Every hockey team has its fan favorites, leaders and superstars that mostly deservedly garner the majority of the headlines and attention. But in hockey maybe more than any other sport, every player plays a significant role. Today’s Daily Cup of Joe identifies a few unsung heroes on the Carolina Hurricanes.
Trevor van Riemsdyk
Van Riemsdyk is that extra after the list of five top 4 defensemen that the Hurricanes currently have in their lineup. De Haan and Hamilton are the newest defensemen, and Hamilton also receives attention for his offensive ability which has been on display recently. Faulk is a multi-time All-Star and also has an offensive streak. Slavin and maybe to a lesser degree Pesce receive attention for their roles in the top 4. Then there is Trevor van Riemsdyk who is mostly off the radar as a third pairing defenseman in terms of press coverage. But his run of boosting line mates is interesting. When Haydn Fleury broke into the NHL playing his first games at the NHL level, van Riemsdyk was the steadying presence that helped his acclimation go well. Then when Hanifin stumbled a bit and was maybe in over his head in a top 4 role early in 2017-18, van Riemsdyk was Hanifin’s partner when he slipped to the bottom pairing, got his feet under him and surged offensively in the middle part of the season. Now in 2018-19, van Riemsdyk maybe not coincidentally has been Hamilton’s partner when he finally put things together and burst out offensively. When a defenseman consistently boosts the level of play of his partner, I think it says something about his ability to mesh with a variety of players. Especially in a third pairing role that can see a rotation of partners with injuries and roster juggling, this understated skill set should not be underestimated.
Is he just a capable depth defenseman who could reasonably easily be replaced? Or is he an under the radar chameleon and mentor/booster who is helping other players find a higher gear?
Brett Pesce (reference also Calvin de Haan whose story is similar)
Maybe not as unsung on the blue line as van Riemsdyk but unsung nonetheless is Brett Pesce. Pesce and/or de Haan would theoretically rate the lowest in terms of offensive upside, but much of that has to do with his role that does not include power play ice time. But while other players might score more or be a bit more dynamic, I would argue that Brett Pesce has been the team’s steadiest defenseman defensively since the start of the 2017-18 season. Pesce’s consistency is such that he really does not have highs and lows like many players. As such, he is a glue type of player defensively who can log as many minutes as needed in any type of role while other players maybe ride through some ups and downs.
In discussing the Hurricanes blue line which is finally becoming the strength it was projected to become a couple years back, Brett Pesce almost always takes a back seat to more exciting players and even prospects. But is it possible that he is a critical glue player? And in terms of rating defensemen for defensive play, does he have as much of a claim to being the team’s best defensive defenseman as anyone else?
Jordan Staal
This would likely not have been the case before the start of the 2018-19 season, but with his absence from the lineup right now, the team’s success without him and his modest scoring production thus far in 2018-19, I think Staal has fallen to the point where he is underappreciated. In addition, the fact that everyone (including myself) always wishes that Staal could do just a bit more offensively shifts attention away from what he does do well which is eat up hard minutes against other teams’ best players. The Hurricanes deserve credit for forging forward with success recently without him, but I still think the team is better with Staal in the lineup. Because of that, I think Staal has reached the point where he could qualify as an unsung hero.
If the Hurricanes continue on their current trend and play playoff type games in late March, is there really a player you would rather put on the ice for a defensive zone draw late in the third period of a tie game? Is there really anyone else that you want to load a ton of defensive pressure on to hold down other teams’ top scorers in games that matter?
What say you Canes fans?
1) Who, if anyone else, do you see as an unsung hero on the Carolina Hurricanes?
2) Who would you rank as the team’s top unsung hero?
Go Canes!
I’m not sure I agree on Jordan Staal.
He has been fantastic, both as a player and a person, but as a player he started on a sharp decline this year.
His plus minus is bad, which means his D prowess fell off some.
He is one of the top paid Canes players and has been for years.
He has been one of the leaders of the team for years through the bad times and has not managed to affect a change for the better.
Of course I just hope he’s been playing through an injry and that he is taking the time for full recovery since the team is doing good around him. He can be a beast on the ice, but this year he hasn’t been able to be that guy.
1. Wonder if Mcginn qualifies as an unsung hero. His lack of finding the net is troubling, but it’s hard to find a guy who works harder, e.g. on the PK. I don’t see him as part of the future with the success of recent call ups, but he hussles and maybe we’ll miss that if we moved on from his services.
Also, despite lack of scoring Vogele has been playing really hard.
2. TVR.
Nice article Matt. I’ve long thought that TVR brings more than he gets credit for. Note Hamilton is playing better with TVR – with TVR playing on his offside. That is very impressive.
We are a better team with Jordan Staal in the lineup, as long as we don’t over slot or over use him. Painter’s paint, plumbers plumb. He is good at what he does, so only ask him to do that.
The “unsung” qualifier is restricting, and I’m not sure how to best express this thought. With the stream of players cycling in from Charlotte and most playing well, Mike Vellucci might deserve a nomination. I am very excited about the players we have in Charlotte and how some can seamlessly transition into a role in the big show. While the individual players also deserve credit, there is something larger at play here.
Best part of the site continues to be the reader comments.
I agree McGinn deserves consideration. Once his scoring fell off that became the focus, but his every shift intensity makes him part of the group setting the tone below Williams/Brind’Amour, and other than the scoring his game, including a role on the power play, does not look significantly different than last year.
Also really like including Vellucci. Under Daniels, my single biggest complaint/red flag was how much veteran AHLers had a deer in the headlights look about them when elevated to the NHL level. Vellucci has been a complete 180 in that regard where no matter who/when we call up they look competent at a minimum and often much more — or put another way, they just look like they have been preparing to play at the NHL level.
Good job including our AHL coach.
Speaking of coaches, given that RBA has received a good amount of criticism (a good portion of which I am responsible for) he deserves a lot of credit for the recent run of wins (as I mentioned over on the game recap for last Sunday’s game).
I think the criticism was deserved for the beginning of the season, a new head coach needs to learn head coaching, it’s a process and that inevitably leads to challenges.
But the way coaching and leadership has started using AHL call ups, motivated the team after a tough loss on Thursday and the ability to respond to the game by shuffling the personnel on ice when needed is to be applauded.
The team is still a work in progress, but it’s been a joy to watch of late.
I agree that TvR does not get the love he rightfully deserves and, even though he’s one of our best players, neither does TT. I have no idea why.
I also think Wallmark has done yeoman’s work filling in for Staal; when he gets the odd snipe to go in more frequently (like he did yesterday) he’s going to become a very complete player.
As for Staal, I have no question about him being a great player, I just don’t know what RBA is going to do with him when he’s ready to come back. Everything seems to be clicking right now and I would be cautious about disrupting too much (though the elephant-in-the-room answer to that question, given McKegg’s excellent play, is to bench Rask). To me, this is going to be another test of RBA’s growth as a coach to see who sits and how/whether Staal’s role changes; I just don’t think it can stay the same.
What’s interesting to me is how we’re winning: solid defense with sturdy goaltending, four hardworking lines, getting to early leads, and winning the special teams battle. For the most part, it’s all come together at the same time and that’s leading to great outcomes. Let’s enjoy it while it lasts.
Agree about Staal. He has been a great player, but I don’t see where he fits. I understand he takes the hard shifts, but so does Wally… and Wally’s mistakes (very few) have not cost us games. I think McKegg’s hustle and play should keep him up here. He (as well as Saku) seem to not panic and take the extra time to make a play. It’s like they understand the game and are “speedy, quick, and fast”… but not in a hurry!
What to do about Staal would be a great post (IMHO). The only place I would put him is in Rask’s spot on the fourth line… he would be good there, except for the $$ and maybe his own personal feelings about being demoted (not saying he would have that, but that would only be human). The problem with Staal being back is where the “group” would put him. They would put him on the 2nd line and/or try to get more offense out of him. That is my biggest concern. Hopefully, the “group” is learning on the job and will use him in the best way for the team.
I agree that Turbo doesn’t get credit for his importance to the team. He drives the scoring of his linemates. He works hand-in-glove with Fishy on the pk making the threat of scoring “shorties” a reality. He drives the movement of play on the pp. His speed and constant threat to score from anywhere is a distraction for enemy defenses. His improvement on defense just makes him a well-rounded player. If I was the GM, I would label him one of the “untouchables”.
Ferland is another whom I would label, “untouchable”. To deny that he is an essential component to our scoring line, is to be delusional.
As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t disturb any of our present lineup. We have won 7 of our last 8. You don’t mess with success.
And let’s look at things from the perspective of those who say we need to add scoring. Okay. We are scoring at a rate of 3-5 goals per game. Not bad. Not bad by any standards. And this is true even though Dougie, Faulk, and Svech are only now seeing their respective scoring mojos starting to kick in.
But if you insist on trading to get scoring, please let’s make sure that we don’t disturb our team core. Let’s also make sure that we don’t trade away grit for weak, undersized scorers.
We have all the scorers we need.
Well, I don’t disagree with anything mentioned, but I think that RBA has been responsible for the ASTONISHING IMPROVEMENT OF THE TEAM! The first part of the season the play was haphazard /inconsistent…! Now I find myself noticing a well-oiled machine that makes far fewer mistakes! I don’t think that it’s a coincidence…! Roddy has them working as a team, and the sum of the parts is better than the individuals.
Yes, we still need a change, or three…but (with few stars) this team is on the rise!
Amen, brother.
Can’t and don’t want to argue with any of the above. RBA has really grown into the job and he and his staff really seem to have a handle on this team. I have to agree also with pwrlss to an extent about the need for more scorers. I agree to the extent that I don’t want to disrupt the present roster to get one or more scorers. Our defensemen are exceptionally good and I would like to keep it that way. If we insist on going after more scoring, let’s try to do it internally with our own prospects or trading prospects and/or draft pick(s) to do it. And if we do it, go after a proven commodity (Hoffman, Tarasenko, etc. type) and not some dude that just had a good year somewhere.
I don’t know if I’d consider Staal “unsung”. He’s more of a more expensive Brock(does every hockey thing well, except scoring)
Although, if this team performance keeps up, RBA might be the unsung hero, as a rookie coach with no HC experience exceeding expectations.