Earlier this week I launched “Top Shelf Prospects” a look at the top prospects for all teams in the NHL. So far I have looked at the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, and Calgary Flames. Continuing along our alphabetical journey through the NHL, we have the Carolina Hurricanes. Since we had an extensive NHL Draft preview, I will not be reviewing the players who were drafted in the 2012 draft, as there have been no games since the draft, and my reports on them will not have changed. What I will be doing is linking you to those articles, as well as taking a look at prospects that were acquired before this year’s draft; their progress, and their chances of making the 2012-13 roster of the NHL team in question. I will also bring you one sleeper pick. A player who was either drafted in the 4th round or later, or was an undrafted free agent signing who I pick as my darkhorse to make the NHL.

2012 NHL Draft Pick Reviews:

Phil DiGiuseppe, Erik Karlsson, Trevor Carrick

Top Prospect: Ryan Murphy, Defence

Born Mar 31 1993 — Aurora, ONT

Height 5.11 — Weight 176 — Shoots Right

Selected by Carolina Hurricanes round 1 #12 overall 2011 NHL Entry Draft

Ryan Muphy brings elite offensive skill to the blue line, and will one day quarterback the Carolina powerplay. He has elite skating and outstanding stickhandling. Murphy is a threat to go coast to coast any time he touches the puck in the OHL. He escapes forecheckers with ease and gets the puck moving quickly, leading the Kitchener Rangers’ transition game. He is comfortable both leading the rush, and in joining as a trailer for the late shot. In all areas of the ice, he is calm and poised with the puck on his stick. This aids both on the rush and when set up in the offensive zone. Murphy has outstanding vision and crisp passing skills, making him deadly on the point on the power play. He also has an excellent weapon in an accurate and powerful slapshot that must be respected, and pulls defenders up to the point. This spreads the opposition’s defence on their penalty kill and makes Murphy’s other talents even more deadly.

Defensively Murphy’s size may be an issue in the pro game. While he probably isn’t gonna be able to go out and grow 4 inches in height, he does need to spend time in the weight room and bulk up the frame he does have. Right now he still has difficulty containing bigger forwards on the cycle game, in the corners, and clearing the front of the net. If he can bluk up, he can solve this issue. He also has a tendency to sometimes lose his man in coverage. His positioning and stick work are solid however, and his ability to move the puck quickly out of the zone helps him greatly in the defensive zone. Murphy’s mobility also makes him a tough defender to beat on the rush, and he is very capable in those types of one on one situations. Overall though, his defensive game needs refining. This is not to say Murphy is complete liability out there, his defensive game does have some promise, like many young players he just has some areas that need a little work is all.

Murphy was dominant in the OHL and as an offensive force he is pretty close to being NHL ready, but the defensive side of the game is still a work in progress. With Carolina having Joni Pitkanen, Joe Corvo, along with youngsters Jamie McBain and Justin Faulk already on the roster, there might be a bit of a log jam for offensive defencemen right now. As a 1993 birthdate his options for this season are a return to Kitchener in the OHL, or playing in the NHL in Carolina. I think he will end up back in junior. I also think Murphy would also be well served to play some time in the AHL getting used to the increased size and physicality of the pro game before he goes to the big leagues. He’s a great prospect, just one who isn’t quite ready for the big leagues just yet. With patient development, he could be a major impact player for the Canes.

Zac Dalpe, Centre

Born Nov 1 1989 — Paris, ONT

Height 6.01 — Weight 195 — Shoots Right

Selected by Carolina Hurricanes round 2 #45 overall 2008 NHL Entry Draft

Zac Dalpe has certainly shown his value at the AHL level, putting up 23 goals in 61 games in 2010-11 and another 18 goals in 56 games last season. He uses his hard accurate shot and good release to beat goalies and pile up the goals. He has a hard slapshot and has been used by the Checkers as a point man on the PP. He also has good vision and is an excellent playmaker at the centre ice position.

Dalpe is also a dangerous scorer off the rush. He is able to control the puck and make plays at speed which makes him especially dangerous. He likes to beat defenders wide, and then drive the puck hard to the front of the net. Dalpe’s skating stride is a little bit jerky, and his first step quickness and acceleration can be improved. Once he does get going though, he does have good top end speed, and uses this to surprise catch the opposition out of position with quick turnovers and transitions to offence.

Dalpe has spent the last two years making regular trips from Charlotte (home of the AHL Checkers) to Raleigh and back again. However he does look like he is NHL ready and I expect him to make the Hurricanes out of training camp. With Brandon Sutter moving on to Pittsburgh, (and talk that the Canes want both Staals and Skinner all in the top 6); there is room for a another centre heading into training camp. Dalpe’s biggest issue will be that he still needs some work defensively and as such may not be the ideal third line centre. However should coach Muller decide to use the Staals as a two way matchup line, Dalpe could certainly slide into the third line in an offensive capacity.

Sleeper Pick: Justin Shugg

Born Dec 24 1991 — Niagara Falls, ONT

Height 5.11 — Weight 194 — Shoots Right

Selected by Carolina Hurricanes round 4 #105 overall 2010 NHL Entry Draft

If there is a theme song for Shugg’s junior career it would be by DJ Khaled. All he did was win, with three straight trips to the Memorial Cup Final game, and two Championships. Shugg is a sniping winger who uses his good hockey sense and instincts to find openings in the opponents defence. He seems to always find a way to get open and when set up unleashes a very good wrist shot, or excellent one timer. He is a quite simply a pure sniper.

Unfortunately, Shugg is a bit of a one-trick pony. He could be a lot more physical. His skating needs work, and his defensive game is lacking. He needs to give more effort backchecking and needs to play a stronger positional game. Shugg is also not very physical and could stand to win more board battles. These deficiencies meant he spent part of his first pro season in the ECHL before moving up to Charlotte in the AHL.

Shugg is still a long shot, and he’s got areas of his game that need to improve. He’s a one trick pony right now, but his trick is scoring goals, and that is always in demand. For that reason, I think he’s the top sleeper in the Carolina System.

Overall Carolina’s prospect system is a bit shallow. However this is due in part to making the big club better. Jeff Skinner is a 20 year old NHL star, rather than a prospect. They traded a top pick plus Brian Dumoulin to grab Jordan Staal, who is a young impact player. Justin Faulk is another 2010 draftee who progressed quickly through the system and is now a full time NHLer. Zach Boychuk and Drayson Bowman are graduates who have now played 72 and 69 NHL games respectively. This means that when we compare Carolina’s prospect depth vs other clubs, the team suffers in this comparison. But with so much youth already contributing at the NHL level, in this case, such comparisons are not a fair assessment of the future of the team as Jim Rutherford continues to build a solid young club. One area that can be criticized, is that the Hurricanes really need a quality goaltending prospect in the system. They drafted 2 this year, but the loss of Mike Murphy to the KHL really hurts as there isn’t a really good goalie prospect in Charlotte.

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