Hurricanes Prospects Showcase roster announced

The Hurricanes have announced their roster for the upcoming Prospects Showcase in Florida. The tournament will feature the Hurricanes, Panthers, Lightning and Predators and will run from Sept. 8-21.

The roster features top Hurricanes prospects such as Seth Jarvis, Jamieson Rees, Dominik Bokk, Ryan Suzuki and more. It also features four members of the Hurricanes’ 2021 draft class: Justin Robidas, Bobby Orr, Patrik Hamrla and Bryce Montgomery. The Prospect Showcase gives the Hurricanes a chance to see where each prospect is at in their development as well as what each prospect needs to work on in the upcoming season. It’s a nice training camp primer as we could see a handful of these prospects getting a look in camp right afterwards. It’s also a chance for the Hurricanes to get some extra looks at a few names that might have been on their radar in the later rounds of the draft or in free agency discussions. Camp invitees usually don’t make an impact, but it’s not unheard of for an invitee to earn an NHL or AHL contract after a good tournament.

College and European prospects will not attend the prospects showcase. College students have all returned to school and most European players will be gearing up for the start of their season if it hasn’t started by Sept. 18. As a result, we won’t be seeing any on the roster.

Jarvis, Drury, Rees, Suzuki and Bokk should all be top forwards for the Hurricanes during the showcase. We’ve come to expect big things from these players and it should give Canes fans an idea of who might be close to the NHL. Players such as Joey Keane and Jesper Sellgren will be vying for a depth role on the team and will use this tournament to help stake their claim. Another interesting battle might be the one in net. Patrik Hamrla is QMJHL bound and might see a start during the tournament, but the battle between Warm and Makiniemi should be interesting. Both goalies will be fighting for the backup role behind Alex Lyon.

The Hurricanes have invited seven players to the prospects showcase: Ethan Ritchie, Paul Christopoulos, Ty Nash, Carter Robertson, Tucker Robertson, Artyom Serikov and Riley Stotts. Four of the invitees on this year’s roster are from the OHL. One player spent the season in Slovakia once the OHL cancelled its season, but the other three didn’t play a single game. The lack of viewings may have caused some of these players to go undrafted despite having a handful of NHL skills in their tool box. The showcase should give them a handful of extra games to show the Hurricanes what they’re capable of. Riley Stotts is an invite that intrigues me. Stotts was drafted 83rd overall by Toronto in 2018 and went unsigned, making him a free agent. He has been a solid WHL player for years and might be someone that the Chicago Wolves could use on the depth chart. Artyom Serikov recently signed an AHL contract with the Wolves and the Hurricanes likely want to get eyes on him to see if he’s worth an entry-level contract.

All in all, the Hurricanes should have one of the better rosters at the prospects showcase. Their roster is full of high-end prospects and has depth and professional experience at every position. I’m excited to get a look at four of the Hurricanes’ newest prospects as well as the Hurricanes’ top prospects as we move closer and closer to a new season.