Today’s Daily Cup of Joe offers a quick burst of Canes notes that have not made it into another article yet or are covered in more detail here.
Brett Pesce
As far as anything official, Brett Pesce who missed the tail end of the 2017-18 season with a shoulder injury, his usage thus far in training camp has looked odd to me. For the first practice sessions, Slavin, Hamilton, de Haan and Faulk were in one group and Pesce was in the other spending time with Jake Bean. Brind’Amour said very clearly not to read much into combinations in early practices, but the paranoid part of me figures Pesce for a top 4 defenseman and would logically expect him to be practicing with that group. If he plays regular minutes in Wednesday’s preseason game that would sort of put a stake in the sand that says the injury is behind him and that he is tracking to be ready by early October.
WEDNESDAY NOTE ADDED: Pesce is in the lineup for Wednesday’s game, so I guess we can close this one. The watch shifts to getting an early read on how Brind’Amour plans to build his blue line with arguably five top 4 defensemen and only 4 slots plus the need to bump someone (likely Fleury) out of the bottom pairing.
UPDATE TO UPDATE: Pesce seems to be on the lineup card but not in the lineup? I guess we will see at game time, but perhaps paranoia is still in order.
Petr Mrazek
One thing that stood out to me in watching Petr Mrazek in Tuesday’s game was his puck handling. One game is not enough to make a deep assessment, but at a basic level he looked to be stronger in this regard than Scott Darling. I think that is significant for the Hurricanes. The team’s transition from defense to offense benefited significantly with Ward in net as compared to Darling. With the Darling part of the netminding duo again, the could again have a weird situation where it actually plays differently in terms of handling and advancing the puck out of its own end depending on who is in net, but I still think you take upgraded puckhandling when you can get it.
Greg McKegg (or similar) as a lightning rod
One of the things I have beaten to death from the end of the 2017-18 season until now is the need for a reset in terms of mentality, attitude or whatever else you want to call it. One thing said by each and every team in the NHL but adhered to at a pure level by very few is the mantra of “earning ice time”. Bill Peters struggled mightily with this. Not surprisingly Brind’Amour has said the same thing. But in a world with salary considerations, waiver rules and other things that dictate roles from a legalize angle, the question is open on how purely Brind’Amour will adhere to this mantra.
Enter Greg McKegg. In my opinion, he was in the top handful of Hurricanes forwards in Tuesday’s game. What is more, he exemplified playing with pace and aggressively hounding the puck in all three zones. No way is one preseason game going to vault a veteran AHLer up into an NHL role over a promising group of rookie forwards. But what if McKegg continues on his current trajectory and is better than the younger options?
Jordan Martinook at center
Though he would be a logical candidate as a veteran who played center a few years back, Martinook could be a candidate to the fill the center slot that opened up when it was announced that Victor Rask would be out long-term with an injury. I wrote in some detail about the prospect of replacing Victor Rask earlier this week.
Martinook fits as a defensively capable but offensively limited center option for sort of an old school fourth line. So at that basic level, he could make sense. But I think that anyone who wants to go that route has an incredibly short Canes memory. Last summer, the team added Marcus Kruger who was admittedly scoring-lite but was thought to be the perfect anchor for a fourth/checking line that could hold its own playing behind Jordan Staal’s shutdown line. What became clear to me was that trying to hold your own without scoring at at least a modest clip by simply shutting out opponents just does not work in today’s NHL. Good teams have depth lines that can score some, so if a line scores virtually nothing, it is just a recipe for building up a minus. In that regard, I think the Hurricanes are better-served slotting a young player with a bit more playmaking upside into the fourth line center slot and leaving the scoring-lite grinders to the wings.
To be clear, I think Martinook can serve a valuable role especially if he excels on the penalty kill, but I just think there are better options for that fourth center slot.
What say you Canes fans?
1) (I have been too busy to make many rounds of the team’s audio) Has anyone else heard anything concrete on Brett Pesce that can ease my paranoia before seeing him in the preseason lineup?
2) Where do you think Brind’Amour will land when it comes to ‘earn your ice time’? People like to talk as if this could be absolute, but that is not a realistic reality. But will Brind’Amour be closer to the pure version of this, and if so, could Greg McKegg or someone from off the radar win a slot and at the same time make an early statement?
3) What are your thoughts on trying again to succeed with a scoring-lite center leading and possibly limiting the fourth line offensively?
4) Who has other random Canes notes?
Go Canes!
1) I know it has been said (I think officially) that Pesce had some respiratory problems prior to arriving in Raleigh. My hope is that is behind him. Because I think Pesce could be the biggest beneficiary of the new-look Canes. Toward the end of the season last year Pesce was taking more opportunities to shoot and join the rush. In rewatching some of the games recently the thing that stands out is that Pesce has the best shot on the team from the blue line (when Hamilton was not a Cane). His shot, while not nearly as hard, was more accurate than Faulk’s. He was putting shots in places where the net-front players could redirect the puck. I hope to see Pesce continue to use his shot this offseason.
2) Such a difficult question. Players like McKegg and Bishop play hard every shift. They can look really good when the team is winning. However, like you mention regarding last year’s fourth line, they are limited offensively. Though McKegg displayed scoring ability in Charlotte he never had prior. I think RBA has to calculate the trade off between players who “play the right way” and players whose talent shows up in more subtle ways. The place where this is going to be most challenging in with the D. For instance, McKeown played well in Tampa. There just is no spot for him in the top six.
3) The Canes have options at C who provide some offense: Wallmark, Saarela, Roy. Martinook appears much better suited to the wing and as a PK specialist.
4) Svech ready!
Much like ct posted I have heard that Pesce has some respiratory issue. Doesn’t sound good to me. This may also explain why the Canes have put the brakes on trading Faulk. I’m not as excited about Pesce’s offensive upside as the guy hasn’t shown much offensive ability at any level. Pesce has been the Canes best defensive defenseman on the right side for some time now. That would be a big loss.
While the competition is “open” at the forward spots,reality will play a role. A guy like McKegg is going to have to significantly outplay a vet like Martinook or DiGuiseppe. I was unable to watch the game due to the Canes website inconsistencies, but I look forward to watching McKegg to see what he brings to the table, and what he doesn’t.
I have almost zero interest in Martinook at center. Heck, I’m not even sure he belongs on the team! His skill level is low. I’m all for physical play, but a centerman needs some level of skill to move the puck. Wallmark checks the boxes so far for me.
1. While the poor quality of the Tampa effort may have made their efforts look better, goaltending “looked” improved. Optics were excellent.
2. The Canes looked bigger, stronger yet as fast as last season. Made last season’s team look like gnats compared to last night. The net front presence was more formidable on both ends of the ice. The forecheck was more effective as well.
3. No end of game let downs. When the score was 3-1 and Tampa had the short 5 on 3, I feared Tampa was going to except themselves and change the game to their favor. Just didn’t happen.
If I’m not mistaken, I thought I heard in a Forslund interview that he expected the defensive pairings to be Slavin-Hamilton, DeHaan-Faulk, and van Riemsdyk-Pesce. Interesting comment since most expect Faulk to be in bottom pairing not Pesce.
After suffering the past seasons from a lack of net-front presence, it’s very encouraging to see Zykov step up. One thing is certain – RBA will not accept anything less than 100% hustle which immediately raises the bar from last season. Also, I would expect better conditioning this year which could result in far fewer 3rd period melt-downs. A little confidence can go a long way. Overall, an encouraging start to the season.
I think Pesce being out of the top 4 is ENTIRELY related to the fact he’s missed training camp and probably is going to be slow to get into shape. I imagine he will be eased in but may supplant Faulk in the top 4 as the season goes on.
1) The lack of clear information on Pesce causes me to be concerned. Is it the shoulder surgery or respiratory or something else?
2) The most interesting element of “earning ice time” is that, in the purest form, it has to be earned every day. At any point in time one player may be playing much better or worse than another, given all of the variables that go into a long season. Do you always ice the players who are playing the best right now? Clearly you don’t earn the right to play in 82 games by having a good 2 weeks of camp. So how are the boundaries determined? How long to you have to play better than someone else to take their slot?
RBA should have a clear policy that players understand regarding what it means to earn your playing time, so everyone stays on board. The guys who were already sent back to their junior teams probably have a different view of the importance of the first two days of training camp than the veterans.
RBA meant what he said, but earning playing time in his system will be more about doing a bunch of small things right than immediate results. When you do the small things right, the results take care of themselves.
3) I want a fourth line that can break even +/- or better, whether than means they are a shut down line (and don’t score much) or score a lot and give up a lot. It is much more fun to watch a game with lots of scoring so I lean there, although it takes a patient coach to tolerate that. Put out an opportunistic line of payers who hustle (e.g. Foegele) and let the chips fall where they may.
I would imagine that is part of it, but I’m guessing the other part of it is simply the fact that we have a ridiculous number of quality defensemen. They said the surgery limited his offseason conditioning, so it would not shock me if Pesce is just a little bit behind the curve and the team is working to get him back up to speed before the season. In any case, seriously, we have like 9 defensemen who could conceivably play defense better than the Canadiens blue line. I’m not concerned there.
After last night, Martinook is quite alright in that #13 spot. I want Wallmark. That dude rules.
I am going to veer from your list of questions – I don’t enough about what is going on with Pesce (I do know tonight’s pairings are Hamilton-Slavin, deHaan-Faulk).
We got McKegg from PIT for Jooris. Great trade. He immediately stepped into Charlotte and fit right in – he had a role and he embraced right from the beginning. He is the type of player Vellucci wanted – a hard-playing AHL veteran to bolster and mentor the younger players – and he played to that role. It was great to see his name called out so much last night.
I wouldn’t compare Martinook with Kruger from a scoring standpoint – Martinook is much better and plays a heavier game. I think he would make a good grinding 4th line center, and offer much more upside on the offense than Krugs or JMac. And if he doesn’t, I don’t think RBA will be static – he will change things up.
I really liked the way Wallmark looked last night (I am a long-time fan of him) – he is an offensive sparkplug, but if we have Staal, Aho, Necas as our top 3 centers, what else is there but a 4th line role? But if Aho moves to wing…
Interesting top 2 lines tonight: Kuokk-Staal-Williams (this has been a steady line in camp) and Ferland-Aho-Maenalanum (Saku’s big chance?). Both lines should be fun to watch.
Much like Kruger last season Martinook didn’t win many draws. 5 for 15. From the way some of the, big younger forwards looked in both games why keep him? Yes, he plays hard, but has little skill.
Last season everyone complained that the fourth line was designed only to grind it out and it should be more of a scoring line. This season the prospect of Wallmark as the fourth line center brings out the calls that he can’t grind. I don’t get it. Wallmark is defensively solid, can win draws, and does have some offensive skill. Put a couple hard charging, responsible wingers around him and you have a nice 4th line.
From Adam Gold on Pesce ‘Pesce could have played tonight, but they had planned all along to give him the first two preseason games off after dealing with a shoulder injury and illness during the offseason’