Prospects from the Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning will be participating
Friday afternoon in southwest Florida, some of the best young hockey players from four NHL franchises will kick off the 2023 Southeast Hockey Showcase.
This year's showcase is hosted by the Florida Panthers and taking place at Hertz Arena in Estero, home of the ECHL’s Florida Everblades.
Along with the Panthers, teams participating in the showcase will be the Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes and Nashville Predators.
Each team will play the three others over the course of four days, starting on Friday when Nashville faces Tampa Bay at 4 p.m. following by the Panthers and Hurricanes playing at 7 p.m.
On Saturday, Carolina plays Tampa Bay at 3 p.m. and then the Panthers and Predators skate in the nightcap at 6 p.m.
Sunday is a practice day with no games, but then on Monday the showcase wraps up with Nashville and Carolina in the 10 a.m. brunch battle. Cross-state rivals Florida and Tampa Bay close out the shindig with a 1 p.m. matinee.
To help get you ready for the hockey weekend extravaganza, THN Florida is collaborating with the team sites for Nashville, Tampa and Carolina to bring you three players to watch from each squad.
In this post we’re highlighting the three Hurricanes prospects to keep an eye on, courtesy of Ryan Henkel of THN Carolina.
Felix Unger Sorum- The 2023 second-round pick has started to make a name for himself as the summer has progressed.
The Hurricanes signed Unger Sorum to an ELC immediately following their prospect development camp, and he then went on to showcase his talents at the World Junior Summer Showcase that took place in early August
The 17-year-old forward led Team Sweden in scoring with five points in four games, which also tied him for second overall amongst all showcase players. He’s got great vision and passing ability and despite a smaller frame, he isn’t afraid to go to work in the corners.
Ryan Suzuki- The 2019 first-round pick and younger brother of Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki, has not had an easy path since his selection.
Suzuki has been through a lot in regards to injuries. In 2019, Suzuki suffered an eye injury as a result of a high stick that has left a permanent blindspot in his right eye and since then, he’s dealt with a lot of other minor injuries that have hampered his development.
As a result, Suzuki has only been able to appear in 110 AHL games over the span of three seasons and he even missed last year’s training camp and preseason. He’s always had the talent to be good, but unfortunate circumstances have prevented him from taking those next steps. Maybe this can be the year where he manages to stay healthy and prove he can be an impact player.
Vasili Ponomarev- The 2020 second-round pick is one of a very short list of prospects who actually have a chance to make the Hurricanes’ roster out of training camp.
The Russian center has always had a strong two-way game, something head coach Rod Brind’Amour is keen to, and he also led the AHL’s Chicago Wolves in goals last season with 24 in 64 games.
He was also one of Carolina’s black aces for the playoffs. A strong showing in the Rookie Showcase could be a springboard into training camp for him and then ultimately into the preseason where he has a chance to compete for the Hurricanes’ 4C role.