Carolina Hurricanes’ Andrei Svechnikov to make season debut tonight

The Carolina Hurricanes announced Friday that they have activated forward Andrei Svechnikov off injured reserve. Svechnikov is set to make his 2023-24 season debut against the San Jose Sharks tonight.

Svechnikov returned to the ice earlier this week and was no longer sporting the yellow non-contact sweater, which alluded to a return in sight.

Svechnikov was ruled out last season after a torn ACL in March sidelined him. The 23-year-old ranked fourth among Canes’ scoring leaders with 23 goals and 32 assists for 55 points in 64 games this season, trailing Sebastian Aho, Martin Necas and Brent Burns. During the 2021-22 campaign, he had a breakout 30-goal campaign, trailing only Aho in the goals department. Svechnikov’s absence was a major blow to the Canes and their postseason run, as they were already without veteran forward Max Pacioretty.

A second overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, the Russian-born winger is currently in year three of an eight-year, $62 million extension signed in 2021. The contract holds an average annual value of $7.75 million and runs through 2028-29. Throughout his five years with the Canes, he has appeared in 347 games, totalling 112 goals and 152 assists for 264 points.

Svechnikov began his junior career in 2016-17 with the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League, scoring 29 goals and 29 assists for 58 points through 48 games with the team. He was taken No. 1 overall by the Ontario Hockey League’s (OHL) Barrie Colts in the 2017 Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Import Draft and spent the 2017-18 with the team, scoring 40 goals and 32 assists for 72 points in 44 games before making the leap pro.