Carolina Hurricanes select Spokane Chiefs forward Hudson Elynuik in third round of NHL draft

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Spokane Chiefs forward Hudson Elynuik was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes today in the third round (74th overall) of the National Hockey League draft.

Elynuik, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound center from Calgary, Alberta, experienced a breakout season with the Chiefs last year, totaling 19 goals and 25 assists in 56 games. After a foot injury kept him sidelined early in the season, he turned heads after New Year’s Day with at least a point in 17 of 20 games beginning on Jan. 9, including a 10-game point streak.

“I knew that after I broke my toe at the beginning of the season that I had to do all the extra stuff to get noticed,” Elynuik said before the draft. “I had to focus on the details and with that came confidence.”

Elynuik has some family ties to the NHL as his father, Pat, was selected eighth overall in the 1986 draft by the Winnipeg Jets (now Arizona Coyotes). Pat went on to play more than 500 games in the NHL, finishing with 154 goals and 342 points for the Jets, Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators.

The Hurricanes are coached by former Chiefs head coach Bill Peters. Former Chief and Spokane native Derek Ryan played six games for the Hurricanes last season.