Position: Defenseman
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 176 lbs.
Drafted: 1st Round, 2011 Draft
Age: 20
Last Year's Ranking: 5

Ryan Murphy is easily the most polarizing figure in the Hurricanes farm system. His coaches and his fans will rave about his skating and how dynamic of a player he is with the puck while others have a different opinion of him. Most recognize that he is an superbly talented offensive player, but his size and back-breaking mistakes in the defensive zone have many believing that he won't succeed as an NHL-er. These concerns seemed to reach a new high late last season when Murphy was named to Canada's World Junior team despite having his worst season since his rookie year.

Relative to expectations, Murphy did not have a great season and pretty much all of his negative assets were on display in the World Juniors. He was mainly used as a power-play specialist for Team Canada and when he was used at even strength, they were usually pinned into their own zone. Murphy looked out of his league against bigger forwards and made a lot of bad reads that resulted in chances and goals against. Both Murphy and goaltender Malcolm Subban were unanimously named the scapegoats for Team Canada, who failed to earn a medal in the tournament, and supporters were ruling out Murphy's future as an NHL-er.

I'm not going to sugarcoat this. Murphy was not good in the World Juniors and watching him in the tournament concerned me, especially the way he defended on the rush, but I don't want to hold six bad games against him. Not when you look at everything else Murphy can bring to the table. Defensemen with Murphy's skating ability and offensive talent do not grow on trees, so it's not fair to discard him as a prospect because of his defensive issues. If he can do enough to produce at the other end, Murphy should be an effective NHL player, even if it is only as a power-play specialist or an offensive defenseman.

I've mentioned this before, but there is always a trade off with offensive defensemen. A good majority of them are going to make mistakes in their own end, most of which are of the ugly variety, and that's always what most fans are going to notice. What many fans fail to recognize, however, is how effective offensive defensemen can be at moving the play forward and keeping the puck out of their own end. Their defensive shortcomings are still present, but they are mitigated by the fact that they don't spend a lot of time in their own zone because of how good they are at driving the play. Now, there are some puck-moving defensemen who are awful in this regard (Cam Barker, Jack Johnson, Ryan Whitney) but the ones who are effective at it are extremely valuable (Kris Letang, Lubomir Visnovsky, Keith Yandle, etc.). Which category does Murphy belong in, though?

Right now, it's a little too early to say how Murphy's career will end up but there are some concerns about him, one of which being his size. Some believe that Murphy is too small to play in the NHL, which will make him only effective in a limited, sheltered role. That might be the case for his rookie season, but I don't think anyone is "too small" to play in the NHL, as similar defensemen like Tobias Enstrom have had successful careers despite not being the most intimidating players on the ice. Going by what I've seen from Murphy, he may need to get a little stronger so that he isn't knocked off the puck so easily but his skating, passing and puck-handling could make him a pretty solid 5/6 defenseman in his first couple of seasons. His decision-making is also something that scouts have knocked him for, but this wasn't an issue during his brief stint in the NHL so I think he is still learning when and when not to be aggressive in the offensive zone. I would expect this to continue as he gets older and adjusts to the professional game.

The biggest issue for Murphy is going to be living up to expectations, as is the usual case with all former first round picks. When he was drafted, he was pegged as an elite offensive defenseman after recording 79 points in 63 games as an 18 year old. It's hard to score at that rate for a defenseman and Murphy's counting stats have predictably gotten worse over the next two years. Most would expect players to dominate at the junior level as they get older, but it appears to have been the opposite with Murphy. However, this isn't a huge surprise with Murphy because the huge numbers he posted during his draft year were mostly due to him scoring at an obscenely high rate on the power-play.

Not to discard Murphy's incredible draft year, but over half of his points came on the power play that season and it was unlikely that he would score at such a high rate again. That proved to be true in the following two seasons, although his even strength production did improve the following year. Murphy still continued to post good numbers, though and I would expect this part of his game to translate over to the next level. The question is whether or not he can contribute outside of just producing points, which goes hand-in-hand with my previous statement on if he can be a decent puck-possession player and not the next Cam Barker.

There are still a lot of questions and concerns surrounding Murphy's NHL potential, but I would expect him to play at least half of the season next year. The coaching staff, specifically Rod Brind'Amour, really like him and he is going to get a decent look in training camp. I know that there will be gripes about adding "another" puck-mover to the team, but is that honestly a bad thing right now? Aside from Joni Pitkanen, the Canes don't have a defenseman who can carry the puck through the neutral zone and drive play on their own. Justin Faulk plays more of a stay-at-home game and Andrej Sekera's offensive potential is still unknown. Murphy jumps into the play any chance he gets and loves to have the puck on his stick, so he will be add another dimension to Carolina's breakout game, even if he is an adventure in his own zone. He may end up being the team's long-term replacement for PItkanen if his development goes according to plan.

Projecting Ryan Murphy's future is similar to watching him play, because things could really go either way. He could either be the dynamic, offensive defenseman the team drafted or he could end up being a third-pairing guy who only helps the team on the power play. Murphy plays such a high-risk style that this is probably how things will work out for him. He showed the ability to play top-pairing minutes during his brief stint with the Canes, but he looked a little out of place in a couple games and I'm not sure if he'll be able to do that consistently in his rookie season. However, I do think that Murphy will have a decent career and his rookie season will not be a dull one.

Stats courtesy of the OHL's web site & HockeyDb

Position: Center
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 192 lbs.
Drafted: 2nd Round, 2011 Draft
Age: 20
Last Year's Ranking: 11

One of the few prospects in the Top 10 who has yet to play in the NHL, Victor Rask figures to be a big part of the Hurricanes long-term future. He was an interesting selection for the Canes in the second round of the 2011 draft because while he did have an impressive skillset, there were questions about his attitude and defensive play which shyed some teams away from him. There was also some questions about whether or not his playing style would translate over to a smaller ice surface. Two years later, those questions appear to be gone as Rask has now played two seasons in North America and his performance and playing on smaller ice hasn't appeared to affect his performance much at all.

A talented play-maker, Rask has the skill to play on any scoring line and brings a decent physical edge to the table, as well. He isn't going to be a player that delivers big hits, but one of his best assets is his ability to win battles along the boards and isn't shy about playing a tight-checking style either. He is also very good at protecting himself and is hard to knock off the puck, which could make him a strong territorial player at the next level. Rask's defensive game is also solid, although that was a problem for him during his younger seasons and he is strong enough to be a good top-nine center in the NHL if all goes right for him.

There are some concerns about Rask's NHL potential, though and the biggest thing is easily his skating. He struggled with this a lot during his time in Europe and while it has improved the last couple of seasons, it is far from his strongest asset. Rask's offensive upside and play-making skills would make him a great fit with a lot of Carolina's younger forwards, but he may struggle to stay in the NHL if his skating issues are anything serious. That being said, this is one thing he has gotten better at over time and he doesn't need to be a speed demon to stay in the NHL if he can make up for it in other areas, especially in his own end of the rink.

If there's anything to be encouraged about with Rask, it is that he has gotten better every season and seemed to really elevate his play since moving to North America. He was third on the Calgary Hitmen in points in his rookie season and was an absolute stud last year. Despite joining the team in January, he was sixth on the team in points and scored at a point-per-game clip in the WHL. Rask was also their best forward in the post-season with 16 points in 17 games and a big reason why the Hitmen went deep into the WHL playoffs. In addition to that, Rask gained some attention on the International stage by being a part of Team Sweden's silver medal hockey team at the IIHF World Juniors this past year. He had a decent showing with 4 points in 6 games in 2nd/3rd line role.

Rask has accomplished plenty at the junior level, so next year is when everyone is going to be expecting him to take that next step to the pros. He got a little taste of that last season by playing 10 games with the Charlotte Checkers, but most figure he should be on their roster full-time this coming year. The Checkers were juggling a lot of players thanks to the NHL lockout and Rask struggled to stay in the lineup because of that, despite his on-ice performance being very solid, and the team ultimately decided that he would be better off getting top line minutes in Calgary. His counting numbers indicate that he took full advantage of that and hopefully he will be able to do similar things in Charlotte next year.

Will playing time be an issue for Rask, though? Personally, I could see him getting top line minutes right off the bat but it will probably depend on how he performs early in the season. The Checkers could lose a few players to the NHL and that includes centers Jeremy Welsh, Riley Nash & Brett Sutter. If one of those three make the Hurricanes out of camp, it opens the door for Rask to play big minutes and all he has to do is take advantage of it. He wasn't getting big minutes or consistent playing time last year and still managed to put up decent numbers, so I would expect him to have a good showing in a bigger role.

Rask is one of those players who scouts seem to love because he has a lot of tools that would make him succeed in the NHL, but he is still untested in the professional rankings and it will likely be a couple of years before he's ready to contribute to the Hurricanes. Still, Rask has built a nice reputation for himself in the junior rankings and has improved a lot over the last couple of seasons. As far as his work ethic is concerned, the fact that he was willing to move to North America and improve the weak points of his game is enough to dispel some old rumors about him. He should be ready to make the jump to the pros and it will be interesting to see how his rookie season goes.

The 2013 Carolina Hurricanes were a very strange team. They finished with a lottery pick despite being a positive team in terms of even strength puck-possession and managed to do it while playing behind one of the most porous defenses in the NHL. They were among the worst teams in the league at preventing shots on goal but managed to create more than they gave up, as they were also one of the best teams at creating 5v5 shots on goal. This should have resulted in them scoring more goals but that wasn't the case, unfortunately.

Outside of their first line, the Canes had problems finding the back of the net. They had the 7th worst 5v5 shooting percentage in the NHL and the worst shooting percentage on the power play. On top of that, they received below average goaltending and that's generally bad news when you give up 30+ shots per 60 minutes during even strength play along with a terrible penalty kill. The fact that the Hurricanes were able to stay above water at even strength was kind of amazing when you consider how poor their defense was, the fact that it wasn't resulting in many goals has a lot of people thinking that the team needs a massive overhaul.

While the defense had a lot of room to improve, the Hurricanes should not have been as bad as where they finished last season, because intangible things like injuries, shooting percentage and goaltending played a major role in where they finished. It has been shown that teams who can control possession generally make the playoffs and the Hurricanes were pretty solid in this regard in just about every game situation, which tells me that this team would have posted a stronger record in a full season rather than finishing 26th in the league. 

However, the Hurricanes were a little different from other positive possession teams out there because they were such a high-event club. By that, I mean they created a lot of offense, but they also gave up almost just as much in their own end. Having a stretch of bad goaltending or a couple of weeks where you can't score can doom a team playing this kind of style and this is pretty much what happened to the Hurricanes last year. The Canes didn't have a strong enough defense to play a shutdown style, so they did their best to outscore the opposition and needless to say, the results weren't that good.

This relates to the way the team was constructed and the system Kirk Muller runs, so it wouldn't be a shocker ot see them play a similar style next year unless a major overhaul happens. Is it possible for them to contend while playing this style or will they need to change systems to find their way back to the post-season? They aren't the first team to play such a "high-event" style and I'm sure other clubs have been able to find success playing firewagon hockey instead of "shutting down" their opponents. How common is it, though? To answer that question, we'll look at some other "high-event" teams and compare their results.

Position: Center
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 191 lbs.
Drafted: 1st Round, 2007 Draft
Age: 24
Last Year's Ranking: 22

Riley Nash's status as a prospect has changed quite a bit over his career. He was an excellent play-making center in college and many expected him to be a future #2 center when the Oilers used their first round pick on him in 2007. Ever since he entered the AHL, his expectations went down considerably. Nash's offense didn't translate at the professional level and he usually ranked in the middle of the pack in goals, points and shots on goal among Charlotte forwards. This caused some people to lose faith in Nash and consider him only a fringe NHL-er at best.

While Nash's counting stats have been disappointing, he has developed into an effective shutdown center at teh AHL level. He has anchored the third line in Charlotte for the last few years and typically draws the toughest assignments from the coaching staff and played heavy minutes on the penalty kill in addition to that. His usage in Charlotte was very similar to how Paul Maurice utilized Brandon Sutter with the Hurricanes and the two have a similar playing style, as well. Like Sutter, Nash is an excellent skater and has excellent hockey sense, which made him a good fit for a tough minute role. He makes smart plays with the puck and you will rarely see him panic or make a mistake in a high-pressure situation.

What separates Nash from Sutter and other shutdown centers in the NHL is that Nash isn't a physical player and his two-way game isn't nearly as strong. Nash is more than solid defensively and is great at keeping the puck away from opposing forwards, but he isn't that big of a player and struggled to create offense during his first couple of years in the AHL. This is a problem that a lot of younger players run into when they make the jump from college or juniors to the professionals, but Nash at least made up for it with his defensive contributions. This is also one of the reasons why he was able to stick around in the NHL longer than some of the Hurricanes other call-ups.

The Hurricanes plan going into last season was to use Jussi Jokinen as the third line center and have younger players fill in the other bottom-six spots. Players like Jeremy Welsh, Zac Dalpe and Zach Boychuk were the ones high on most people's lists during training camp, but Nash ended up playing more games than all of them and eventually took over the third line center spot. It was a little surprising to see Nash emerge as an NHL-er last season, but it makes sense when you think about it. He had played a bottom-six role in the AHL for years and his solid defensive game made him a decent fit on a checking line over someone who was more a goal-scorer in the minors.

Overall, Nash's rookie season was decent. He didn't score much (five of his nine points came in two games) and wasn't great at faceoffs, but the Hurricanes were moving the puck in the right direction when he was on the ice. Nash posted a positive Corsi rating in a third line role, which is very encouraging for a rookie and scored at a decent even strength clip of 1.45 points per 60 minutes. There was a lot more that he could have done to make himself standout, but his overall results weren't awful. However, I think Nash needs to do a little more to keep his spot on the roster next season. Whether that means producing more points, playing more on the penalty kill or becoming a stronger territorial player doesn't matter because I see Nash as someone who can potentially do all of these things and become a solid top-nine player.

Nash looked very good by the eye test last season and most folks already have him penciled into the lineup for opening night. The fact that he was able to stick around for 32 games last season gives him the edge over some other players, but with Elias Lindholm in the mix and Jeremy Welsh on a one-way deal, Nash may not have a guaranteed spot. The Hurricanes have a lot of centers in the mix right now, so this might help Nash elevate his game to make himself stand out among the pack. There's nothing wrong with being a solid checking line player, but I think Nash can be so much more than that.

He is a smart player with a lot of offensive talent and while the latter hasn't translated to the pros, he has had some flashes indicating that he can be effective in a secondary scoring role. Nash managed to be one of the few Carolina prospects who went above and beyond his expectations last year and here's to hoping that continues over the next few months. Like I said earlier, his rookie season was good but there is a lot more that he can to do improve his all-around game.

Position: Right Wing/Center
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 195 lbs.
Drafted: 2nd Round, 2008 Draft
Age: 23
Last Year's Ranking: 6

Zac Dalpe is a player who everyone thought would be in the NHL by now and you can make the argument that he should have more than 41 total games played. Projected as a future top-six player, Dalpe has been one of the Hurricanes top prospects for the last few years and many expected him to be a contributing player by now. Unfortunately, his career hasn't gone in that direction as he has spent the majority of the last three years in the AHL despite making the Hurricanes out of camp. Some have written off Dalpe as a prospect because of this, assuming that he won't ever be a top-six player or even a future NHL-er. With so many young players breaking into the league, it's easy to get frustrated at Dalpe's progress, but I think there he still has plenty of potential and should find his way to the NHL soon. 

You can make the argument that every prospect has "potential" and those who do not produce should not be given much thought. We all know what kind of skillset Dalpe has, but his results at the NHL level haven't been promising, as he has spent most of the last three seasons in Charlotte. However, it's also tough to say that Dalpe has been given a fair shot in the NHL thus far. In his first couple of seasons, he was used on the fourth line and predictably struggled in that role. Once Paul Maurice was fired and replaced with Kirk Muller, Dalpe began to play more minutes but still couldn't hold onto a full-time spot in the NHL. 

This is why you have a lot of people on the "Dalpe is a bust, let's move on from him" bandwagon, but there are a lot of reasons to be encouraged with what he did at the NHL level last year. He played only 10 games, but was very effective during that time and did a lot to contribute even though he wasn't scoring. The biggest issue with Dalpe in previous years is that he struggled to drive the play north and keep the puck in the other team's end of the rink. That dramatically changed this past season, as he posted one of the highest shot attempt differentials on the team. Some of this might relate to him playing on a line with Jordan Staal, but Dalpe still did a lot of good things during his brief stint in Carolina and should have played more than 10 game. 

When he was drafted, two of the biggest flaws in Dalpe's game were his poor defenisve play and how it was relatively easy to knock him off the puck. The Checkers seemed to notice this and decided to move him to right wing a couple years ago and it's produced some encouraging results in terms of his ability to drive the play

Dalpe has been shooting the puck a lot more in the AHL and while that might not sound like much, being able to consistently create offense is a good way to land yourself an NHL role, even if you aren't scoring. Playing on the wing gives Dalpe less defensive responsibility and not be the primary puck-carrier on his line, which opens him up for more opportunities and he has been able to generate more chances as a result. Not all of them resulted in goals, but he is still good at driving the net & creating space for himself when he has the puck so I think he will get more rewarded for it in a full NHL season.

Unfortunately, Dalpe has still yet to play a full NHL season and that is mildly concerning. Injuries are also an issue, as he has missed considerable time in each of the last two season and it has prevented him from being called up on a few occassions. He has a pretty good opportunity to crack the Hurricanes roster full-time next year with the team having a few bottom-six spots open, but it's a similar spot to what he was in last year. He will likely be one of 5-6 players who have a chance to make the team out of camp and who makes it will depend on who impresses the coaching staff.

The difference this year is that Dalpe isn't waiver exempt and the Hurricanes added a few other players who may also contend for a roster spot in Aaron Palushaj & Nathan Gerbe. Factor in the addition of Elias Lindholm and Dalpe is not a shoe-in for a roster spot out of camp. That being said, if he can continue to create chances and be a strong puck-possession player, he would be an excellent fit on the third line with Lindholm.

The expectations for Dalpe were a little high in his draft year, but he doesn't need to be a star to contribute to this team and it's very realistic that he can be a great third-liner next year. Dalpe skates well enough to keep up with Lindholm and should be able to provide a decent amount of secondary scoring, considering how often he shoots the puck. If he can do that and play a solid game away from the puck, then I think he will be in the NHL full-time next year. History suggests that Dalpe should be able to make it in the NHL in a complimentary role and that's probably the best thing for a Carolina team that needs forward depth.

Next year is probably the "make or break" season for Dalpe, seeing how he is on a one-year contract and isn't waiver exempt, so if he is going to have a future with the Canes it's going to be next year or possibly never. Some might think that he is Zach Boychuk part 2, but I think he is more likely to stay in the NHL and it wouldn't surprise me if he lands a full-time role next year.

Position: Defense
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 205 lbs.
Drafted: 3rd Round, 2010 Draft
Age: 21
Last Year's Ranking: 10

If there is one thing we all know, it's that the Hurricanes scouts love mobile defensemen and they haven't been shy about drafting or making trades for them. Some of them have worked out better than others, but Carolina's philosophy has remained the same, as they have continued to stockpile puck-moving defensemen both at the pro and amateur level. The term "puck-moving defensemen" is often used to describe offensive defensemen and most fans incorrectly assume that they are liabilities in their own end. Some of them do fall into that category, but just because a defenseman skates well and possesses offensive tendencies doesn't make him a "one-dimensional player" or a nightmare whenever they have to defend in their own zone. In fact, you can make the argument that being a mobile defenseman is a good thing in today's game and this is why Carolina's 2010 3rd rounder, Danny Biega, could find his way to the NHL sooner rather than later.

Biega recently finished his senior year at Harvard University and while that didn't go as well as he hoped, he still has a lot of promise as an offensive defenseman. He plays a strong two-way game but he is more effective when the puck is on his stick. His fluid skating, passing and hockey IQ made him a great fit on Harvard's power play in each of the last three seasons and these were on full display in his sophomore & junior year. Biega is also capable of leading a rush up the ice with little difficulty and this could definitely help him earn a job in the NHL somewhere down the line. His numbers weren't great in his senior year, but Biega's talent is still there and it will be interesting to see how he adjusts to playing in the AHL next season.

In his own end, Biega has some work to do because he doesn't play a physical game and tries to outmaneuver opponents rather than getting in their face. He isn't a small player, so he is capable of matching up against other team's forwards, but his style of play can get him into trouble if he makes a mistake or two. His play away from the puck is a little similar to that of former Hurricane Jamie McBain. Meaning that Biega can get aggressive in the offensive zone and it sometimes leads to him getting caught deep if he isn't careful. He has the speed to get back and cover up for his mistakes but sometimes makes bad reads on opposing forwards. Those are legitimate concerns, but Biega is still pretty dynamic with the puck and is defending only 40% of the time when he is on his game, which makes his upside very appealing. Next to Ryan Murphy, he was probably the most impressive defenseman at the Hurricanes development camp last month, as his terrific offensive skillset was on full display.

Another concern with Biega is that he is coming off a down season, especially for his standards. Harvard had a tough year overall and Biega was just one of many players on that team who struggled. Big things were expected from him in his senior year, but he wasn't quite the offensive force that he was two years prior. This was a combination of Biega's own struggles and Harvard, as a team, going through a tough transition year. I think Biega will rebound and have a good career, but I would be lying if I said wasn't expecting more from him last season. That being said, this is just one season and Biega's overall body of work is still very impressive.

 This coming season will be an important one for Biega, as it will be his first fulll year in the pros and it should give the Hurricanes an idea of where his development is. Biega got to play a couple playoff games in Charlotte after signing his entry level contract and the coaches down ther e seemed to like him a lot. He gives them an element they were missing after Bobby Sanguinetti's departure and could possibly take over Marc-Andre Gragnan's role as the power play quarterback next season. The AHL is a different game than the ECAC but this is where his strengths lie and he should be capable enough to handle heavy minutes on the power play in Charlotte. Biega is still pretty young (only turns 22 this September), but he is at the age where a lot of future NHL-ers break into the professionals, so his rookie season with the Checkers will give us a big indication of where he is at and if he can develop into an NHL player.

Despite the bad season, I have Biega jumping up one spot in the rankings this year. Most of that is due to some other prospects underperforming but I also think what Biega has done over his entire career is good enough to keep him in the top ten. One down year isn't enough for me to lose faith in him and write him off as a prospect, not when he was one of the top offensive defensemen in college hockey only a year prior. He will regain his footing, but could have to make some adjustments as he enters the professionals next season.

I'm also putting Biega in the top ten because I see him as someone who can make the NHL somewhere down the line, which is what you want with all of your prospects. Offensive defensemen might give fans headaches at times, but all teams seem to have room for them and are on the lookout for players like Biega even if it's just to play on their third pairing. That might be all Biega is at the NHL level, but he has the tools to be a pretty effective offensive player and could be a solid top-four defenseman if a lot of things go right for him. Right now, he's a solid, mobile defenseman and it may not be long before dons a Hurricanes sweater.

I've been playing the "bad luck" card to explain most of the Hurricanes struggles last year because a lot of the team's struggles were out of their own control. The Canes were destroyed by injuries, had scoring issues despite leading the NHL in 5v5 shots per game, received sub-par goaltending for half of the year and lost all but two games that went to extra time. Everyone knew that tangible qualities like the ones listed above were going to play a significant role in where teams finished in the standings and the Hurricanes got the short end of the stick in all of them. Rob Vollman's Hockey Abstract web site does a great job of illustrating this point with this chart showing each team's "Luck Score." It's pretty easy to tell that the Hurricanes were very unlucky in just about every category that is said to go either way in a full-season.

Some encouraging news in all of this is that the Canes were a positive puck-possession team at even strength and should be better next year once regression sets in and their second line starts producing. However, another area that Vollman's Luck Score goes over is each club's "Special Team Index," which looks at the combined performance of their power play and penalty kill. As you can probably guess, Carolina was near the bottom of the league in that category and have been for years now. Some teams can get by with mediocre special teams by making up for it at even strength, but others, like the Hurricanes aren't so fortunate. 

The Canes were a good team at controlling the play at during five-on-five action, but they had trouble scoring and got below-average to replacement level goaltending for the second half of the season. Combine that with putrid special teams and that will generally earn you a place in the NHL's cellar, in a shortened season at least. What does luck have to do with special teams, though? Quite a bit, actually.

I was hesitatnt to accept this idea at first, but when you consider how much luck is involved with goal-scoring and goaltending, it's easy to see why special teams performance can vary so much on a year to year basis. Special teams success is gauged by a team's power play or penalty kill percentage, which is determined by how many goals they score or allow while playing up or down a man. It's been stated and proven over and over again how shooting percentage is not a repeatable skill at a team level and as a result, success on special teams usually ends up being very random. This is especially true for a team's power play percentage.

If you look at each of the top ranked power plays over the last six seasons and where they ranked the following year, you'll notice some interesting observations.

Only two of the top ranked power plays stayed in the top 10 the following season and only one of them converted on at least 20% of their opportunities. After running hot on the power play for one year, each of these teams saw their 5v4 shooting percentages dip the following season while their shot rate stayed relatively constant. Much like it is at even strength, the most a team has control over on the power play is creating chances and getting the puck on goal. With the exception of the Detroit Red Wings, all of these team's ability to do that didn't change much the following season, but their power plays ended up being worse going by shooting percentage and success rate.

This all relates back to the issue of whether or not shooting percentage relates to shot quality and while there might be some correlation there, it doesn't appear to have much sustainability over long stretches of time. The ability to generate shots, on the other hand, is much more repeatable and this is why the general rule of thumb is that your power play is on the right track as long as you generate chances. Still, there are a  lot of coaches will drive themselves crazy to fix a struggling power play even when they are getting a high volume of shots on goal. Sometimes, a little patience can be the cure to everything.

Does this apply to the Hurricanes, though? They've been ranked in the bottom-half of the league in power play percentage in the majority of the last six seasons, but how much of it is related to percentages and how much of it is the team's doing? After the jump, we will answer both questions and discuss how it will affect the team next season.

Position: Left Winger
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 190 lbs.
Drafted: 5th Round, 2007 Draft
Age: 24
Last Year's Ranking: 13

Out of all of the Hurricanes prospects who have received call-ups in recent years, Chris Terry may have been the most deserving. After all, he has been the Checkers leading scorer in two of the last three seasons and one of their best forwards ever since he joined the team. Yet, he didn't make his NHL debut until last year and his call-up lasted a grand total of three days. Size, conditioning and skating have all been pointed to as reasons for Terry not receiving a call-up until last season and while those are legitimate concerns, Terry has produced at the AHL level for years despite that has gotten better every season. Last year being his best in the pros thus far.

The progress Terry has made in the AHL has been very encouraging, but the growing concern with him is whether or not he will spend his entire career there without making much of a splash at the next level. You can make the argument that Terry was never given much of a chance to succeed since he was only called up this year and didn't play much. He was also only in Carolina on an emergency basis while Chad LaRose & a couple other players were injured, which limited him to only three games before he head to return to Charlotte. While there are plenty of career AHLers who you can apply this theory to, there is some truth to it with Terry because he seemed to make the most of his time in the NHL.

Terry made his debut on March 9th against the New Jersey Devils, was placed on the third line and made an immediate impact by netting his first career goal in the second period. He was also playing a solid game away from the puck, which is something many AHL scorers struggle to do at the next level. Terry was working hard along the boards, was active physically and made a couple of good plays in his own zone to break up potential scoring chances. In a game where the Hurricanes were horribly outshot, Terry was one of the few players who managed to keep the puck out of his own end while contributing offensively. It's only one game and a tiny sample size, but Terry played well that night and was restricted to fourth line duty the following two games before being sent down to Charlotte.

I'm not trying to say that Terry is a future star or even a future NHL-er, I just think that he has done enough to earn more of a chance to show what he can do at this level. I understand that other prospects are higher in the pecking order and there are only so many roster spots available, but Terry has done nothing but produce at the AHL level and made a lot of improvements last year. Terry was one of the few players who stayed in Charlotte after the lockout ended and was forced to step up as one of the offensive leaders on the team. He responded by playing some of the best hockey of his career during this stretch and ended up leading the team in points. He was also one of the Checkers best players at creating shots on a consistent basis, which isn't surprising but still encouraging.

Terry is a good player and could get a shot at making the roster as a bottom-six player this year if he is impressive enough in camp. The problem is that there are a lot of young players he is going to be competing with and I expect the Hurricanes to bring in someone else through free agency or waivers, which will probably make it harder for him to make the final cut. There are a lot of players similar to him who end up falling through the cracks and not making much of an impact with the organization that drafted them because the time & situation just wasn't right. For Terry to make the Hurricanes this season, he has a few players he needs to outplay in camp to be in consideration for a roster spot.

Knowing that, it's probably a longshot that he'll be in Raleigh full-time, but he has gotten better every year and might do enough to impress the coaching staff this fall if history repeats itself. He made a lot of progress over the last  year and jumps up three spots on the list into the Top 10.

Position: Winger
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 200 lbs.
Drafted: 2nd Round, 2012 Draft
Age: 19
Last Year's Ranking: 19

The Hurricanes first selection in the 2012 draft, Phil Di Giuseppe jumps seven spots in the rankings in this year's Top 25 Under 25. There was quite a bit of hype for him around draft time because he had a solid freshman year at the University of Michigan and some considered him a "steal" for the Hurricanes in the second round because he was one of the top NCAA prospects at the time. Unfortunately, his sophomore year didn't go as well as some hoped and his final scoring line was only marginally improved over last season. Michigan had a pretty bad season as a team and Di Giuseppe in particular got off to a rough start that took him awhile to recover from. Still, he turned in a pretty solid year and will likely be one of the Wolverines top players next season.

Di Giuseppe is considered somewhat of a "project" because he is very big for his age and has a lot of qualities that would make him a "power forward" at the NHL level. Meaning that he is a sizable forward who forechecks hard and possesses a decent amount of offensive upside. The problem with these types of players is that they either become top-six players or get stuck on the fourth line if they can't score or are a liability defensively. Based on his performance in college, Di Giuseppe is probably somewhere in the middle. He hasn't been that great of a goal-scorer, although he does shoot the puck quite a lot, but he has some play-making talent and has gained points from that.

Size is something that fools a lot of GMs and scouts because every team wants to get bigger these days and are always drawn to some prospects because of it. This isn't always a bad thing because size is a great asset to have but some bigger players tend to get more hype around draft time because everyone believes they can be the next "power forward" in the NHL. A good combination of skill and size is hard to find these days, though and while it makes players like this extremely valuable, it's also very tough to find them in the draft, especially since most of them are only teenagers at the time. I'm not sure if Di Giuseppe falls into this class because while he plays a strong game away from the puck, he isn't a notably physical player and can be a creative play-maker when given the opportunity.  He can be the guy who over-powers defensemen and goes to the net to score, but he make some very impressive moves in open ice to maneuver around defenders.

This is the impression that I got from Di Giuseppe from the Michigan games i watched last season and most who follow the team have had nothing but good things to say about his play despite the low scoring numbers. Most hockey minds tend to like guys who play a gritty game and do the hard work along the boards, so this is probably why. Most love his work ethic and see him as someone who can be a force to be reckoned with in a few years, but still needs a little more fine tuning before he reaches that level. This is also the reason why Di Giuseppe's considered somewhat of a "project" right now because while he has a lot of tools, he still needs time to put everything together before he's at the level scouts project him as. He could be a hell of a player and a dangerous top-six forward once his offense starts to come around but until that day comes, PdG will be considered a work in progress.

Next season should be interesting for Di Giuseppe because he should be considered one of the "leaders" of this young Michigan team and will get every opportunity to succeed on one of their first two lines. The Hurricanes haven't been afraid to sign their NCAA prospects to entry-level deals before their senior year, so we could even see him in Charlotte before the year is over. Di Giuseppe has a lot of qualities that will translate over to the pro game, so his offense might not be a huge concern. He does have a ton of potential there, though and you would like to see him post some better numbers in his junior year, which I think he will. He shoots the puck quite a bit and the goals will come as long as he continues to shoot the puck at a high rate. That is generally how things work for most players and I don't see him being any different.

Even as an upperclassman, Di Giuseppe is still a very young player at only 19 years of age and isn't even close to being the oldest player on his old team. There is plenty of time for him to work on his all-around game, but I think most are expecting a big year from him next season with his role increasing both on and off the ice. Should that happen he could find himself year the top of Carolina's prospect totem pole. This is still a pretty big "if," though because similar things were predicted for him last season and his performance stayed about the same. That isn't the worst thing in the world, but you want to see a player with Di Giuseppe's talent & potential do a little more and I think we'll see that next season.

A hot topic for Carolina fans this off-season has been Jeff Skinner and what the team should do with him. After an amazing rookie season, it seems like there have been nothing but questions surrounding him. What happens if he gets injured again? Is he a center or a winger? Can he develop chemistry with Jordan Staal? Will he ever re-capture the magic of his rookie season? Is he too scared to go to the net? Will he ever learn to play defense? Pretty much everything you hear about Skinner these days is a concern and it's part of the reason why he has been a popular name thrown around in trade rumors this summer. 

Most teams would love to have a player of Skinner's caliber on their team. He only turned 21 this May and already has two 20+ goal seasons under his belt and is one of the most creative players in the league. Only 37 players in NHL history scored more points than him before their 21st birthday and his career point-per-game rate is similar to what Rod Brind'Amour, Brent Sutter & Tom Fergus had when they were his age. Yet, all you seem to hear regarding Skinner now is how the Hurricanes should trade him to "get bigger" and improve their team defense.

The last calendar year has a big influence in all of this, as Skinner signed a big six-year contract worth a little under $6 mil. per season last August and he followed it up by having the worst season of his young career. Skinner had a career-low 13 goals and 24 points in 42 games. In a full-year, that would be pro-rated to about 25-26 goals and 43-44 points, but those would still be career low scoring rates for him and his production at even strength took quite a fall. He scored only 1.23 points during 60 minutes of five-on-five play last year after scoring over two points per 60 minutes in the previous two seasons.

This isn't the type of season you want to gave going into a big contract and this is why a lot of trade rumors have surfaced lately. Cooler heads have prevailed in the Hurricanes front office, though because the team has made moves to improve their defense without trading Skinner or any other key pieces. This is probably a good decision, too because while it appears that Skinner has gotten worse since his rookie season, he has made some big improvement since then and is due for a great season. One that might come as soon as next year