Hurricanes sign William Hakansson to entry-level contract
The Carolina Hurricanes announced on Wednesday that they have signed defenseman William Hakansson to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Hakansson, who the Hurricanes selected with the No. 51 overall pick in the second round of last month’s NHL Draft, will make $288,000 in signing bonuses over the life of the contract, which would carry a salary cap hit of $900,000 at the NHL level.
“William proved he could hold his own playing with men in the SHL last season,” general manager Eric Tulsky said via the team’s press release. “We’re excited to support his continued development.”
Hakansson, a member of Team Sweden who excelled in his role as a physical shutdown defenseman while playing for Team Sweden at the IIHF U20 World Junior Championships over the winter, already ranks as one of the top prospects in the pipeline for the reigning Stanley Cup champions.
According to Daily Faceoff prospect analyst Steven Ellis, Hakansson is the fifth-best prospect in the Carolina system.
“There’s absolutely no flash to his game,” Ellis wrote. “Instead, he uses his big 6-foot-4, 207-pound frame to flatten opponents while being a pain in the rear end defensively. He’s quite mobile for his frame, too. Håkansson’s lack of offensive awareness won’t help his draft stock, but I absolutely could see him becoming a solid shutdown defender in the NHL.”
While playing with Lulea HF of the SHL against me, Hakansson recorded two points, both assists, in 22 regular season games before being held off the score sheet across nine postseason appearances.
But offensive production is not the name of the game for Hakansson, who becomes the latest in a long line of big, mobile, defensively-oriented defensemen the Hurricanes have drafted in recent years, joining Dominik Badinka, Kurban Limatov and Charles-Alexis Legault over the past four drafts.
Carolina traded out of its first-round pick at No. 31 overall to accrue more draft capital, so despite being a late second-round pick, Hakansson was the first player the Hurricanes chose in the draft.
