RALEIGH — The Hurricanes entered last year’s NHL Draft hoping to re-sign Jake Guentzel and find a new home for Martin Necas.
Neither happened, as Guentzel’s rights were instead traded to Tampa Bay — where he signed a monster seven-year, $63 million extension — and Necas’ departure didn’t come until five months later when he was dealt to Dallas in the ill-fated trade for Mikko Rantanen.
New year, new opportunities.
GM Eric Tulsky, in his second year running Carolina’s front office, is poised to again be in the middle of everything, only this time the Hurricanes are loaded with draft capital, cap space and an even bigger desire to improve after being ushered out of the playoffs in five games by the eventual champion Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference final.
On the surface, it doesn’t look like Carolina is that loaded with draft picks.
Due to reaching the conference final, the Hurricanes will pick 29th overall in Friday’s first round, and the team also holds its fourth, sixth and seventh round choices.
Carolina also has Tampa Bay’s third- and sixth-round picks (acquired in trades involving Guentzel and prospect Lucas Mercuri, respectively).
That’s six draft choices in all, but the Hurricanes also have surplus picks from Rantanen’s trade to Dallas — conditional first-rounders in 2026 and 2028, and a second-round pick in 2027.
All of that ammunition, coupled with nearly $27 million in salary cap space — currently the fourth most in the NHL and an amount that exceeds any other playoff team — gives Carolina a chance to improve its roster during the weekend’s draft.
What remains to be seen is how this year’s decentralized draft — instead of gathering at the host city, which is Los Angeles this year, teams will set up draft war rooms at home — will impact negotiations between teams.
While being in one location on the draft floor has the ability to facilitate discussion, it also lacks the privacy many front offices desire when exploring trades.
As for the actual draft, the Hurricanes haven’t made a pick earlier than 30th since 2020, when they selected Seth Jarvis 13th overall with a pick previously acquired from Toronto.
Don’t be surprised if they do it again — Carolina has traded out of the first round at two of the last four drafts, on top of giving up its first pick in 2022 in the Jesperi Kotkaniemi offer sheet.
After this weekend, the Hurricanes will shift their focus to free agency, but the draft is where teams are built — Carolina’s top three scorers last season were drafted by the franchise.
Whether the Hurricanes can make sweeping, immediate changes via trade or solely bolster their prospect pool, the weekend will shape the team’s future.
Draft Prospect Spotlight
Joshua Ravensbergen, G
6’5, 191 pounds • Prince George (WHL)
At the moment, the Hurricanes don’t have a top-flight goalie prospect, and most consider Ravensbergen the best in this year’s draft. He’s big and athletic, but had a mediocre draft year.
NSJ Rank: 29th
What they’re saying
Scott Wheeler, The Athletic: “The tools are all there. He’s got the highest ceiling of the goalies in this class.”
Chris Peters, FloHockey: “Ravensbergen … shows good athleticism and is close to 6-foot-5, giving him the size teams covet.”
Elite Prospects: “Ravensbergen doesn’t have to look flashy because he’s always in the right position. … He simply engulfs the entire net because of his size.”
Simon Wang, D
Simon Wang, D6’6, 222 pounds • Oshawa (OHL)
There might not be a bigger wild card in the draft. Born in China, Wang came to Canada at 12 and offers intriguing but raw
talent. He could be a steal or a failed gamble.
NSJ Rank: 41st
What they’re saying
The Hockey News: “Talk about being a unicorn. The skills have gotten better. … But I wonder about his hockey sense.”
Steven Ellis, Daily Faceoff: “The raw talent is there. You just might need some patience.”
Scott Wheeler, The Athletic: “He’s still figuring things out and remains quite raw. … He covers a lot of ground quickly and is cast in a mold that teams are excited about.”
Vaclav Nestrasil, RW
Vaclav Nestrasil, RW6’6, 185 pounds • Muskegon (USHL)
Don’t worry: Vaclav Nestrasil is not the son of former Hurricanes forward Andrej Nestrasil — we’re all not that old yet — but he is his younger brother. The younger Nestrasil tall, lanky and a bit of a project, but he is full of potential.
NSJ Rank: 43rd
What they’re saying
The Hockey News: “The size, skill and skating are all there, and he’s a big guy with lots of upside.”
Corey Pronman, The Athletic: “He competes well, can kill
penalties, and will be a player that coaches tend to trust.”
Steven Ellis, Daily Faceoff: “Once he adds some muscle to his game, he could become quite the power forward.”
NSJ’s 2025 NHL Draft Top 100 Prospects
(Composite ranking compiled from several of hockey’s top draft evaluators)
1. Matthew Schaefer, D
2. Michael Misa, C
3. James Hagens, C
4. Porter Martone, RW
5. Anton Frondell, C
6. Caleb Desnoyers, C
7. Jake O’Brien, C
8. Victor Eklund, RW
9. Roger McQueen, C
10. Radim Mrtka, D
11. Brady Martin, C
12. Kashawn Aitcheson, D
13. Jackson Smith, D
14. Carter Bear, LW
15. Justin Carbonneau, RW
16. Braeden Cootes, C
17. Lynden Lakovic, LW
18. Logan Hensler, D
19. Milton Gastrin, C
20. Cole Reschny, C
21. Jack Nesbitt, C
22. Malcolm Spence, LW
23. Cameron Reid, D
24. Sascha Boumedienne, D
25. Benjamin Kindel, C
26. Blake Fiddler, D
27. Cullen Potter, C
28. Henry Brzustewicz, D
29. Joshua Ravensbergen, G
30. William Horcoff, C
31. Jakob Ihs-Wozniak, RW
32. Bill Zonnon, RW
33. Jack Murtagh, LW
34. Eric Nilson, C
35. William Moore, C
36. Ryker Lee, RW
37. Eddie Genborg, RW
38. Mason West, C
39. Alexander Zharovsky, RW
40. Cole McKinney, C
41. Simon Wang, D
42. Ivan Ryabkin, C
43. Vaclav Nestrasil, RW
44. Cameron Schmidt, RW
45. Vojtech Cihar, LW
46. Matthew Gard, C
47. Ethan Czata, C
48. Theo Stockselius, C
49. Jacob Rombach, D
50. Carter Amico, D
51. Daniil Prokhorov, RW
52. Luca Romano, C
53. Charlton Tretheway, D
54. Nathan Behm, RW
55. Ben Kevan, RW
56. Tomas Poletin, LW
57. Lasse Boelius, D
58. Viktor Klingsell, RW
59. Shane Vansaghi, RW
60. Kurban Limatov, D
61. Max Psenicka, D
62. Hayden Paupanekis, C
63. Peyton Kettles, D
64. Kristian Epperson, LW
65. Tyler Hopkins, C
66. Brandon Gorzynski, C
67. Conrad Fondrk, C
68. Theodor Hallquisth, D
69. Alex Huang, D
70. Lucas Beckman, G
71. Filip Ekberg, RW
72. Luka Radivojevic, D
73. Adam Benak, C
74. Semyon Frolov, G
75. David Lewandowski, LW
76. Dakoda Rheaume-Mullen, D
77. Bryce Pickford, D
78. L.J. Mooney, C
79. Mateo Nobert, C
80. Carlos Handel, D
81. Jan Chovan, C
82. Sean Barnhill, D
83. Malte Vass, D
84. Matous Kucharcik, C
85. Lev Katzin, C
86. Drew Schock, D
87. Maxim Agafonov, D
88. Gustav Hillstrom, C
89. Michal Svrcek, LW
90. Mason Moe, C
91. Philippe Veilleux, LW
92. Owen Martin, C
93. Reese Hamilton, D
94. David Bedkowski, D
95. Owen Conrad, D
96. Carter Klippenstein, C
97. Brady Peddle, D
98. Evan Passmore, D
99. Aleksei Medvedev, G
100. Tomas Pobezal, C
