10 Canes Prospects Selected For World Juniors

RALEIGH, NC - Ten Carolina Hurricanes prospects have been named to the final rosters for the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship, to be held in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta., from Dec. 26, 2021, through Jan. 5, 2022. Defenseman Ronan Seeley will represent Canada; defenseman Aleksi Heimosalmi and forward Ville Koivunen will represent Finland; goaltender Nikita Quapp will represent Germany; forwards Nikita Guslistov, Alexander Pashin and Vasily Ponomarev will represent Russia; forward Zion Nybeck and defenseman Joel Nystrom will represent Sweden and defenseman Scott Morrow will represent the United States at the prestigious tournament.

Seeley, 19, previously skated for Canada White at the 2018 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. The Yellowknife, N.W.T, native has recorded 22 points (6g, 16a) in 24 games with the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in his first season as the team's captain. Seeley ranks tied for fifth in points among all WHL blueliners in 2021-22 and was named the WHL Player of the Week on Nov. 22. The 6'0", 176-pound defenseman was selected by Carolina in the seventh round, 208th overall, of the 2020 NHL Draft.
Heimosalmi, 18, has previously represented Finland at the 2019 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and 2021 IIHF Under-18 World Championship, where he was named Best Defenseman after recording eight points (2g, 6a) in seven games, tied for the tournament lead among blueliners. The Pori, Finland, native has skated in 22 games with Assat (Liiga) in his first professional season, posting one assist. The 5'11", 170-pound defenseman was selected by the Hurricanes in the second round, 44th overall, of the 2021 NHL Draft.
Koivunen, 18, has previously represented Finland at the 2019 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, 2020 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament and 2021 IIHF Under-18 World Championship, where he ranked tied for first on the team in assists (6) and second in points (10). The Oulu, Finland, native has tallied 18 points (9g, 9a) in 29 Liiga games with Karpat in his first professional season and ranks tied for second on the team in goals and tied for fourth in points. The 5'11", 161-pound forward was selected by Carolina in the second round, 51st overall, of the 2021 NHL Draft.
Quapp, 18, previously represented Germany at the 2021 IIHF Under-18 World Championship. The Ravensburg, Germany, native has made eight appearances for Krefeld Pinguine of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), earning a 3-4-0 record, 3.52 goals-against average and .891 save percentage. The 6'3", 187-pound goaltender was selected by the Hurricanes in the sixth round, 187th overall, of the 2021 NHL Draft.
Guslistov, 19, has recorded eight points (3g, 5a) in 30 Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) games with Severstal Cherepovets this season. The Cherepovets, Russia, native ranks tied for third on the team with two game-winning goals in 2021-22. The 5'10", 178-pound forward was selected by Carolina in the seventh round, 209th overall, of the 2021 NHL Draft.
Pashin, 19, has previously represented Russia at the 2018 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, winning a gold medal at both events and scoring two goals, including the game-winning goal, in the gold medal game against Canada in 2019. He was also named Best Forward at the Under-20 Four Nations Tournament in November, registering six points (4g, 2a) in three games as Russia finished with a 3-0-0 record. The Priyutovo, Russia, native has earned 18 points (13g, 5a) in 24 games with Toros Neftekamsk of the VHL, Russia's second-highest professional league, in 2021-22. Pashin ranks tied for first on his team in goals and fifth in points. The 5'8", 154-pound forward was selected by the Hurricanes in the seventh round, 199th overall, of the 2020 NHL Draft.
Ponomarev, 19, has previously represented Russia at numerous international tournaments, including the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship, where he led the team with three goals in seven games. He has won gold with Russia at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and 2018 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, where he posted a team-high eight points (4g, 4a) in six games and was named to the tournament All-Star team. The Moscow native has split the 2021-22 season with Spartak (KHL) and Khimik Voskresensk (VHL), tallying two points (1g, 1a) in 14 KHL games and 11 points (6g, 5a) in 16 VHL games. The 5'10", 180-pound forward was selected by Carolina in the second round, 53rd overall, of the 2020 NHL Draft.
Nybeck, 19, has previously represented Sweden at numerous international tournaments, including the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship and 2019 IIHF Under-18 World Championship, where he recorded five points (2g, 3a) in seven games as Sweden won the gold medal. The Alvesta, Sweden, native has earned 11 points (3g, 8a) in 21 games with HV71 of HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden's second-highest professional league, in 2021-22. The 5'6", 182-pound forward was selected by the Hurricanes in the fourth round, 115th overall, of the 2020 NHL Draft.
Nystrom, 19, has registered 12 points (4g, 8a) in 27 games with Farjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) this season. The Karlstad, Sweden, native leads team defensemen in goals and ranks third in points among Farjestad blueliners. The 5'11", 170-pound defenseman was selected by Carolina in the seventh round, 219th overall, of the 2021 NHL Draft.
Morrow, 19, has tallied 15 points (6g, 9a) in 15 NCAA games with UMass in 2021-22. As a freshman, the Darien, Conn., native ranks tied for first in points among Hockey East defensemen and tied for fifth in goals among all Division I blueliners. Morrow has posted a point in 12 of 15 games this season and was named Hockey East Rookie of the Week on Nov. 2. The 6'2", 195-pound defenseman was selected by the Hurricanes in the second round, 40th overall, of the 2021 NHL Draft.
Carolina's league-high 10 prospects set to play at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship are tied for the most by any NHL team in the tournament's history and double the previous record for Whalers/Hurricanes prospects selected to tournament rosters in any year. The Toronto Maple Leafs are the only other NHL team to ever have 10 prospects rostered in the tournament in a single year, accomplishing the feat in 2002 and 2003. Hartford had five prospects at the 1984 World Juniors, and Carolina tied the franchise record with five prospects at the tournament in 2020. (Note that all prospect totals include only players in the organization at the time of that year's tournament.)
Four of Carolina's five seventh-round picks in 2020 and 2021 were named to tournament rosters, as Nikita Guslistov, Joel Nystrom, Alexander Pashin and Ronan Seeley will each represent their respective countries at the 2022 World Junior Championship. The Hurricanes are the third team in NHL history (and the first since the draft was shortened to seven rounds in 2005) to have at least four prospects drafted in the seventh round or later named to World Juniors rosters in the same year, joining Toronto in 2002 and the New York Rangers in 1983.
Half of the players to appear in a game for Carolina this season (13 of 26) represented their countries at the World Junior Championship: Frederik Andersen (Denmark, 2008), Sebastian Aho (Finland, 2015-16), Ian Cole (United States, 2008-09), Tony DeAngelo (United States, 2015), Jesper Fast (Sweden, 2011), Martin Necas (Czech Republic, 2017-19), Nino Niederreiter (Switzerland, 2010-11), Brady Skjei (United States, 2014), Jaccob Slavin (United States, 2014), Derek Stepan (United States, 2010), Andrei Svechnikov (Russia, 2018), Teuvo Teravainen (Finland, 2013-14) and Vincent Trocheck (United States, 2013). Stepan, Trocheck, Teravainen (2014) and Aho (2016) each won a gold medal at the World Juniors, while Stepan, Teravainen (2014) and Necas (2019) each captained their respective countries at the tournament.