Carolina Hurricanes top 25 under 25 #8: Warren Foegele

We’ve been counting down the top 25 under 25 in the Carolina Hurricanes organization, and at number 8, Warren Foegele is the first player we’ve come to that has significant NHL experience.

Foegele has been a regular for the Canes each of the last two seasons, playing 77 games with 15 points in his rookie year of 2018-19 before taking another step forward last year with 30 points in 68 games in his sophomore campaign.

Foegele, a third-round pick back in 2014 (the Canes’ third pick of that draft behind Haydn Fleury and Alex Nedeljkovic), made his NHL debut on March 26, 2018 against the Ottawa Senators. In that debut, one of two games he played for the Canes during the 2017-18 season, Foegele had a goal and an assist.

Since then, Foegele has solidified his place in the Hurricanes’ lineup, missing just five regular season games for Carolina over the last two years. In 2019-20, Foegele finished seventh on the Canes with 30 points and ninth among the forwards in average time on ice.

He’s also had some pretty big moments in his career to date, including a pretty great stretch of games during the Canes’ run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2019. In those playoffs, Foegele had nine points in 15 games, including a three-point performance against the Washington Capitals in game three of that series. In game four, Foegele put the Canes on top 1-0 just 17 seconds into the game.

Overall, Foegele has been a really solid depth piece for the Hurricanes so far in his NHL career. He’s had a CF% of better than 50 in each of his two full seasons in the NHL, and the Canes’ have had a better expected goals for mark than expected goals against mark when Foegel has been on the ice over the past two years.

Last month the Canes and Foegele agreed to terms to avoid arbitration, as Foegele signed a one-year, $2.15 million contract with the Canes to stay in Raleigh. Foegele has one more arbitration-eligible restricted free agency year ahead of him following the 2020-21 season.

Foegele was a third-round pick who made his way up to the NHL in four years and has contributed well during his time with the Canes. He’s not the flashiest or best of players by any means, but he’s been a good guy to have around as Carolina has gone from rebuilding to contending.

The ceiling for Foegele isn’t super high and certainly doesn’t compare to those of some guys coming up later on this list, but he’s shown over the past two seasons that he’s an NHL-caliber player that is likely in the league to stay.