In the System: Canes Prospects Advance to Finals

Several Canes prospects have continued to find success well into their respective junior teams' playoff runs.

Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Warren Foegele (2014, third round)
Forward Warren Foegele and the Erie Otters faced off with the Owen Sound Attack for the first time in OHL Playoff history. Foegele tallied four goals and three assists in the six games it took for Erie to knock out Owen Sound.
Riding his beauty of a
series-deciding goal in overtime of Game 7 in the second round
, Foegele opened scoring in Game 1 with a helper to Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Anthony Cirelli, putting the Otters up one. And the goals didn't stop there, as Erie went on to rout the Attack 6-1 to take the series opener. Foegele, who ranks second among OHL skaters in playoff shots on goal, netted the fourth goal of the night as Erie took the lead in the series.

Foegele, the Otters' top penalty killer, proved he's earned that title with a short-handed, game-winning goal in Game 4 - all thanks to some skating that would break any ankle.

And apparently he does that breakaway thing quite a bit …

Game 6, the final game of the series, was no different for

as he tallied a goal and two assists, marking his sixth multi-point game of the 2017 OHL playoffs. Foegele has recorded 13 points (5g, 8a) in those games.
The Otters take the Western Conference Championship back to Erie to clash with the Eastern Conference Champion Mississauga Steelheads in the OHL final. Game 1 is Thursday, May 4.
Steven Lorentz (2015, seventh round)
After winning eight straight playoff games, the Peterborough Petes fell to the Mississauga Steelheads in four games in the Eastern Conference Championship. Petes alternate captain Steven Lorentz transferred his scoring success into Game 1 with a goal and two primary assists …

Lorentz remained strong in the circle, winning an OHL playoff-leading 63.4 percent of faceoffs among players who have taken more than 250 draws. The 21-year-old led the Petes in playoff goals (9), points (16) and shots on goal (47).
Lorentz saw his hard work pay off the day after that stellar Game 1 when he signed his first NHL contract with the Hurricanes.

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Three Canes prospects took on fellow prospect Nicolas Roy and the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in the QMJHL playoffs semifinals, ultimately eliminating captain Roy and Chicoutimi in six games.
Nicolas Roy (2015, fourth round), Julien Gauthier (2016, first round), Spencer Smallman (2015, fifth round), Callum Booth (2015, fourth round)
Through eight postseason games, the Saint John Sea Dogs stayed perfect, thanks in large part to some elite goaltending from one Callum Booth, and continued that clean slate into Game 1 of the semifinals.
The Sea Dogs took the first game of the series with 4-1 win after first finding the back of the net in the second period and quickly tallying three goals, which were shortly followed up with a goal from Julien Gauthier.
Game 2 was a new day, featuring moves like these from Gauthier and Smallman …

And a killer double, I repeat, double overtime-deciding goal from Nicolas Roy.

After having his nine-game win streak snapped in Game 2 (again, double OT), Booth bounced back with a 25-save shutout in a 5-0 Sea Dogs win in Game 3. Here's one of those huge saves.

Yeah, I know.
Booth finished with two shutouts in the series, including this 23-save performance in Game 5.

Game 6 was no less exciting. Three primary assists from Roy, marking his third multi-point game of the series (1g, 6a), and a game-tying, power-play goal from Gauthier kept momentum rolling into the third period.

Six goals were scored in the final period of the night …

… with the game-winner coming in with a little more than five minutes left in regulation. The Sea Dogs will go head-to-head with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the QMJHL final beginning with Game 1 on Friday, May 5.
Looking for more highlights? Here's a compilation of the biggest goals, saves and celebrations from Hurricanes' prospects in the 2017 CHL Playoffs so far. With two teams in their respective leagues' finals, it's safe to expect more soon.