The Carolina Hurricanes made some waves at the 2022 NHL Draft in Montréal July 7-8. While the Canes didn’t pick in the first round, rounds two through seven saw Carolina secure a slew of steals as well as a trade to send defenseman Tony DeAngelo to the Philadelphia Flyers.

While the DeAngelo deal leaves the Hurricanes without their power play QB and points leader among last year’s Canes defensemen, general manager Don Waddell and the Carolina front office might find themselves wanted in the city of Montréal for the string of robberies they executed during day two of the draft.

17-year-old left wing Gleb Trikozov was the first name involved in this stealing spree. A day one talent that several outlets ranked in the top 40 prospects, even as high as eighth, the Russian youngster fell to the Hurricanes at the tail end of the second round with the 60th overall pick.

Trikovoz’s calling card is his knack for finding space off the puck, and he’s got solid speed to make it count as he showed in the MHL, Russia’s junior hockey league. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Trikozov notched 23 goals and 22 assists for Omskie Yasterby’s junior squad in 2021-22. While there is room for improvement, the Canes nabbed a guy with elite upside with their first pick of the draft.

“He’s an incredibly high-end offensive player,” said assistant general manager Darren Yorke. “Able to go over a point a game at the MHL level, really smart at transitioning the puck and carrying it from the neutral zone into the offensive zone.”

Carolina repeated this success with the 71st pick, picking up another undervalued Russian left wing in the form of Alexander Perevalov. While not as highly touted as Trikozov, many outlets ranked Perevalov in the top 60. Perevalov piled up 50 points in 42 games for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv’s junior team in 2021-22.

The Hurricanes acquired the 101st pick along with a conditional third round pick in 2023 and fourth rounder in 2024 as part of the trade that sent DeAngelo and 220th pick this year to Philadelphia. Waddell stated that the Canes were trying to sign DeAngelo as late as the night of the first round, but ultimately decided to see what they could trade for instead.

“We were trying to talk about an extension and just couldn’t get any place with it,” Waddell said. “We had teams that were interested so we did our best to maximize the return value.”

Despite losing an instrumental piece of last season’s success, Carolina wasted no time replenishing its supply of defensemen by selecting Swedish blue-liner Simon Forsmark.

The Swedish youngster got in quite a few first-team reps with Orebro in the Swedish Hockey League, picking up three assists in 41 games at the senior level. The 6-foot-2, 191-pound lefty has surprising mobility for a big man which he utilizes in his two-way style of play.

Forsmark was also the only Canes selection who was in attendance at the Bell Centre in Montréal. The young Swede took the opportunity to meet with the media, comparing his game to that of fellow Swedish d-man and two-time Stanley Cup champion Victor Hedman.

The Hurricanes also picked up 18-year-old right wing Cruz Lucius in the fourth round, specifically with the 124th overall pick. Lucius will play college hockey at Wisconsin before going pro, but the Canes are confident in his upside as well.

“He’s a high-end offensive player,” Yorke said. “Great shot, great around the net, can make you miss with his hands, so we’re excited that he was able to be there when we selected them.”

Not afraid to get into the greasy areas, Lucius brings a lot of physicality on both ends of the ice. Cruz follows in the footsteps of his older brother Chaz, the 18th overall pick in the 2021 who is set to debut with the Winnipeg Jets after one season at the University of Minnesota.

Carolina’s heist continued in the fifth, swiping up Russian defenseman Vladimir Grudinin with the 156th pick. The 5-foot-10, 158-pound man plays much bigger than his actual measurements, showcasing his ability to shut down much bigger opposing players in international tournaments.

Grudinin’s talent is more akin to a first- or second-rounder than a fifth, so the caveat with him is that he is a product of CSKA, a Russian club based in Moscow and one of the top teams in the Kontinental Hockey League. While facilitating travel for Russian players to North America is already difficult amid the war in Ukraine, pulling Grudinin away from CSKA could prove very tricky.

However, if the Canes’ selection of Trikozov and Perevalov didn’t give it away already, Carolina’s front office is not afraid to go after top Russian prospects. If Grudinin is indeed able to make the trip over, the Hurricanes may have the steal of the draft.

“We don’t go into any draft and think ‘let’s get one country over another,’” Yorke said. “We build our list irrespective of whatever passport they have. If other organizations thought they’d be risky, we just didn’t see it that way.”

Carolina then picked up Czech goalie Jakub Vondraš with the 171st overall pick, its last non-Russian pick of the draft. Like Trikozov, Vondraš makes his living as a cerebral player. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound netminder is quick to recognize and counter side-to-side plays with good lateral movement. He’s not as flashy a pick as Grudinin or Trikozov, but Vondraš has some good upside for the Canes to develop.

To round out their draft, the Hurricanes selected Russian defenseman Alexander Pelevin with the 205th pick. True to the “big guy that can skate” model that many teams like to see out of draftees, Pelevin is an above-average skater that can use his 6-foot-1, 183-pound frame to out-maneuver opponents on the defensive. With some training, Pelevin also has some offensive upside with his high compete level, but look for the Russian youngster to develop primarily as a penalty killer in the future.

Whether the Canes can finish off this string of high-end larceny by bringing all their selections to the states remains to be seen, but the non-Russian trio of Forsmark, Lucius and Vondraš bring plenty of pedigree in their own right. Carolina’s courage to shoot for the moon is a sign of good things to come for fans back in Raleigh hoping for sustained success for their Hurricanes.