Hurricanes Assign Ivan Ryabkin To AHL

The Chicago Wolves, AHL affiliates of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced today that prospect forward Ivan Ryabkin has been reassigned to the team from his junior club. Ryabkin had been playing for the Charlottetown Islanders of the QMJHL, whose season ended on April 7 when they fell in a seven-game first-round playoff series against the Quebec Ramparts.

Ryabkin actually began his 2025-26 season in the AHL with the Wolves. He signed his entry-level contract on August 27 and just over a month later, was reassigned by the Hurricanes to the AHL as part of a round of training camp cuts. Ryabkin had a slow start to his season in the AHL, scoring just one point in his first six games. Through the end of the calendar year, Ryabkin played a limited role in Chicago, and only managed seven points in 25 games, to go alongside 56 penalty minutes.

When the calendar flipped to 2026, Ryabkin and the Hurricanes decided to make a change in where he played in order to spark some momentum in his development. Ryabkin was loaned to the QMJHL’s Islanders, where he found his groove, scoring 13 goals and 42 points in just 20 games. He also added four goals and nine points in six playoff games, but missed the third game of the series against Quebec after he was suspended for abuse of officials.

Now back in Chicago, Ryabkin will re-join the pro ranks with some real wind in his sails. He was undeniably valuable in the QMJHL, with his unique blend of physical aggression and offensive skill proving to be quite the handful for QMJHL opponents to try to handle. The key next step in his development will be translating that success to the pro game, which he’ll eventually need to do if he wants to make it to the NHL.

Without question, Ryabkin will be one of the most interesting prospects in the AHL to track. He has shown himself to be an extremely talented young forward at times, especially in the Russian junior circuit. But it is also important to recognize that Ryabkin has also been subject to skepticism from scouts in the public sphere who aren’t sure he’ll be able to deliver on his talent and make it to the NHL.

Last month, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler outlined some of the concerns Ryabkin has faced thus far as a prospect. According to Wheeler, who ranked Ryabkin as the No. 6 prospect in Carolina’s system, there has been “talk of [Ryabkin] being difficult to coach” and Ryabkin “interviewed poorly with NHL teams and received heavy criticism for his fitness and weight.”

Wheeler did also note that Ryabkin “remains a talent” and added that “it’s hard to find centers with his skill and offensive instincts/intuition” in the second round of the draft. He concluded by saying the 18-year-old is “going to have to prove himself every step of the way” on his path to the NHL.

With today’s transaction, Ryabkin has rejoined the AHL. There, he will resume the process of developing his game and proving that he can, at some point in the future, translate his talent into NHL value for the Hurricanes.