The fourth edition of “3 Stars of the Month” is here as we look back on the first month of 2026. There are some familiar faces from previous editions, and one of them has come back in a big way for the Carolina Hurricanes this season, especially to kick off 2026. As we head into the second month of 2026, who made it into the January edition for the Hurricanes?
Third Star: Brandon Bussi
After claiming the first star of January, it wasn’t hard to keep Brandon Bussi on the 3 Stars of the Month list after having a great month for the Hurricanes. Back in December, Bussi was 6-0-1 and carried his winning streak to nine games through the first four starts of the month.
When the calendar flipped to January, he was still racking up the wins for head coach Rod Brind’Amour’s side, as he is now 20-3-1 on the season. In January, he went 7-2-0 with a 2.47 goals-against average (GAA) and a .896 save percentage (SV%). Compared to his December numbers, when he had a .916 SV% and a 2.05 GAA, it was a little bit lower to start 2026.
Related: Hurricanes’ Brandon Bussi Making the Case for Vezina & Contract Extension
However, he did start two more games while having 535:15 of ice time compared to 458:53 in December. In January, Bussi allowed 22 goals (average of 2.4 per game), made 190 saves (average of 21.1 per game), and saw 212 shots (average of 23.6 per game). Relatively speaking, he saw more work to begin 2026 than at the end of 2025. Furthermore, his .727 SV% in the Montreal Canadiens game, where he gave up six goals, did not help his totals. That was more on the overall team collapse than it was on Bussi.
Overall, Bussi continues to impress for the Hurricanes, and he should be in Vezina Trophy talks with his season numbers of 2.22 GAA and a .908 SV% to go with his impressive record. He’s been a lifeline in the crease in Raleigh, and that doesn’t look set to end anytime soon. The only thing that everyone is waiting on is a contract extension to keep “Bus” in Carolina past the 2025-26 season.
Second Star: Sebastian Aho
After missing out on the 3 Stars of December, Sebastian Aho is back on the list after having an impactful January. Aho tallied four goals, 14 assists, and 18 points in 15 games, along with a plus-8 rating. He had one shorthanded goal while having six power-play assists and one shorthanded assist on the special teams. Aho finished with a 12.1 shooting percentage (S%) after having 33 shots on goal on 67 shot attempts. He averaged 19:31 of ice time after playing 292:51 total in the 15 games.
Related: Carolina Hurricanes’ 3 Stars of December
Aho was a force in the faceoff circle, going for a faceoff percentage (FO%) of 55.9. The only downside for Aho was his 12-game goalless streak, but he did have 10 assists in that span. He also had six games where he did not tally a point. Overall, he still leads the team in assists (35) and points (53).
In 79 games last season, he had 29 goals, 45 assists, and 74 points. There is no doubt that Aho will surpass his assist total by season’s end. It’ll be interesting to see if the goal total starts to increase, as he sits with 18 on Feb. 1. He only needs 11 more to tie and 12 to surpass last season’s total with 28 games left. It’s possible to see him doing that, but going on a 12-game goal drought before scoring against the Washington Capitals on Saturday night (Jan. 31) did halt the progress a bit.
Either way, Aho had a stellar January overall and looks to continue the production heading into the Olympics for Finland.
First Star: Andrei Svechnikov
Finally, to wrap up the 3 Stars of January, we take a look at one of the hottest scorers for the Hurricanes to start 2026. What a month it was for Andrei Svechnikov, who had a supernova scoring touch in January. He tallied 10 goals, nine assists, and 19 points in 15 games, with a plus-5 rating.
After a slow start to the season, where he had no points through the first eight games, Svechnikov has been vintage-Svech as the season progressed. He is second on the team in goals (20), third in assists (26), and second in points (46). Over the course of January, Svechnikov had seven even-strength goals and three on the power play. Furthermore, six of his nine assists in the month were on the power play, as he’s been a facilitator of the puck on the man advantage.
Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina Hurricanes (Thomas Salus-Imagn Images)
Svechnikov had a staggering 26.3 S% after having 38 shots on goal on 69 shot attempts. Svechnikov was showing the old-school power forward style of play, as he had 28 hits over the 15 games to go along with the scoring.
While playing on the top line and the first power-play unit, Svechnikov had 260:22 of time on ice, which averaged 17:21 per game. In 18 fewer games, he has already matched his goal total from last season and is two assists and points from tying those totals as well. There is no doubt that Svechnikov could reach 30 goals and potentially 60 points in 2025-26. The last time he hit both those marks was in 2021-22, when he had 30 goals and 69 points. He managed that in 78 games.
Even with the eight-game pointless streak, this could be a career season for Svechnikov with how he’s been a force to begin 2026.
The Hurricanes have three more games before the Olympic break against the Los Angeles Kings (Feb. 1), the Ottawa Senators (Feb. 3), and the New York Rangers (Feb. 5). They’re currently 33-15-6 on the season with 72 points. They’re still five points up on the Pittsburgh Penguins, even with playing one more game.
Furthermore, they are technically tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning in points but are second due to points percentage since they’ve played 54 games compared to the Lightning’s 52. Even with the overtime loss on Saturday, the Hurricanes are sitting fine in the Eastern Conference, and as long as these three players keep leading the way, they will be fine as we get closer to the 2026 NHL Playoffs, where the real test begins.