Prospect Report: Poirier Piling Up Points In QMJHL

RALEIGH, N.C. - It's been a bright start to the season for a handful of Carolina Hurricanes prospects.

One of those is 18-year-old Justin Poirier, who last season became the first player to score 50 goals in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) since Sidney Crosby did so during the 2003-04 campaign. Selected by Carolina in the fifth round, #156 overall, of this summer's NHL Draft, Poirier has hit the ground running in 2024-25, leading the league in both goals (17) and points (31) through just 18 games.

The Valleyfield, Quebec native earned QMJHL "Player of the Week" honors on Nov. 4 after notching eight points across two games, highlighted by his second career four-goal game on Nov. 1 to lead his Baie-Comeau Drakkar past the Gatineau Olympiques.

Perhaps underrated through last year's draft process due to his 5-foot-9 stature, Poirier has recorded at least one point in 16 of 18 games this season and continues to find ways to dominate in the offensive zone.

"There are very few people who have scored as many goals as he had over the last two years in the CHL during their draft years," said Canes' Associate General Manager Darren Yorke after selecting Poirier in June. "He was probably a little undervalued unfortunately because he's not very tall, but all he does is score. It really doesn't matter the games that he's playing against bigger players, didn't matter. He just scores. It's an incredible shot. He's able to find open space and he does not need much room."

Perron Picking Up The Pace

Heading south of the border to the NCAA ranks, 2023 third-rounder Jayden Perron has posted five points (2G, 3A) in nine games with the Univ. of North Dakota to start the season. The sophomore is one of just three U-20 players in the top-10 in team scoring after finding twine against Minn. Duluth last Friday, and is on pace to surpass last season's total of 18 points in 39 games as a freshman.

Hoping to follow in the footsteps of former teammate Jackson Blake, who also went from the Chicago Steel to North Dakota before now finding his footing in Raleigh, Perron said he'd key in on upping his speed during his second season with the Fighting Hawks when speaking at Canes development camp this summer.

"I want to keep working on my skating. I want to get faster and faster. Obviously, you see the NHL players play and they're playing at full speed all the time. I think that's something that would benefit me," he said.

Perron and North Dakota's next chance to shine comes against the defending Men's Div. 1 NCAA champions this Friday and Saturday as they host Denver University for a two-game set.

Ruslan Rising Up As Wolves Find Winning Ways

19-year-old goaltender Ruslan Khazheyev started this season with the Bloomington Bison, the ECHL franchise with which the Canes have a working agreement. His first appearance didn't go very well, allowing three goals on just 15 shots, but then opportunity knocked.

When Frederik Andersen went down for the Canes in Seattle on October 26, Spencer Martin was brought up from Chicago (AHL) and the domino effect led to Khazheyev filling that void.

Making his AHL debut on October 29, the 2023 fifth-round pick has been sharp, allowing just seven goals in three games with the Wolves.

Khazheyev and Yaniv Perets are handling the goaltending duties in Chicago for the time being, and the two youngsters have veterans Mark Sinclair and Dustin Tokarski with them on professional tryouts as well.

In front of their crease, the Wolves are starting to find their footing under first-year head coach Cam Abbott.

Although they're 3-5-1-0 on the season, they've won two of their three games in November and deserved a better fate last Sunday versus Milwaukee. Taking a 2-1 loss, they outshot the Admirals 41-16 and have started to show that they are capable of playing the same systems and structure as their parent club in Raleigh.

Ryan Suzuki currently leads the team in scoring and Scott Morrow paces the team's blue line with four points in nine games.

Chicago is set to play three games in three days this weekend, taking on Grand Rapids, Manitoba, and Rockford on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, respectively.