RALEIGH, N.C. - It's that time of year again. Hockey season is back. Are you ready?
The Carolina Hurricanes are set to host the annual Prospects Showcase, as their up-and-comers play two games in three days.
Going head-to-head with the rising talent from the Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning, the pair of games will lead us up to the onset of the big club's training camp.
When are the games?
Sunday, Sept. 13: Carolina vs. Nashville - 2:30 p.m. ET
Monday, Sept. 14: Nashville vs. Tampa Bay - 2 p.m. ET
Tuesday, Sept. 15: Carolina vs. Tampa Bay - 2 p.m. ET
Can we watch these games?
Yes.
Links to watch all games will be posted to the front page of Hurricanes.com approximately 10-15 minutes before puck drop.
Mike Maniscalco and Tripp Tracy will call the Hurricanes' contests.
Casey Ditzel, voice of the ECHL's Greensboro Gargoyles, will be joined by a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning's broadcast team for Monday's game between the Lightning and Predators.
Who is playing?
To view the Canes' roster for the event, click here.
The roster for the event features 12 players drafted by the team, including 2023 first-round pick Bradly Nadeau, 2023 second-round pick Felix Unger Sorum, 2024 top pick Dominik Badinka, and 2025 second-round selections Charlie Cerrato and Ivan Ryabkin.
Other Hurricanes draft picks on the roster include: Filip Ekberg (2025, seventh round), Noel Fransen (2024, third round), Gleb Trikozov (2022, second round), Zachary Lansard (2026, third round), and Charles Alexis Legault (2023, fifth round). Ruslan Khazheyev (2023, fifth round) and Zachary Jovanovski (2026 sixth round) will split duties in net.
Carolina’s roster also includes two players signed to an AHL contract, Stiven Sardarian and Chase Wheatcroft.
Oskars Briedis, Tyler Cristall, Chase Lefebvre, and Austen May are inked to ECHL contracts with the Canes' affiliate in Greensboro, while Jakub Frolo, Jackson Marthaler, and Thomas Desruisseaux will attend the event as unsigned invitees.
Who are we keeping an eye on?
The next few weeks matter more to Bradly Nadeau than any other player associated with the Carolina Hurricanes. Heading into his third season as a pro, opportunity knocks for the 21-year-old sharpshooter. With Seth Jarvis on the shelf and expected to miss at least the first month of the season, the Canes are going to need someone to fill that role, and it doesn't require much thinking to know that the 2023 first-round pick is in the mix. After providing 114 points in 116 American Hockey League (AHL) games over the last two seasons, he'll look to springboard his training camp with a solid two-game showing.
Although Nadeau is likely in the pole position for the spot, the competition is by no means a one-horse race. No Canes prospect took a bigger step forward last year than Felix Unger Sorum. Following a season of adjustment during the 2024-25 campaign, the playmaking winger finished tied for sixth among all AHL players with his 66 points. Only two players had more than his 49 helpers. The spotlight will also be on him over the next two weeks.
Elsewhere up front, Ivan Ryabkin will look to build off of a scorching second half from last season. Starting the 2025-26 season in the AHL as an 18-year-old, a return to the QMJHL did wonders for the Russian-born center, who looked like a completely leveled-up player when he returned to Chicago for the stretch run and the playoffs.
Joining Ryabkin down the middle will be Charlie Cerrato, who begins his first full pro season after a pair of years at Penn State. Making his debut during the AHL playoffs, the swagger-filled 21-year-old will now look to show that he has what it takes to be successful at the next level.
