sixth round) and 2021 draft picks Aleksi Heimosalmi (second round), Justin Robidas (fifth round) and Bryce Montgomery (sixth round). Other Hurricanes’ draft picks on the roster include Ryan Suzuki (2019, first round), Jamieson Rees (2019, second round), Noel Gunler (2020, second round), Vasily Ponomarev (2020, second round), Anttoni Honka (2019, third round), Domenick Fensore (2019, third round) Blake Murray (2019, sixth round) and Ronan Seeley (2020, seventh round). Carolina’s roster also includes free agent signings Griffin Mendel and Yaniv Perets, as well as invitees Jack Beck, Beau Jelsma, Gabriel Klassen, Anthony Romani, Colton Smith, Markus Vidicek and Charlie Wright. The Hurricanes’ full roster for the Southeast Rookie Showcase is attached to this release.
This marks the fourth year that the Hurricanes have participated in the Southeast Rookie Showcase, which rotates hosting duties among its participants. Carolina hosted the 2022 edition of the tournament at Invisalign Arena and PNC Arena. All four teams will face off during the four-day event, which begins Friday, Sept. 15, with matchups at Hertz Arena between the Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning at 4 p.m. and Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes at 7 p.m. The full schedule can be seen below.
2023 Southeast Rookie Showcase Schedule
All games played at Hertz Arena (Estero, Fla.)
Friday, Sept. 15
4 p.m. – Nashville Predators vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
7 p.m. – Florida Panthers vs. Carolina Hurricanes
Saturday, Sept. 16
3 p.m. – Carolina Hurricanes vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
6 p.m. – Florida Panthers vs. Nashville Predators
Sunday, Sept. 17
Practice Day
Monday, Sept. 18
10 a.m. – Nashville Predators vs. Carolina Hurricanes
1 p.m. – Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers
Any skater or goaltender in each of the four organizations on an entry-level contract (or less), provided they are 24 or younger with fewer than 20 games of NHL experience, are eligible to participate in the Southeast Rookie Showcase. Exceptions may be permitted with prior approval from all teams. Teams will dress 18 skaters and two goaltenders for each contest, consisting of three 20-minute periods followed by a five-minute, three-on-three overtime period if the game remains tied after regulation. Regardless of the final score, games will conclude with a five-player-per-team shootout.
