Raleigh’s Wilkins on NHL radar

Josh Wilkins was pleasantly surprised to be invited last summer to the Carolina Hurricanes’ prospects development camp.

Wilkins is from Raleigh and grew up a Canes fan. The forward played in the Junior Hurricanes program before stepping up in competition, first in the U.S. Hockey League, then this past season at Providence College.

“It gave me the chance to go and compare myself with the Hurricanes’ draft picks,” Wilkins said of attending the camp. “I really wasn’t on the NHL radar last year. So I had a chance to go compete against the prospects and compare myself.”

The Canes had their 2016 draft picks in camp, including their two first-rounders, defenseman Jake Bean and forward Julien Gauthier. Also in camp was defenseman Haydn Fleury, a first-round pick in 2014.

How did Wilkins compare?

“I felt I did pretty good,” he said. “I thought it was a good week for me.”

One with a flashy finish. During a prospects scrimmage at PNC Arena to cap Summerfest, Wilkins was part of a shootout competition and said he received advice from Canes assistant coach Rod Brind’Amour before his shot.

“He said to do something fancy, something cool,” Wilkins said.

And Wilkins did. He swept in front of the net, pushing the puck between his legs, spinning and scoring with a quick backhander.

“I’m glad it worked, or I could have looked kind of stupid,” Wilkins said, laughing.

Wilkins, 19, carried over the confidence from camp into his freshman year at Providence. The 5-11, 181-pound forward helped the Friars to a 22-11-5 record in a good season that ended with a disappointing 3-0 loss to Harvard in the NCAA tournament.

Wilkins became the first Providence freshman in 20 years to have 30 or more points in a season, finishing with 13 goals and 18 assists in 39 games.

The last: forward Fernando Pisani, the surprise star for the Edmonton Oilers in the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs who bedeviled the Canes in the Stanley Cup final.

“I wanted to prove some people wrong and I worked hard at doing that,” Wilkins said.

Wilkins is on the NHL radar. NHL Central Scouting had him No. 190 in its final draft rankings for 2017, and Wilkins said he has had some interviews with NHL teams although not naming them.

One of Wilkins’ friends, forward Skyler Brind’Amour of Raleigh, also could be drafted. A year from now, it could be one of Wilkins’ closest friends, forward Tyler Weiss of Raleigh.

“Tyler is extremely skilled and talented,” Wilkins said. “It’s just good to see some kids from Raleigh doing well.”

For now, Wilkins said his plans are to stay at Providence this summer rather than returning home, going to summer school and working out with other players in the area. But he will be paying attention when the NHL Draft is held June 23-24 in Chicago. His name could be called.

“If it happens, it’s a big honor,” he said. “But I’m focused on being here at Providence. Either way, I’ll just keep on going.”

This story was originally published May 3, 2017 at 6:21 PM with the headline "Raleigh’s Wilkins on NHL radar."