Prospect Report: Cerrato, Poirier Start NCAA Season Hot

RALEIGH, N.C. - As has been the case in recent years, the future of the Carolina Hurricanes remains as bright as the present.

With up-and-coming talent kicking off their seasons around the globe, two of the organization's draft picks are lighting it up at the collegiate level.

2025 second-round selection Charlie Cerrato leads the NCAA in scoring through the first few weeks of play, posting 15 points in six games.

Highlighted by a five-point season-opener against a nationally ranked Arizona State program that earned him Big Ten First Star of the Week honors, the crafty center has been the star of a show on a roster also including the prospective 2026 number one overall selection, Gavin McKenna.

Well on his way to proving that his 2025 selection to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors was no fluke, last week Cerrato was also named to the United States Collegiate Select Team ahead of the 2025 Spengler Cup.

"He's strong on the face-offs, two-way game, smart defensively, and has a lot of skill. He plays exactly how we want to play," Associate General Manager Darren Yorke said in June after making the selection. "This is a guy that would fit right in our system."

Meanwhile, 673 miles to the northeast, Justin Poirier's first NCAA campaign started with a bang. The new Univ. of Maine product bagged a hat trick in his debut en route to a four-point weekend, earning Hockey East Pro Ambitions Co-Rookie of the Week honors and sharing the team scoring lead (3G, 2A) at the time of publishing.

Selected by Carolina in the fifth round of the 2024 NHL Draft, Poirier previously starred for the QMJHL's Baie-Comeau Drakkar, where he became the first 17-year-old to score 50 goals in the league since Sidney Crosby in 2004-05.

Taking advantage of the new development path, the organization is excited to see Poirier's growth against better competition this season.

"It's huge. In the past, a kid could be 20 (years old), done in juniors, and done [with his development opportunities]. Now, you can be 20 and a freshman, and play three or four more years at a better level," Rod Brind'Amour said this summer of the new opportunity of players being able to go from CHL to the NCAA. "The college game is just better than the junior level. It's men, and they train. Everything is just better. It's a step up, and it buys kids more time, and it gives us more time to watch the kids develop."

Elsewhere Around The Globe...

• Bradly Nadeau has four points in three games to start the season for Chicago. Did you see his lacrosse goal?
• 6-foot-4, 205 lbs. 17-year-old Timur Kol has been dominant in the MHL. With 13 points in 14 games as a defenseman, it may not be long until he's playing in KHL games again.
• Speaking of success in Russia, Fyodor Avramov has started 15 points in 13 games for Kapitan Stupino.