2015 NHL Draft: Canes make seven selections in final four rounds

Callum Booth and Nicolas Roy have faced each other in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for the last two years. In a few years, they could find themselves sharing a locker room as members of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Booth, a 6'3" 200-pound goaltender from the Quebec Remparts, and Roy, a 6'4", 200-pound center from the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, were selected by the Hurricanes in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL Draft, Booth with the 93rd overall pick and Roy with the 96th.

Roy, who was rated highly by many outlets, some of which had him pegged as high as the second round, said that he had spoken to the Canes at the draft combine, so he was aware of the team's interest in him. It probably didn't hurt that he compared his playing style to a future teammate, Jordan Staal.

"He's really good defensively and on faceoffs, but he can contribute with offense too," Roy said. "I'm going to look at him as a really good role model."

As for Booth, when asked who he models his game after, he gave a confident answer you don't hear often at the draft. "When I'm in net, I try not to play like anyone else," he said, adding "if there's one guy I'd like to play like, it would be Pekka Rinne."

Roy will be happy to be on the same side as Booth once they both enter the Canes' system. "Callum is a really good goalie. I played against him a lot with him in Quebec and me in Chicoutimi."

Booth echoed his future teammate's comments, admitting "it will be better than playing against him."

In the fifth round, the Canes made another family-ties pick, this time grabbing Massachusetts high school left wing Luke Stevens. Stevens' father, longtime NHLer Kevin Stevens, was a teammate of Ron Francis with the Penguins, winning the Stanley Cup together in 1991 and 1992.

Finishing out the draft, the Canes made four more selections.

• At pick number 138, the Canes took Saint John winger Spencer Smallman, a player who belies his name and plays a big game, according to Canes scouting director Tony MacDonald. "We were real excited to get him there."
• Two sixth round picks saw the Canes select more high school players. Defenseman Jake Massie will play in Omaha of the USHL next season and has committed to UMass in 2016, and center David Cotton will join Massie in the USHL, playing with Waterloo before enrolling at Boston College in 2016.
• The Canes' final pick, number 186, was used to select Peterborough center Stephen Lorentz.