Seven players joined center Martin Necas, whom the Hurricanes selected on Friday in the first round, 12th overall, in the team’s 2017 draft class on the second day of the NHL Draft Saturday.
Seven players joined center Martin Necas, whom the Hurricanes selected on Friday in the first round, 12th overall, in the team’s 2017 draft class on the second day of the NHL Draft Saturday.
With its first pick on Day 2, Carolina selected center Eetu Luostarinen from KalPa of the Finnish league. In 2016-17, the Siilinjarvi, Finland, native scored three goals and earned four assists (7 points) in 32 games with KalPa. In 23 games with KalPa’s junior team, Luostarinen (6’ 3”, 178 lbs.) scored 11 goals and earned eight assists (19 points) . He represented Finland at the 2016 Under-20 Five Nations Tournament, earning three assists in four games.
Later in the second round, the Hurricanes used the 52nd overall pick to select University of Michigan defenseman Luke Martin. The St. Louis native scored one goal and earned six assists (7 points) in 2016-17 while playing in all 35 of the Wolverines’ games in his freshman season. Martin (6’ 2”, 221 lbs.) is a product of the United States National Team Development Program and has represented the United States at the 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and the 2016 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament.
Carolina held two picks in the draft’s third round, and used the first of those to select center Morgan Geekie 67th overall. Geekie (6’ 2”, 190 lbs.) finished tied for ninth in the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 2016-17 as he led Tri-City in goals (35) and points (90) . The Strathclair, Man., native was named to the WHL’s West Second All-Star Team following the season.
With the 72nd overall pick, the Hurricanes selected right wing Stelio Mattheos (6’ 0”, 189 lbs.) from Brandon of the WHL. The Winnipeg, Man., native notched 26 goals and earned 35 assists (61 points) in 69 games in 2016-17, and finished sixth in the WHL with 15 power-play goals.
In the fourth round, Carolina used its lone pick to select goaltender Eetu Makiniemi (6’ 2”, 176 lbs.) from Jokerit Jr. of Finland’s junior league. The Vantaa, Finland, native posted a 2.68 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage in 26 games in 2016-17.
Without a fifth-round pick, the Hurricanes waited until Round 6 to select defenseman Brendan De Jong (6’ 5”, 192 lbs.) 166th overall of Portland of the WHL. The Victoria, B. C., native notched eight goals and 15 assists (23 points) while playing in all 72 of Portland’s regular-season games.
Carolina rounded out its 2017 draft class by selecting defenseman Ville Rasanen (6’ 2”, 167 lbs.) from Jokipojat of Finland’s second division with the 197th overall pick. He notched one goal and earned five assists (6 points) in 21 games with Jokipojat, and also scored nine goals and had nine assists (18 points) in 22 games with Jokipajat’s junior team in 2016-17.
