Hurricanes Select Victor Rask in Round Two

by Bob Wage on Jun 25, 2011 11:56 AM EDT in 2011 NHL Entry Draft

The Carolina Hurricanes selected Victor Rask from Sweden with their second round pick.

St. Paul, MN The Carolina Hurricanes looked to Sweden to find their first forward in this year's draft and selected Victor Rask with the 42nd overall pick. Rask was ranked at number 26 by the ISS and is one of the top players in Sweden in his age group.

The forward was surprised he was picked by the Canes, but was not expecting to go to anyone in particular. His dream is to play in the NHL, although he said that he will play in Sweden next season.

We will have more about Rask a bit later.

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Curious, is he related to Tukka Rask in any way? Or just same last name?

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by Raccoon Fink on Jun 25, 2011 12:19 PM EDT reply actions

He is not.

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by Cory Lavalette on Jun 25, 2011 2:54 PM EDT up reply actions

Rask is a very talented player who had a somewhat off year during international competition

Rask is a player who has tremendous talent and if he had done somewhat better during international competition, he could have gone in the first round. I predict he will be a player like Dalpe in which hockey commentators say “how in the world did he last until the second round.” He is big, fast, skilled, and has a bit of a mean streak. His issue was he seemed to go into a slight slump during international competition, as I recall the rap on him. He’s a great choice for the Hurricanes.

by abramsdoug on Jun 25, 2011 2:12 PM EDT reply actions

Were you hoping for Saad at this pick or are you happier with Rask?

by JussiJuice on Jun 25, 2011 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions

heck of a question...

I’d love to hear something on this subject from anyone who knows?

by randycane on Jun 25, 2011 4:21 PM EDT up reply actions

I had Saad and Rask about equal. Saad by reports is more physical, while Rask according to the scouting reports probably is considered more skilled. I wanted both guys, so I was happy with either one. Rask on talent alone, disregarding this past season, is a top 6 to 8 draft pick.

by abramsdoug on Jun 28, 2011 7:32 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

From what I read, Rask’s problems were more in the Swedish leagues than the international tournaments.

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Rask played for Sweden at the 2011 U-18 World Junior Championship, scoring 2 goals and adding 3 assists for 5 points in 6 games for the silver medalists. He was named one of the top 3 players for Sweden in the tournament.

I don’t know much about how the international competitions work, but Rask seems to be a steady point-a-game player in high-level international competition over the last two years. (Please forgive the formatting. I can’t seem to fix it when posting a reply.)

To make things legible, from the top, he had 8 pts in 6 games, 5 pts in 3 games, 5 pts in 6 games, 5 pts in 6 games and 20 pts in 20 games. That last number looks like a compilation but I can’t make the numbers match the subtotals.

GP G A Pts
2009-2010 Sweden U17 WHC-17 6 1 7 8
   Sweden U17 (all) International-Jr 3 1 4 5
   Sweden U18 WJC-18 6 3 2 5

2010-2011 Sweden U18 WJC-18 6 2 3 5
   Sweden U18 (all) International-Jr 20 4 16 20

It doesn’t look as though Rask tailed off in 2010-2011. Zibanejad’s numbers are better than Rask’s with 23 pts in 20 games on that last U18 all line and much better with 13 goals. Landeskog’s numbers don’t look as good to me but I seem to recall he got hurt this year.

by curiouscanesfan on Jun 25, 2011 5:31 PM EDT up reply actions

Cory said that Rask requested to be sent down to the Junior league to get more ice time at the end of last year. This seems to indicate that he might be more willing to come join the AHL next year if it was an option and we promised to play him enough. He said his dream was to play in the NHL. We need Centers to replace our graduating prospects anyway, it sounds like a nice fit.

by JussiJuice on Jun 25, 2011 5:39 PM EDT up reply actions