The Canes have acquired forwards Evgenii Dadonov and A.J. Jenks from the Florida Panthers in exchange for forwards Jon Matsumoto and Mattias Lindstrom.
Dadonov, 22, is in his fifth season of professional hockey in North America, and has played 15 games on the NHL level with the Florida Panthers this season, totaling two goals and one assist (3 points).
The Chelyabinsk, Russia, native has earned nine points (5 goals, 4 assists) in 20 games with the Panthers’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage.
Drafted by the Panthers in the third round, 71st overall, in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, Dadonov has skated in 55 career NHL games for Florida, totaling 10 goals, 10 assists (20 points) and 16 penalty minutes. He established career highs in NHL games played (36), goals (8), assists (9) and points (17) in 2010-11, and represented Florida at the 2011 NHL All-Star Game in Raleigh as one of 12 rookies selected to participate.
Jenks, 21, is in his second professional season, splitting the year between San Antonio (AHL) and Cincinnati (ECHL).
A native of Detroit, Jenks has skated in 28 games for the Rampage, without registering a point, and has totaled three goals and three assists (6 points) in 13 ECHL games with the Cyclones.
Originally selected in the fourth round, 100th overall, in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Jenks played four seasons for the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) before turning pro, tallying 79 goals and 114 assists (193 points) in 249 career junior hockey games.
Jenks helped the United States capture gold at the 2010 World Junior Championship in Canada, totaling three goals and two assists (5 points) during the tournament.
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at
Comments
Trades
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 12:06 — hockey101Not sure about this. To bad for Jon. I would've thought we would have seen Jon up here by now to see if he fits into Muller system. Hope this doesn't come back and bites us in the butt.
Depth Chart
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 13:27 — sittler27Best to look at where Jon falls on the prospect and 4th line depth chart. Nash, Rask, Brett Sutter and Brent are all centers. Brody Sutter at the Junior level is a center and he is a 6'4" beast.
I had the chance to skate with Mats several times this summer at LaRose's workouts. I fully recognize this is just conditioning and no one brings their A game. I was obviously there just as a fill-in to allow for some scrimmages. I'm way past where I can put it in 3rd or 4th gear (or maybe even 2nd). There are times when the scrimmages got a but a competitive. That was when you could feel the quickness and speed of these guys. What I noticed is that Mats has very good skill with the puck. He protects it well; he has great hands; he has moves. But what surprised me was his lack of foot speed. You never had the sense he could separate himself from a check.
At time I was curious and went to all the sites that talked about his background. The one thing that stood out at every level was concern over his lack of foot speed. My guess is that JD has evaluated that as something that is never going to improve to an NHL level.
I agree ,and the Checkers
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 16:42 — hellfishI agree ,and the Checkers lineup will take on a big change next year ,as the Canes have a boatload of JR prospects coming up ,also Mahalak imo could be the #1 goalie for the Checkers next year with him being only an eyelash behind Subban for the best goalie in the OHL ,and Subban is the #1 ranked goalie prospect this year. Mahalak is only 19 ,but like Ryan Murphy it's time for the next level.
Still don't understand
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 11:31 — Hockeydad92This organization continues to give up on reasonable prospects like Jon Matsumoto. He has done everything asked at the AHL level and yet has played only a handful of NHL games on a 4th line for Mo?? I suspect we will see Samson shipped out this year as well. Makes me wonder what a guy like Chad LaRose does to endear himself to a situation like he has? I guess it is a last name thing (Staal / Sutter) or where you played junior...
To understand this, you have
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 12:55 — procellaeTo understand this, you have to think about the Hurricanes' roster moving forward.
Matsumoto is a center. He is small - 6'0'' and 185 lbs. He's not young for a prospect - 25 years old.
If we think about what our line-up will be in the future, we have a center line-up of Staal/Skinner/Sutter. I'm not sure whether or not it will work out, but the idea is to have Skinner be a center in the near future. Sutter belongs on the defensive line and I don't think it would be wise to waste his excellent defensive talents by putting him on a full scoring line. So the only piece we are missing is the 4th line center. Is Matsumoto a 4th line center? You say that they didn't look impressive on the 4th line under Mo. Well, that's where he is going to play. And he's not young, so don't expect him to develop too much. He got 2 goals in his first game, and then nothing. He's small, so he isn't going to grind much. If you had to pick between Brett Sutter and Jon Matsumoto for a grinding, fourth line, character role, who would you pick? I would choose Sutter, and the organization does too.
Reasonable prospects like
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 12:28 — imayagainknowantonReasonable prospects like Jon Matsumoto? If you're 25, have played 12 NHL games, were traded for a 7th round pick (that's how he ended up here in the first place), and cleared waivers earlier this year, are you really a "reasonable prospect"?
Meanwhile, Dadonov is three years younger and has already accomplished more at the NHL level that Matsumoto has or likely ever will.
Interesting Trade
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 10:02 — Caniac5I am curious why we would trade for a player (Jenks) that has played in 28 games and not scored a single point. Is Dadonov the reason we did this trade and Jenks was just an added bonus?
Either way, very interesting!
GO CANES!
Jenks
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 10:52 — sittler27Some of the book on Jenks is below. Bottom line he is a big guy and they sometimes develop late, if at all. The heart procedure likely set him back a year. I think it is a gamble and that Dadinov was the likely main target.
I recognize all the sarcasm for Plymouth and why that is. But it is a quality Junior organization and they produce some very good players... Tyler Seguin is not too shabby. Better than Hall.
2009-10: Jenks had an outstanding year - both with Plymouth and at the World Junior tournament - where he was part of the gold medal-winning USA squad that ended Canada's run of five straight titles. In 52 OHL games, Jenks scored 23 goals with 40 assists and was +12 with 58 PIM. Once again dangerous on the power play (8 goals), Jenks also scored 4 short-handed goals. Playing for Team USA, he scored 3 goals with 2 assists and was +6 with 6 PIM. Jenks continued his hot scoring in the OHL playoffs, as the Whalers swept the Soo Greyhounds but then were defeated by Memorial Cup-bound Windsor in a five game series. In nine playoff games, Jenks scored 4 goals with 8 assists and was +4 with 14 PIM. Jenks signed an entry level contract with Florida in April.
2010-11: Jenks had a solid, if unspectacular first season in pro hockey with the Rochester Americans (AHL). After missing time at the beginning while recovering from a procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat, Jenks was a fixture in the Rochester lineup and played in all situations. In 63 games for the last-place Amerks, he had 8 goals with 13 assists and was +3 with 48 PMs.
Talent Analysis
Jenks is a power-forward style of player, with surprising speed and agility for his size. He has a scorer’s mentality, and a good shot. Jenks' long reach and quickness helps make him a solid defensive player and good penalty killer. He is also good on face-offs and thrives in power play situations. Jenks has become a more consistent player during his rookie season in the AHL, but could stand to shoot more in order to avoid dry spells during the season.
Future
Like most power-forwards, Jenks will need more time to develop. He projects as an above-average third-line player who can add offense, but he has second-line potential. In order to reach that potential, Jenks will need to continue to incorporate more physical play into his game, and work hard to avoid inconsistency. Jenks will spend at least another year at the AHL level, and could start making regular appearances at the NHL level in 2013-14.
Thanks
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 11:13 — gso_canes_fansittler for the detailed info on Jenks
Jenks
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 10:25 — CanarseHe came from the Plymouth Whalers. Must be a favorite of PK.
Plymouth
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 13:49 — sittler27Justin Williams, James Wisniewski, Stephen Weiss, Tyler Seguin, James Neal, Kevin Brown, David Legwand. Seems like some other teams think highly of Whalers players.
We also signed LaRose, Peters, and Boulerice as either low draft picks or undrafted free agents. And mistakes were made.... Tselios and Kunka. But name me an organization that has not had any 1st or 2nd round busts.
Plymouth is regarded as a quality OHL franchise that has a natural rivalry with the likes of other quality organizations like the Windsor Spitfires. No doubt PK is sometimes overly affected by his ownership position in the Whalers. But it has also given us some diamonds in the rough. Chris Terry may yet make it to the NHL as a sleeper. Likely no one else would have drafted him very high. Auston Levi is a very highly regarded defenseman and Matt Mahalak was an insider pick in the 6th round goal who has a .930 save percentage and 2.27 GAA in the offensive minded OHL. Some have suggested he has been one the top 3 goalies in the leeague this season and has outplayed fellow Plymouth Whaler Scott Wedgewood who the NJ Devils picked in the 3rd round as potential replacement for Brodeur.
Whalers
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 14:07 — CanarseI didn't mean to imply the guy didn't deserve to be there. For crying out loud he's currently bouncing between ECHL/AHL. To me that makes him a depth forward. If you know the guy from juniors and like his attitude then why wouldn't you pick him up if you can?
Don't Sell Jenks short
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 14:57 — sittler27Jenks may well be the sleeper in this trade. I just spoke with a couple of guys who officiated some San Antonio games. Their take was.... who is this guy and why is he down here. He is a bit flashy with his long blonde hair but they said he had speed, strength and went to the net hard. They thought his foot speed was above average. There was a bit of a skirmish and one of the guys had to restrain him... said he was very strong. Bottom line is they agreed that in the games they did he stood out as the best forward on the ice.
So why he is bouncing around? Well he did have a major heart procedure. That had to have to set him back. You also have to wonder as to long term affects but you would also think that the Canes did their homework.
The kid was captain of the Whalers so hopefully that means he has some character. You also have to think that PK got some worthwhile insight. Interesting that this trade coincided with PK's trip to Raleigh.
Further on Jenks and Dadonov
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 15:37 — sittler27Having said all the positives on Jenks as per above, I just got another view from a friend who scouts the AHL extensively. He's got size and he can be flashy. But, he hasn't generated any offence at all. Good on PK. Good on faceoffs. Can fight. But something is missing in the rest of his game.
BTW.... he also said that in recent games he has heard from colleagues that Dadonov has been very inconsistent and hassmissed a ton of outstanding scoring chances. Rumors he was very unhappy on Florida organization and played like it. Florida was apparently start to shop him. That is not a great character reference.
Looks like we have a couple of "projects".
That's fine
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 21:33 — CanarseIt's not like we gave up guaranteed top-6 guys. Hopefully Dadonov got off on the wrong foot with the new regime in Florida. Might be tough on him in the Hurricanes organization unless he speaks pretty good English. Do we have any other Russians in Charlotte?
Not the good news I was
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 17:00 — oldpoliticalsNot the good news I was hoping for...........I guess that is why we have JD down there....our resident "project guy". This deal was announced by JR but most minor deals are announced by Jason K or perhaps Ron Francis I think. A little different.......??
The part missing in Jenks
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 16:53 — canes2010The part missing in Jenks game is....some player support! He's had some horrible players to play with all year with very little ice time. I agree he could be a sleeper...it's likely he also requested a trade.
Dadonov from what I've heard
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 16:04 — abramsdougDadonov from what I've heard and read wanted a clean start. I didn't have any sense he was a diva; but the new regime in Florida seemed to be cleaning house. With a new GM and a new coach that approach is not surprising. I haven't seen anything suggesting Dadonov has an attitude problem.
Hope
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 10:47 — gso_canes_fanit is not a LaRose
Will be interesting to see
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 06:30 — ctillWill be interesting to see if Dadonov or Jenks is offered up shortly.
Trade
Wed, 01/18/2012 - 21:35 — hellfishSpring cleaning?