Multiple Carolina Hurricanes Projected as top Scorers
TSN recently released their projections for the top 300 scorers in the NHL for the 2016-2017 season. Among this list were multiple Carolina Hurricanes with Jeff Skinner leading the way for the Canes.
The list of top 300 projected scorers was compiled by TSN’s Scott Cullen who specializes in analytics. The top scorers on the list wont surprise anyone, they are Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, and Patrick Kane. No Carolina Hurricane cracks the top 50, with Jeff Skinner being ranked 91st with 50 projected points.
Canes then come fast and furious with seven players being named between 91 and 183. Elias Lindholm (126), Jordan Staal (136), Victor Rask (149), Justin Faulk (151), Sebastian Aho (165), and Teuvo Teravainen (183) are all projected to have at least 40 points next season.
Lee Stempniak is just outside of the top 200 and is also projected to score 37. The full point projections for the top sevencan be seen below.
This is a huge improvement over last season as only three players scored over 40 points last season. Skinner led the team with 51 points (28g, 23a) with Jordan Staal (20g, 28a) and Rask (21g, 27a) being the only other players over the 40 point mark.
Young Players to Improve Scoring
Six of the seven players projected to score more than 40 points next season are 24 years old or younger. Skinner and Faulk the top projected scoring forward and defenseman respectively, are only 24 years old.
Rask is a year behind the pair at 23 years old, Lindholm and Teravainen are 21 and rookie Sebastian Aho is just 18. With so many young players who are still improving, the Carolina Hurricanes are poised for long term success.
The most exciting inclusion in this list for the Carolina Hurricanes is rookie Sebastian Aho. Aho has been gaining a lot of praise from the Finns this year due to his performances in the World Junior Championships, the Finnish Liiga, and the World Cup of Hockey camps.
Many in and around the Carolina Hurricanes organization have been high on Aho. However, it is good to see that he is being praised outside of the organization and at the national level. Finnish legend, Teemu Selanne, was recently quoted saying that Aho is a better player than both Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi.
It is good to see the Carolina Hurricanes getting respect in these types of projections that they have not been getting the past few season. Scoring was a huge weakness for the Canes last season, however it looks like the team is turning the corner. If these projections come true the Hurricanes will be a dangerous team next season.
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