A major part of the Carolina Hurricanes’ on-ice success is their ability to develop homegrown talent, which starts yearly in the NHL Draft.
Frederik Andersen, Jaccob Slavin, Sebastian Aho, Pyotr Kochetkov, Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis are all past Canes draftees who made previous, sizable impacts at the NHL level. Alexander Nikishin came over to Raleigh late in the season, proving to bring much-needed youth and defensive relief, while there’s several more prospects waiting for their NHL call-ups.
As July winds down and we approach live NHL action, first with preseason games in September, Carolina made some crucial contracts moves to three past draftees.
The Canes’ most impactful move involves 2024-2025 rookie Jackson Blake, whom they inked to an 8-year, $45 million contract extension. Carolina took Blake back in the 2021 NHL Draft, selecting him 109th overall in the fourth round.
Blake tallied 34 points (17 goals, 17 assists) across 80 regular season contests, but also proved to be a major impact in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, recording six points (three goals, assists apiece) across 15 contests. Blake led all NHL rookies with six game-winning goals.
The Canes also signed 2019 draftee Ryan Suzuki (first round, 28th overall) and 2020 draftee Ronan Seeley (seventh round, 208th overall) to 2-way contracts.
Suzuki made his NHL debut against the Chicago Blackhawks in January, then faced the Los Angeles Kings in February. Suzuki spent most of his 2024-2025 campaign with the Chicago Wolves, Carolina’s AHL affiliate.
Seeley spent all of last season with the Wolves, appearing in 69 games and playing alongside Suzuki. If the Canes find themselves in need of a younger defensive look, Seeley could be next in line for an NHL call-up.
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