– June 21st, 2017 –


Canes and Coffee: For a mock draft, who do you see the Hurricanes taking at #12 overall?

Draftin Europe: From an European perspective, I’d say there are a few players who could be selected in that range. If Martin Necas somehow makes it that far, that would probably be the best option, as he has a good chance to develop into a 2nd line two-way center. If Necas is not there, it becomes more complicated, as main options vary from the safer Lias Andersson to players with more upside like Timothy Liljegren and Klim Kostin, who however look like risky picks for different reasons.


Canes and Coffee: Which 2-4 European players do you like in the second round which is currently scheduled to be a busy one for the Hurricanes? The Hurricanes currently have three second-round draft picks.

Draftin Europe: There are more than just 2-4 obviously.

We like Filip Chytil and would expect him to be gone in the 1st round, but if he is available in the second round, we would jump on him.

Same for Marcus Davidsson, and he might have a greater chance to drop that far.

We think both would be great options at 42. If they’re gone, from a Euro-based prospects perspective we would consider a trade down.

A player that we have never heard mentioned for the first couple of rounds but really like is Swedish defenseman Gustav Lindstrom. We would grab him in the 2nd hoping to beat other teams. We explain the reasons in depth in the Blue Dispatch (our draft guide). We think he has significant upside.


Canes and Coffee: Which couple European players do you like in the third round where the Hurricanes currently have two picks?

Draftin Europe: ….. If the Hurricanes want to go Finnish again, there was a bit of a sleeper in second time eligible Finnish forward Eetu Luostarinen, but considering Bob McKenzie’s list, 3rd round might be the last chance to grab him. He is pretty well rounded and has good hands and skating for his size.


Canes and Coffee: Which 3-5 Euro players do you really like who might be available in middle to later rounds (rounds 4-7) of the 2017 NHL draft?

Draftin Europe: In the 4th round talented guys who are still a project like Tobias Geisser and Lukas Elvenes become interesting options. Both are really far from ready but have good upside.

We like Alexandre Texier who is not as much of a project as Geisser or Elvenes, as he would have already played for France’s senior team at the World Championships if not for his injury. He is another case of a player we would be interested in if he is still available in that range because he has an interesting skill level that he blends with some bite in his game.


Canes and Coffee: If the Hurricanes select a goalie in the middle of the draft as they have in the past couple years, which European goalie do you like best in the middle rounds?

Draftin Europe: It has been a bit of a disappointing year for Euro goalies relative to our expectations before the season. Luukkonen will almost certainly already be picked before the middle rounds. If we had any confirmation about Daniil Tarasov’s status, who missed the entire year out of the line-up with an injury, he would be the guy we would recommend. But it’s eerily quiet on that front and that’s probably not the best news.


Full interview can be found here:
http://canesandcoffee.com/the-pipeline/carolina-hurricanes-2017-nhl-draft-4a-scouting-europe-with-mik-portoni-and-niki-funa-from-draftin-europe/