Thursday officially starts the 2019-20 NHL season. On Thursday, the Hurricanes players report for physicals in the morning and have a team meeting in the afternoon. On Friday, two groups take to the ice to begin preparation for the 2019-20 season.
With the excitement of the return of Canes hockey, we dusted off The Coffee Shop section where there is a set of polls on the forward line combinations. You can find that HERE.
The first couple days of training camp are largely a ton of skating and drills to start working back up to game speed and shake off some rust. And at least in his first year, Brind’Amour did not seem to build lines or pairings with an eye for the season in the first few practices. As such, the first few practices more than anything represent a great chance to head out to PNC Arena to feel the chill in the arena and hear the sounds of hockey.
But there are still a few things worth watching in the first few practices before the more significant watch points for the first preseason games next Tuesday and Wednesday.
1) Leadership
Last season, the Hurricanes entered training camp with Justin Williams at the helm. He looked every part the captain from the beginning of training camp setting the tone, being vocal during practice and engaging teammates. With Williams’ departure, the team is without a captain as of right now, but that is likely to change before the start of the season. Will someone undeniably look the part of the captain in the front part of training camp? With a successful 2019-20 season under their belt and a year of watching Williams will a whole group of players have a different look to them? Or instead might it be more significant to watch Brind’Amour and how he interacts with the different potential leaders for this team?
2) Ability to match pace at transition points for young players, especially those possibly with skating speed challenges
The variety of skating and puck-moving drills are not overly useful for evaluating players (at least for me) with a few notable exceptions. One of the most significant is watching how young players do in drills where they go one way and then transition when the puck does. The challenge for players who are average or less in terms of foot speed is not playing in the defensive zone or offensive zone; it is matching pace between the blue lines when the puck transitions suddenly. So these drills that see players go two ways can be very telling in terms of which players could have issues in terms of matching NHL pace. So that is one of my watch points for any new players and also in my opinion the best way to gauge speed. It is not about who win a race between the end lines. It is about who can be going one way at or inside the offensive blue line and and then need to transition and go the other way in a hurry.
3) Brind’Amour’s early line combinations
As I noted above, Brind’Amour did a bunch of random in the early stages of training camp last year, so the ability to glean much about where his mind is in terms of building lines might be minimal. The combinations for the games next week will be more telling. But nonetheless, I do note who plays with whom. Though the forward lines and defense pairings might not be too meaningful, I think what could be is the power play units that are iced in practice. It is no secret that this was a sore spot for 2018-19. With some new personnel, I think that is one thing that Brind’Amour will be focused on very early. So seeing how he builds two units for the first special teams practices will be worth noting.
4) Young player physical updates
So much of the Hurricanes roster is still at an age where they can make significant strides from summer to summer. Noticeable last year was the extra burst of speed and stronger acceleration that Aho had. Does he have another gear physically yet? How does the 19-year old Svechnikov compare to the 18-year old Svechnikov? …and similar year to year comparisons for other players both at the NHL and AHL levels.
What say you Canes fans?
1) Which of these watch points is most intriguing to you?
2) What are your watch points for the front part of training camp?
Go Canes!
1) the first thing I look for is: Is there something obvious that player improved on in the off-season? Quickness, edgework, board battling, shootout, etc. if you can see improvement it is a very good sign.
The second watch point is situational, and that is leadership. The fact that a captain hasn’t been named means there is no obvious choice like Willy was. This can create an odd dynamic in camp, where lots of leaders = no leader. This may be the most important element to overall team success this season.
Looking forward to the preseason games more than camp. Frankly, changes in skill level for these guys is rarely significant. What is going on between the ears is what I want to see.
I want to see if Necas has learned enough to be reliable at the NHL level. I want to see if Bean or Priskie can play defense well enough to hang in the NHL. I want to see if Fleury plays with confidence. Finally, I look forward to the annual surprise. Some young player will make an impact. Wonder who it will be…
The elephant in the room. How do the Faulk trade rumors impact the team?Especially the young defensemen whose fate is directly linked to his.
Lts makes some points with which I concur.
Having seen pictures of a bulkier Necas, I would like to see comps on the tape for the young players from last season to this – who stepped up in the gym.
TvR’s status – is he skating?, is he wearing yellow?
One name missing from the training camp roster is Saku – yesterday Waddell confirmed he is remaining in Finland. That does create an opening for the 13th F and/or first call-up for players from CLT. Gauthier, Kuokk, and Geekie. BTW, current cap math – yesterday’s column doesn’t factor in signing Saku. It makes me wonder if we have known for a while he wasn’t returning – we could not afford to sign him now.
After watching Suzuki perform well in prospect tourney, I wonder if he can make such a name for himself that M/C have to give serious thought to sending him back to Barrie.
More Faulk rumors, not just Anaheim. https://mynhltraderumors.com/nhl-rumors-ducks-and-hurricanes-trade-could-go-either-way-with-a-few-other-ducks-notes/2019/09/12/
1) I would say Leadership. My opinion continues to be that this has become overemphasized in popular thought. That said, most disagree with me and think there was a dramatic culture change on the Canes last season led by Williams. If that is true, then with no clear leader the team may struggle.
2) Do any prospects get a long look? The truth is there is no room at the inn. Right now TVR is #6 on D and he isn’t being replaced. If Faulk moves, then the logjam is denser for forwards. I think both Kuokkanen and Bean are going to have excellent camps. Still they will be sent to Charlotte. I think management knows that, so I don’t think there will be extra opportunities for the prospects.
I’m looking for the team to have a fun, yet competitive preseason. Everything else is gravy and will likely fall into place eventually.
My reason for saying this is that oftentimes teams who come close to playing for the Cup tense up the next season striving too hard to repeat success.
I think keeping the room less serious, but determined, will be the biggest key early on.
How long will Faulk be in camp? The longer he stays, the less likely he gets moved.
Is TVR in a yellow jersey or is he even participating yet? Think Waddell said the other day that he was unlikely to start the season with the team.
Who takes the 3LW? Right now a lot of us like Foegele in that role, given his speed and edge. That would seemingly work well w/Haula and Necas. Haula is also responsible defensively, so having him w/Necas who likely still remains a little rough in that regard is smart.
What happens on the bottom pair? Right now it looks like it is Fleury’s to lose, so Forsling or Bean would have to displace him on the left side. If one of Priskie or McKeown showed well, that would complicate things (maybe a little less with Priskie who played a good bit of LD in college).
I suspect 3, maybe 4, youngsters get a pretty long look: Gauthier, Kuokkanen, Geekie, and Luostarinen. It feels like those guys will be leaders in Charlotte, but they make somebody expendable. We’ll have to see….