Read the rest of my development camp coverage:
Day 1 Notebook / Quotebook
Day 2 Notebook
Day 3 Notebook
Day 4 Quotebook
The Carolina Hurricanes 2023 Prospect Development Camp came to a close with a final showdown between the prospects divided into two teams: Red and White.
The two teams faced off in a continuous, 20 minute 3-on-3 game, were split further into two groups to play two continuous, small-ice 2-on-2 games and then closed out the on-ice session with a final shootout.
Team Red consisted of:
Forwards
Bradly Nadeau
Justin Robidas
Michael Emerson
Cruz Lucius
Massimo Rizzo
Defensemen
Joel Nystrom
Simon Forsmark
Charles-Alexis Legault
Bryce Montgomery
Goaltenders
Yaniv Perets
Jakub Vondras
Team White consisted of:
Forwards
Felix Unger Sorum
Jackson Blake
Lucas Mercuri
Josh Nadeau
Ville Koivunen
Jayden Perron
Maxim Namestnikov
Defensemen
Scott Morrow
Aleksi Heimosalmi
Goaltenders
Nikita Quapp
Patrik Hamrla
Before the game action, which started later in the afternoon, the goaltenders took to the ice in the morning and had an impromptu 2-on-2 game between themselves.
Who doesn't love goalies?
The 3-on-3 game was a perfect opportunity for the prospects to finally showcase their skills. Most of development camp involved off-ice training, informational sessions mixed in with a few on-ice drills and training here and there.
But Thursday finally got some competitive action.
The thing that stood out to me was just how similar a lot of the players were. The Hurricanes have a type when it comes to the draft and while every player has their own uniqueness, there's a lot of overarching similarities.
Everyone was a strong skater with no real weak ones in the mix, forechecking pressure and competitiveness was consistent throughout the lineups and shooting talent was apparent.
The biggest standouts for me were Robidas and Blake. The two were the engines for their respective teams, driving play and scoring goals.
Blake was especially noticeable. He had a definitive jump in his skating, able to blow by and cut around defenders and he was finding twine with almost every shot.
He has soft hands and is able to get his shot off with little movement. It's deceptive and hard for goaltenders to read.
Blake showed to be a a good on-puck player as well, not only moving well with the puck on his tape, but being able to force turnovers. He uses his body to protect the puck and his strong skating allows him to force separation.
Blake also had some fairly strong chemistry brewing with Jayden Perron which bodes well as both will be playing hockey at the University of North Dakota for the next couple of seasons.
Perron was known for his shooting ability in the USHL and he showcased that at camp as well. He has a quick release and already has a few tools under his belt that he can use to freeze or move goaltenders.
Robidas has always been sound defensively and that was something that stood out, even in a scrimmage like this. He's strong on pucks and has great hands as well.
Again, that typical Hurricanes mold.
A player that I will be very interested in seeing grow is Felix Unger Sorum. At just 17-years old, the Norwegian forward was the youngest player at camp and he missed two days of on-ice sessions due to precautionary reasons.
He was back on the ice Thursday and it was the way he saw the ice that stood out to me. He skated well and was able to keep the puck on his stick not with his body, but with his intuition. He also seemed to always know where his teammate was on the ice.
He's going to need to bulk up, as nearly everyone at the camp will, but if he can do that and start playing at a bit of a faster clip, he could be a really intriguing player.
Team Red ended up winning the 3-on-3 game, 10-8, but after that, the two teams divided themselves in half and played two, continuous, small-ice, 2-on-2 games at each end of the rink and Team White started to pull away.
The on-ice session concluded with a shootout attempt by every skater, and Team White secured their victory, 25-17, with a 4-3 edge in the shootout.
Some additional notes on various players:
- Bradly Nadeau has a lot of talent. Good skater, good shot, good vision. He needs time to develop, but the talent is obvious.
- Bryce Montgomery is a pretty smooth skater for his size. He really likes to cut back and do half-spins with the puck.
- I was a bit surprised by how involved in the offensive zone Aleksi Heimosalmi was. He was constantly near the net and he has some incredibly soft hands with the puck.
- I really liked the compete level of Ville Koivunen. He was a constant pest against puck carriers and he had some flashes.
- Lucas Mercuri is probably the closest to ready forward. He has size (6-foot-3), an underrated shot and looked every bit of being a 21-year old facing smaller-framed teenagers. I don't think he'd be a high-in-the-lineup player, but he could bring value in the bottom-six.
- Yaniv Perets is, understandably, also the closest to ready netminder. I liked his technical skill, but also his willingness to take risks.
- I wish I could have notes on every player, but with 22 total players at camp, I could only watch so many.
- Overall, the Canes' future looks bright with a lot of talent. The prospects all seem like genuine kids and the coaching staff constantly noted how impressed they were with their work ethic.
I'll drop a few more videos down below if anyone is interested in a few more clips from development camp.