Prospect Report: Playoffs On The Horizon

RALEIGH, N.C. - As the Carolina Hurricanes eye a playoff berth later this spring, so too do a number of their prospects around the world.

From the AHL, to the CHL, to European leagues and beyond, we're nearing the business end of the hockey season and a handful of potential future Canes are enjoying standout seasons as they look to help guide their clubs to the playoffs. Let's take a look...

Wolves' Rookies Stepping Up...

• Leading the way in Chicago's playoff push have been a handful of first-year AHLers in Bradly Nadeau, Justin Robidas and Scott Morrow. Chicago finds itself in the thick of the Central Division playoff battle, seven points clear of Rockford in fifth and 13 points clear of Iowa in sixth. The top-five finishers will qualify for the Calder Cup Playoffs.
• The trio paces the Wolves in scoring - Robidas with 40 points, Nadeau and Morrow joining Ryan Suzuki with 39 apiece. Each player also ranks among the top 10 in AHL rookie scoring, making Chicago the only team with multiple players in that range.
• Nadeau, in particular, has come alive since returning from World Juniors, producing at a point-per-game clip with 15 goals and nine assists since Jan. 4. Go back just a little bit further to Dec. 1, and the Canes' 2023 first-rounder has 17 goals and 15 assists in his last 30 games. On the year, Seattle prospect Jani Nyman is the only rookie with more goals (26) than Nadeau (21).
• Most recently skating on the wing opposite Nadeau, Robidas has erupted in Chicago after logging a steady 27 points in 32 games with Norfolk (ECHL) last season. Leading the Wolves in scoring, his 27 assists and 40 points both rank fifth among all AHL rookies. Like Nadeau, Robidas has especially hit his stride since Dec. 1. After posting seven points in 16 games to that point, the 2021 fifth-round pick has rattled off 33 of his 40 points in the 36 games since then.
• Morrow earned AHL All-Star honors back in February but actually missed the event due to his first NHL call-up. San Jose’s Luca Cagnoni (41) and San Diego’s Tristan Luneau (40) are the only rookie defensemen with more points than Morrow, whose 13 goals are joint-most among first-year blueliners. His recent play inspires even more confidence - at the time of publishing, Morrow has points in 12 of his last 17 games, including three multi-point performances in his last four.

Poirier Eyeing Second Straight 50-Goal Campaign...

• If the first act was recording the first 50-goal season by a 17-year-old in the QMJHL since Sidney Crosby in 2003-04, the follow-up performance has been something special from Justin Poirier.
• Ranking second in the QMJHL in goals (43) and fourth in points (77) at the time of publishing, Poirier is poised to post back-to-back 50-goal campaigns. The last player to do that before their 19th birthday in the Q? You guessed it...Sidney Crosby, who backed up his 54-tally season in 2003-04 with a whopping 64-goal, 168-point run in 2004-05.
• In December, Poirier spoke with NHL.com about the prospect of hitting 60 goals - another mark no 18-year-old QMJHLer has reached since Crosby. He's got 13 games remaining to pot another 17 goals, and with his track record, it's hardly out of the question.
• After falling in the QMJHL championship last season, Poirier's Baie-Comeau Drakkar have clinched a 2025 playoff berth and are poised for another postseason run.

Across The Pond...

• Nikita Artamonov turned heads at the start of this year with a torrid scoring pace, and while he has come back down to earth somewhat, he recently broke the KHL's U20 goal scoring record with his 21st of the campaign - surpassing Kirill Kaprizov's 20-goal mark from 20016-17.
• After two years in Russia's junior circuit (MHL) and starting in that league this season, 2024 seventh-round pick Andrei Krutov has been impactful in his country's second-tier pro league (VHL). His 15 goals are tied for the most by a VHL player before turning 19 and he made his KHL debut earlier this year, notching three goals in eight games.
• No Canes prospect report is complete without checking in with Alexander Nikishin, who, well, continues to be Alexander Nikishin. Sporting the "C" for SKA St. Petersburg for the second straight season, Nikishin continues to punish opponents in his own zone while piling up points at the other end, and his 173 career points are by far the most by any U24 KHL defenseman in history - only one other player has even reached the century mark before his 24th birthday.
• A quick trek west brings us to Sweden, where 2022 fourth-round selection Simon Forsmark leads his fifth-place Timrå IK in scoring among defensemen with 23 points in 46 games, surpassing his rookie total of 19 points in 52 outings.
• Two spots up the SHL standings, 2021 seventh-rounder Joel Nystrom is enjoying a similarly impressive campaign with Färjestad BK, leading his club in scoring among blueliners as well with 25 points in 48 games.

To keep up with all prospects, including those playing overseas and who have completed their seasons, follow @CanesProspects on X.