Canes Select 13 Players on Second Day of Draft

RALEIGH, NC - The Carolina Hurricanes completed their activity at the 2021 NHL Draft on Saturday, selecting 13 players in rounds 2-7. Carolina's 13 selections tied the NHL record for the most selections during a seven-round draft.

Carolina acquired two second-round picks, 40th overall and 51st overall, from the Nashville Predators in exchange for the 27th overall pick. With their first selection of the 2021 NHL Draft, 40th overall, the Hurricanes selected defenseman Scott Morrow. The 6'2", 195-pound defenseman recorded 48 points (8g, 40a) in 30 games with Shattuck St. Mary's (high school) in Minnesota and skated in six USHL playoff games with the Fargo Force in 2020-21. In the previous season, he tallied 67 points (22g, 45a) in 46 games with Shattuck St. Mary's and played two USHL games with the Youngstown Phantoms, earning an assist in his USHL debut against the USNTDP (11/16/19). Morrow is committed to play college hockey at UMass. The Darien, Conn., native was ranked 39th overall among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.
The Hurricanes acquired the 44th overall pick from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for defenseman Jake Bean. With the 44th overall pick in the second round, Carolina selected defenseman Aleksi Heimosalmi. The 5'11", 170-pound defenseman registered 21 points (4g, 17a) in 35 games with Assat's junior team in Finland's top junior league and skated in two playoff games last season. The Pori, Finland, native was named Best Defenseman at the 2021 Under-18 World Championship after posting eight points (2g, 6a) in seven games, which ranked tied for the most points by any defenseman at the tournament. He also represented Finland at the 2019 Under-17 World Hockey Challenge, earning one assist in five games. Heimosalmi was ranked 26th overall among European skaters by NHL Central Scouting.
Carolina acquired the 51st overall pick from the Nashville Predators along with the 40th overall pick in exchange for the 27th overall pick. With their third pick of the second round, 51st overall, the Hurricanes selected right wing Ville Koivunen. The 6'0", 168-pound forward registered 49 points (23g, 26a) in 38 games with Karpat's junior team in Finland's top junior league and added four assists in five playoff games in 2020-21 while serving as an alternate captain. Named the league's Rookie of the Year and selected to the Second All-Star Team, he ranked third in the league in goals and points. In 2019-20, Koivunen tallied a league-high 71 points (27g, 44a) in 37 games with Karpat's under-18 team and was named the Best Player and Best Forward of Finland's under-18 league. The Oulu, Finland, native has represented his home country at a number of international tournaments, including the 2019 World Hockey Challenge and the 2021 Under-18 World Championship alongside fellow Hurricanes second-round pick Aleksi Heimosalmi. Koivunen was ranked 20th overall among European skaters by NHL Central Scouting.
Carolina traded the 59th overall pick to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for the 72nd overall pick and the 109th overall pick. The Hurricanes then traded the 72nd overall pick to the Nashville Predators in exchange for the 83rd overall pick and the 147th overall pick. With their first pick of the third round, 83rd overall, the Hurricanes selected goaltender Patrik Hamrla. The 6'3", 194-pound goalie appeared in six games for HC Energie Karlovy Vary of the top Czech league this season, posting a 1-2-0 record, 3.94 goals-against average and .881 save percentage. He also played four games with HC Karlovy Vary's junior team, with a 2-2-0 record, 2.27 goals-against average and .916 save percentage. Hamrla also played six games on loan with HC Banik Sokolov and SK Kadan of the second-highest league in Finland, earning a combined 2-4-0 record, 5.15 goals-against average and .861 save percentage. The Zlin, Czech Republic, native also represented his home country at the 2021 Under-18 World Championship. Hamrla was ranked third overall among European goalies by NHL Central Scouting.
The Hurricanes traded the 91st overall pick to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
With their final pick of the third round, 94th overall, the Hurricanes selected defenseman Aidan Hreschuk. The 5'11", 188-pound defenseman recorded 17 points (3g, 14a) in 23 USHL games with the USNTDP and added 37 points (6g, 31a) in 50 games with the USNTDP's under-18 team in 2020-21. He is committed to play college hockey at Boston College. The Long Beach, Calif., native has represented the United States internationally, winning a silver medal at the 2019 Under-17 World Hockey Challenge and serving as an alternate captain at the 2021 Under-18 World Championship. Hreschuk was ranked 42nd overall among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.
Carolina acquired the 109th overall pick from the Los Angeles Kings along with the 72nd overall pick in exchange for the 59th overall pick. With the 109th overall pick in the fourth round, the Hurricanes selected forward Jackson Blake. The 5'10", 158-pound forward posted 58 points (20g, 38a) in 19 games with Eden Prairie High School in Minnesota last season and added nine points (4g, 5a) in six playoff games, including the double-overtime winner in the state championship game (4/3/21). He also tallied 17 points (7g, 10a) in 25 games with the Chicago Steel of the USHL and scored the series-clinching goal in Game 4 of the Clark Cup final against Fargo (5/22/21). Blake is committed to play college hockey at the University of North Dakota. The Fargo, N.D., native was ranked 52nd overall among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. His father, Jason, played 13 NHL seasons with the Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs and Anaheim Ducks from 1999-2012.
Carolina traded the 123rd overall pick to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for the 136th overall pick and the 170th overall pick. With their first pick in the fifth round, 136th overall, the Hurricanes selected forward Robert Orr. The 5'11", 176-pound forward registered 32 points (15g, 17a) in 15 games with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) in 2020-21, ranking third on the team in goals and points as a rookie. The Montreal, Que., native was ranked 76th overall among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.
Carolina acquired the 147th overall pick from the Nashville Predators along with the 83rd overall pick in exchange for the 72nd overall pick. With their second pick in the fifth round, 167th overall, the Hurricanes selected forward Justin Robidas. The 5'8", 173-pound forward skated in 35 QMJHL games with Val-d'Or last season, recording 36 points (19g, 17a) and leading the team in goals while serving as an alternate captain. Robidas also tallied 10 points (3g, 7a) in 14 QMJHL playoff games as Val-d'Or advanced to the President's Cup final. The Plano, Texas, native was ranked 47th overall among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. His father, Stephane, played 15 NHL seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs from 1999-2015.
The Hurricanes acquired the 170th overall pick from the Ottawa Senators along with the 136th overall pick in exchange for the 123rd overall pick. Carolina selected defenseman Bryce Montgomery with the 170th overall pick in the sixth round. The 6'4", 215-pound defenseman registered two assists in 33 games with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in 2019-20. The Washington, D.C., native was ranked 146th overall among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.
The Hurricanes selected goaltender Nikita Quapp with the 187th overall pick in the sixth round. The 6'3", 187-pound goalie played a majority of last season with Krefeld Pinguine of the highest league in Germany, posting a 2-6-0 record, 4.10 goals-against average and .871 save percentage in 11 appearances. He also spent time in the third-highest German league on loan with Krefeld Pinguine's under-23 team and EV Lindau. The Ravensburg, Germany, native represented his home country at the 2021 Under-18 World Championship, earning an 0-2-0 record, 4.50 goals-against average and .888 save percentage in two games at the tournament. Quapp was ranked 12th among European goalies by NHL Central Scouting.
With their first pick of the seventh round, 200th overall, the Hurricanes selected goaltender Yegor Naumov. The 6'3", 198-pound goalie played for MHK Krylia Sovetov Moskva of the MHL, Russia's top junior league, last season, recording a 2-3-0 record, 2.86 goals-against average and .888 save percentage. Naumov went undefeated as an MHL rookie in 2019-20, posting a 4-0-0 record, 2.00 goals-against average and .915 save percentage in four games with Loko Yaroslavl.
Carolina used its second pick of the seventh round, 209th overall, to select forward Nikita Guslistov. The 5'10", 178-pound forward split the 2020-21 season between Severstal Cherepovets in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and Almaz Cherepovets in the MHL, Russia's top junior league. Guslistov registered seven points (5g, 2a) in 28 KHL games and added two points (1g, 1a) in five KHL playoff games. He posted a four-point game (3g, 1a) against Avtomobilist (1/21/21), becoming the youngest Russian-born player to score a hat trick in the KHL (18 years, 236 days). He also tallied 22 points (14g, 8a) in 23 MHL games, ranking second on the team in points per game (0.96), and earned one assist in three MHL playoff games. The Cherepovets, Russia, native was ranked 61st among European skaters by NHL Central Scouting.
With their final selection of the 2021 NHL Draft, 219th overall, the Hurricanes selected defenseman Joel Nystrom. The 5'11", 170-pound defenseman posted one assist in 27 games with Farjestad BK of Sweden's highest league and added two assists in six playoff games. He also tallied 11 points (4g, 7a) in 15 games with Farjestad BK's junior team. The Karlstad, Sweden, native was ranked 48th among European skaters by NHL Central Scouting.