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Hurricanes draft Noah Hanifin with the 5th overall pick

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The Carolina Hurricanes selected Boston College defenseman Noah Hanifin with the fifth overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.

Hanifin, the first defenseman off the board, will have a chance to contribute at the NHL level, and projects to fill out the Hurricanes' top pairing along with Justin Faulk for seasons to come.

2014-15 Stats

Team GP Goals Assists Points PIM
Boston College 37 5 18 23 16

Overview

Having accelerated through both high school and the U.S. National Team Program to compete and thrive against NCAA Division I competition as a 17-year-old, it's no surprise Hanifin is regarded as the most NHL-ready defender in the 2015 prospect pool.

He's a wonderful skater in both a technical and explosive sense, and is at his best when leading transition offense. Because he scales the ice so well, his 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame is deceptively large, as he doesn't necessarily use that mass to inflict punishment on opponents.

Related: Noah Hanifin, and the master plan.

Hanifin's stick is his best weapon defensively, but his wheels generate his offense. He can develop into an all-situations contributor in the league, but there are scouts who question whether he can be a legitimate top-pairing defenseman.

What the scouts are saying

TSN's Craig Button, who placed Hanifin 12th on his final rankings, doesn't consider him the best defenseman in the draft:

I just think other players have bypassed him. And when I say bypassed him, I am talking for what I feel is NHL potential. I think Noah Hanifin is going to be a very good NHL player. I compared him to Jay Bouwmeester. But that's not an elite defenseman. I think (Ivan) Provorov is a complete defenseman. I have said this for two years, I never saw a significant difference, if any, between Noah Hanifin and Zack Werenski.

NHL Director of Central Scouting Dan Marr lauded Hanifin's grasp of the transition offense:

Everybody looks at Noah and says he's a gifted offensive player, and he is, but what makes him so special is he gets that you have to play defense first and the offense will come. He truly grasps the game from defense to offense; his transition is so quick.

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