World Juniors Representation An Indicator Of Canes' Successful Draft Plan

RALEIGH, NC. - Sunday afternoon will mark the official start of the 2022 International Ice Hockey Federation's World Junior Championship. In over half of the games that will take place in the opening round robin portion, there will be a Carolina Hurricanes presence - one of the biggest storylines, if not the biggest storyline in terms of the NHL's ties to the event this year.

The Canes have
ten prospects at the event
, representing six of the ten participating nations. It's only the third time since the inception of the annual tournament in 1977 that that has happened.
However, the reason for the heavy presence isn't due to the team having an astronomical amount of selections high in each of the last two drafts, or being presented with slam dunk, can't-miss options, rather a showcase of the club's ability to hit home runs in later rounds. In fact, the organization didn't have a first round pick in 2021 and their 2020 #13 overall pick, Seth Jarvis, is not among the ten who will be at the event either. (Disclaimer: Jarvis likely would have represented Team Canada if he had not made the big club's roster this season.)
Four of the ten selections for the team were chosen in the seventh round by the team, an accomplishment that has never been achieved before in the tournament's previous 44 years. This isn't by chance or luck either, this is a testament to the work put into the draft each year by the team's hockey operations staff.
"As an organization it's a huge sign to our fans of our continuance to pursue excellence," Hurricanes Assistant General Manager Darren Yorke remarked. "It's incredibly hard to have ten NHL drafted players in the World Juniors on its own and when you add the fact that we've been in the playoffs and we don't have a first round pick in this group, it just signals that our cupboards are fully stocked and we should be able to produce high-end talent players for quite some time."
Yorke, who oversees the team's amateur scouts and development coaches, was kind enough to share some of his group's philosophies when it comes to whom they're selecting under their current plan and what they hope can come to a fruition through the players' future.
"We continue to try and draft players that have high upsides," he continued. "For the most part, especially later in the draft, players may be a little bit shorter or maybe not as fast as some of their peers, but for us, they have at least one defining quality that can get them over the hump and get them into the NHL. Look at Alexander Pashin - all he did was produce. He has all the tools with his speed, his quickness, his hockey senses, his skills,

, but he may be a little bit shorter. For us, we're looking at it as a great bet to take, because he has all these attributes. He's continued to play at this high level against all of his peers and now he's going to be able to try and do it on a national stage."
Pashin, who is listed at 5-foot-8, has totaled 18 points in 24 games with Toros Neftekamsk of the VHL, the second-highest level of play in his native country of Russia.
But the draft strategy isn't just about finding diamonds in the rough late, there is an element to selecting players that already have certain qualities that would fit well with the Hurricanes style of hockey.
"When you look at a player like Ronan Seeley and his ability to skate, then you look at our defenseman and their ability to skate, you have to be able to play fast. You have to be able to have tight gaps coming up in the play and defending, and we saw a player that fits that exact mold," Yorke continued on the Team Canada defenseman.
At the end of the day, the tournament won't be viewed as the final benchmark for "who won the draft" or things of that nature, that can only be concluded much further down the line when it's seen who does and does not become an NHL player. However, early returns suggest that Yorke and his staff have plenty to be proud of so far.
"Throughout the developmental process you're always fighting the bias associated with your own players," the Assistant General Manager concluded with. "It's our job to take off the rose-colored glasses, and to be successful like we need to. These tournaments are directional. The players have earned the right to compete amongst the best in the world. We also get to see them in a different setting and continue the evaluation process."
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