Carolina Hurricanes Trade 29th Overall Pick as Night One of the Draft Comes to an End

The first round of the 2025 NHL draft has finally come to a conclusion after several trades and technical difficulties extended the first night of the event well over four hours.

Clearly, Eric Tulsky and Kyle Davidson were unbothered by the length of the event as they are still focused on getting business done.

Just moments after the Ottawa Senators traded down with the Nashville Predators, the Hurricanes traded down with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Davidson and his hawks had to give up picks 34, 67, and a 5th rounder in 2027 to get pick 29 from Carolina.

That seems like a hefty price to move up five spots in the draft, especially considering the fact that Davidson used the 29th overall pick to select forward Mason West.

West had 49 points in 31 games at the high school level before adding another nine points in ten games in the USHL at the end of the season.

West was generally expected to be a mid-second round pick in the draft, so it begs the question as to why Chicago felt like they had to make this move to get him in the first round.

That being said, the Blackhawks already secured one of the best prospects in the entire draft with Anton Frondell at 3rd overall, so they can afford to take a swing on a player like West.