The Carolina Hurricanes have prospects spread all across North America and Europe and just as the NHL is gearing up to get back into action, so to is the rest of the hockey world.
The Hurricanes have worked diligently to stock up their prospect pipeline with loads of talented players and it can be a little hard to keep track of all of them.
My goal is to try and compile some regular information on these players roughly every week or so, so that the casual fan can see who is in the system and also who is starting to stand out.
For right now, I'm only going to be including players who I know where they are playing. So until the AHL loan agreements are in place, I won't worry about those players.
All stats collected as of 9/10/23
KHL
The Kontinental Hockey League kicked off its regular season this week and so various Canes prospects have hit the ground running.
And with the KHL back in full swing, obviously, the talk of the town is going to be around defenseman Alexander Nikishin.
In four games, Nikishin has already collected two goals and five points playing on SKA St. Petersburg's top pairing and top power play unit.
He's an electric player who is solid all-around in every aspect of the game. He's hands down the best defenseman outside the NHL currently and it's going to be exciting to see what he can accomplish in the future.
For reference, his contract goes through 2025, so at the earliest, he can come to Carolina in three seasons.
Alexander Pashin also picked up his first KHL goal last week.
VHL
The VHL, otherwise known as the Supreme Hockey League, is the second highest level of hockey in Russia. Think of it a bit like the AHL.
The Hurricanes have four prospects playing in the VHL, and currently none are doing better than Alexander Rykov.
The 2023 fourth-round pick already has six points in just four games and he's showing the skill that Carolina was high on.
2022 second-round pick Gleb Trikozov also pulled off this sick move for his first of the season.
MHL
The Canes' lone prospect in the MHL - the Russian junior league - goaltender Ruslan Khazheyev, kicked off his season with a strong performance in a 3-2 shootout win for his team Belye Medvedi.
He turned aside 38 of the 40 shots he faced.
CHL
While Russian hockey is already underway, most of the other European leagues won't see their seasons start for another week. However, there is still hockey going on for a few, select teams.
The Champions Hockey League is a European hockey tournament that features top teams from all across Europe.
Participating leagues include the SHL, Liiga, Swiss National League, Czech League, Deutsch League and more from around Europe.
Three prospects have teams competing in the tournament: Joel Nystrom on Farjestad BK of the SHL, Tuukka Tieksola on Lukko Rauma of Liiga and Patrik Hamrla on Ilves Tampere of Liiga.
While Hamrla has yet to play in the tournament, Nystrom and Tieksola have both made contributions to their teams.
In four games, Nystrom has a goal and three points in 17:51 of ice time per game. He's also been credited with 15 shots on goal and 10 blocks.
In four games, Tieksola has two assists in 14:06 of ice time per game. He's been credited with 8 shots on goal.
SHL
The Swedish Hockey League doesn't start its season until September 14.
Prospects in SHL: Joel Nystrom, Felix Unger Sorum, Simon Forsmark
HockeyAllsvenskan
HockeyAllsvenskan, the second level of Swedish hockey below the SHL, will start its season on September 21.
Prospects in HockeyAllsvenskan: Zion Nybeck
Liiga
The Finnish Liiga will open its season on September 15.
Prospects in Liiga: Patrik Hamrla, Aleksi Heimosalmi, Ville Koivunen, Tuukka Tieksola
DEL
The German, Deutsche Eishockey League, opens its season on September 14.
Prospects in DEL: Nikita Quapp
NCAA
The NCAA will open its season on October 6.
Prospects in NCAA: Cade Webber, Scott Morrow, Jackson Blake, Michael Emerson, Cruz Lucius, Charles-Alexis Legault, Bradly Nadeau, Jayden Perron
OHL
The Ontario Hockey League will open its season on September 28.
Prospects in OHL: Jakub Vondras*
*As an additional note, Vondras played for the Czech U20 National Team at the U20 Five Nations Tournament in late August and picked up two wins in the two games he played. A 20-save, 5-2 win over Switzerland and a 14-save, 3-2 win over Slovakia.
