The Carolina Hurricanes took part in the 2024 Prospect Showcase last weekend and there were quite a few impressive performances among the Canes' rookies.
In total, the prospects went 2-1-0 over the weekend and scored 18 goals across three games.
Gleb Trikozov led the way in the scoring department with four goals, including a hat trick against the Florida Panthers and he, Noel Gunler and Scott Morrow each finished the showcase with five points.
Trikozov, the 2022 second-round pick, just had such a natural feel around the net.
While there was not a single 'wow' moment for the 20-year-old Russian forward, he was just consistently in the right spots and doing the right things.
He found soft spots in coverage, was on top of rebounds and just generally put himself in positions to succeed.
The kid's got a great shot and offensive senses and it will be great to see how he continues to develop in the AHL this year.
It was also a strong showcase for some of the players that were expected to standout such as Bradly Nadeau, Jackson Blake, Felix Unger Sorum and Morrow.
Nadeau and Blake were just constantly noticeable with and without the puck with both making some high-end individual plays and Unger Sorum was reliable and consistently finding ways to get his team on the score sheet.
Morrow was another really strong performer, just being all over both sides of the ice.
His passing was really on display throughout the showcase and he showed composure and a strong control over play.
I also really liked what I saw from Gunler over the weekend.
There's been issues with his compete and I wasn't too impressed at last year's training camp, but this weekend I saw an engaged player with some real offensive upside.
In goal, Yaniv Perets was the better of the netminders with a 0.905 save percentage in one and half games of action.
Perets looked strong and composed in net and was only really beaten off of defensive-zone turnovers or odd-man rushes.
However, it wasn't as strong of a showing for Ruslan Khazheyev.
The 19-year-old Russian netminder was getting his first taste of North American hockey and while he had his moments, there was just too much inconsistency.
He's a young kid still though and he'll have plenty of opportunity to develop in the AHL.
Additional Notes
- Skyler Brind'Amour had a good enough showing over the weekend (one goal, three points) to earn a PTO with the Hurricanes.
- Anttoni Honka continues to be a hot and cold player for me. There was some really impressive plays, especially through transition to the offensive zone, but there was also some really bad moments in the defensive zone.
- I thought Antonin Verreault had a good showing with two goals and three points. The camp invitee didn't earn a PTO, but perhaps another team will take notice of his play.
- Justin Robidas is a real pest on the ice. Just defensively strong and he can frustrate opponents and is able to generate through transition off of turnovers.
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