Victor Rask

Prior to the Draft, The Hockey News suggested that Rask would be selected 26th overall.

Victor Rask (born 1 March 1993) is a Swedish professional ice hockey center who is currently playing with the SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the National League (NL) after he spent eight years in the National Hockey League (NHL), playing for the Carolina Hurricanes, Minnesota Wild, and Seattle Kraken.

Born and raised in Leksand, Sweden, Rask began his playing career with Leksands IF of the then Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan.

Following the 2010–11 HockeyAllsvenskan season, in which he tallied five goals and six assists, Rask was drafted by two North American organizations.

Following the 2010–11 HockeyAllsvenskan season, in which he tallied five goals and six assists, Rask was drafted by two North American organizations.

He was first drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round (42nd overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and then taken by the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in the 2011 CHL Import Draft.

Rask chose to begin his major junior hockey with the Hitmen during the 2011–12 season and played two full seasons in the WHL before officially joining the Hurricanes organization.

He was first drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round, 42nd overall, of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Rask was then drafted third overall by the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in the 2011 CHL Import Draft.

Despite also being drafted by Dinamo Riga of the Kontinental Hockey League, Rask was assigned to begin his major junior hockey with the Hitmen during the 2011–12 season.

He began his rookie season strong and tallied his first WHL hat-trick in a 7–1 win over the Swift Current Broncos on 18 October.

After playing his first eight games, and accumulating 10 points, Rask signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on 20 October 2011.

He continued to produce for the Hitmen and quickly tallied 15 goals and nine assists through 29 games by December to lead all league rookies in scoring.

As the new year began, Rask had recorded 27 goal and hit the 50-point milestone to rank fifth among WHL rookies.

By early March, he had tallied 30 goals to help the Hitmen clinch home-ice advantage for the 2012 WHL playoffs.

Rask finished the season with 30 goals and 60 points to earn the team's Rookie of the Year.

Upon concluding his rookie season, Rask was invited to participate in the Hurricanes' 2012 training camp prior to the start of the 2012–13 season.

He was subsequently assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers on 15 September 2012.

Rask played 10 games with the Checkers on their third line and accumulated one goal and four assists before re-joining the Hitmen.

Later in December, Rask was selected to play for Team Sweden at the 2013 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

Although Team Sweden qualified for the gold medal round, they lost to the United States 3–1.

As a result of his time in the AHL and with Team Sweden, Rask played only 13 games for the Hitmen by 23 January 2013.

During these games, Rask centred a line between Zane Jones and Colten Mayor and produced at a point a game.

He experienced a three game pointless streak before recording his second WHL hat-trick to lead the Hitmen to a win over the Tri-City Americans and place them 11 points back of the Edmonton Oil Kings.

As the season began to draw to a close, head coach Mike Williamson created a new top-line consisting of Rask, Brooks Macek, and Jake Virtanen.

In one of their first games together, the trio combined for five goals, five assists and a plus-nine rating.

As the Hitmen qualified for the 2013 WHL playoffs, Rask posted six goals and 10 assists through 17 games as the team fell to the Oil Kings in the Eastern Conference Final.

Once the Hitmen were eliminated from playoff contention, Rask concluded his major junior career with 47 goals and 57 assists for 104 points through 101 games.

He was invited to participate in the NHL Prospects Tournament and Hurricanes training camp but spent the entire 2013–14 season with the Charlotte Checkers.

Upon re-joining the Checkers, Rask was immediately placed on their first line alongside Zach Boychuk and Aaron Palushaj.

Although Rask began the season with 10 points in 10 games, he experienced a 24-game goal drought that was snapped in a 5–2 win over the Oklahoma City Barons on 10 January.

Upon snapping the drought, Rask also tallied 10 points in his last 10 games of the season to finish the season with 39 points through 76 games.

Following his first full professional season, Rask participated in his third NHL Prospects Tournament where he scored the overtime winner over the New York Rangers prospects.

He finished the tournament leading all skaters with four goals and five assists for nine points.

Rask made his NHL debut for the Hurricanes during the 2014–15 season and matched numerous franchise records.

With a record of 11 goals and 22 assists through 78 games, he became the sixth rookie in Hurricanes history to hit the 30-point milestone.

Rask also joined a franchise record by becoming one of five Hurricanes rookies to score 10 or more goals in a season since the team’s relocation to Raleigh.

On 17 January 2019, Rask was traded by the Hurricanes to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for winger Nino Niederreiter.

After playing with the team for nearly four seasons, Rask was traded by the Wild to the Seattle Kraken for future considerations in 2022.

Rask began his playing career as a youth within Leksands IF organization of the then Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan.