Today is August 31 which means it is the last day of what is easily the slowest month of the hockey year. Within a few days, Canes and Coffee will be posting training camp previews, then come season previews and then finally REAL hockey.
But alas for the die-hards who think Hurricanes hockey even in the dog days of summer, we have one more Coffee Shop to push through…AND…wait for it…ACTUAL COFFEE CUPS! (sarcastic cheers)
Check out Canes and Coffee’s small foray into merchandising HERE.
And please also check out today’s Daily Cup of Joe which has part 3 of a series offering small “bites” on every Canes player and prospect.
Carolina Hurricanes polls
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Discussion questions
1) Following the Daily Cup of Joe theme from the past few days, create your own group of Hurricanes players with a common theme in terms of role, situation or maybe even something more whimsical.
2) It is jumping the gun a little bit on training camp preview coverage that will start in earnest next week, but what one thing (and only one) are you most watching for in the first few days of training camp and maybe preseason game?
3) With the ongoing ‘Back to School’ series finishing up the Hurricanes 2017 NHL draft class on Tuesday, which player is most intriguing to you and why?
Go Canes!
1. Williams, Staal, Skinner and Slavin. Which of these players becomes the next captain? Could we see a surprise choice outside this group?
2. I don’t really look for line combos in preseason as this is the time to tinker with ideas. But the one thing I’m looking for is which player sets the pace during practices and who does BP communicate to often. This may be a clue to the answer of my question #1.
3. Our goalie prospect, Helvig. Intrigued to see if he is in the same tier as our other prospects Booth and Ned (though after last season, I feel Booth is a step up from Ned at this point).
Last year’s training camp was a strange one because Peters and also a couple new players (Teravainen, Aho) joined really late because of the World Cup, but Peters locked in lines really early and pretty much stuck with them through preseason. My hunch is that the longer training camp for Peters will allow a little more experimentation and trials, but I also think that the need to get out of the gate much faster will push him to again lock in most of what he wants to use for combinations fairly early.
In regards to number 3, I saw it is Eetu the 2nd rounder or Mattheos. Could Mattheos be very good but held back to put Patrick in all prime situations? It’ll be interesting to find out. For our 2nd Eetu, we don’t know much about him. The last 3 years has shown us they pull a good player in the 2nd round from Finland. Is he another that could be pushing for nhl ice time for the 2018 season?
1) The Old Guys. I have been so excited about guys barely older than my son. Maybe the 30 plus crowd is key to the season. Williams is an advanced stat star. Stempniak was the only forward with positive +\- last season. As excited as we all are based on Saarela’s short stint in Charlotte, Ryan was better in his nine games there. Finally (just for puck god), Ward was strong last season until the 20th, 21st, 22nd consecutive starts. He should combine with Darling to give Carolina a strong net presence.
2) Any sense of forward lines.
3) Roy. Sometime during the season he may be called up for 3rd or 4th line. He put up most PPG of all juniors and appears most ready defensively.
I didn’t respond to 3) as asked. I am most interested in Martin from the latest draft class. D is going to be part of the Hurricanes’ identity for the next decade. Martin should be another solid member of the unit in 3-4 years.
Aho, Teravainen and Hanifin. I’m not normally a fish eater but to celebrate all things labor, if I can find a good seafood recipe that combines a gas grille, a chalice (or ten) of Wicked Weed Pernicious and some local seafood, I’m going for it. Especially the Aho. It can be a little too understated for the true seafood connoisseur. But if partnered with the right side dish, well…it can be sublime. The Teravainen is….well lets just say a tad too fishy for my amateur palate. An acquired taste for sure. I’ve been grilling it for a couple of years now and still haven’t gotten the recipe down pat. Tends to slip through the grate. Frustrating. Had me some Hanifin just a few weeks ago at a local joint. Too bad I can’t remember a damn thing about the entire experience. Hoping for a better result the next go-round by showing a tad more hops restraint. The damn stuff looked like it was only days old and not seasoned like I’m used to. I may have forgotten to give it some umph by adding some foreign spices to the mix. I would have except I went through all my Slavin and Pence last winter – I put that stuff on everything! Eggs, poutine, caramel brownies, you name it. I originally attempted to mix in a bit of Faulk. But like those annoying hairs on corn on the cob, it just became too much effort. Wayyyyyy too many follicles. I’ll leave that stuff to the kids. They love that stuff. But they also like Katy Perry and Lady Goo Goo or whatever her name is. I’m telling you, it’s the excessive screen time. Rots the brain. Oh….what was I talking about? Fish….that’s right the fish. These six day holiday weekends can be brutal.
The grocery store and food Canes’ analogies return just in time for training camp!
It’s going to be an incredibly fun and amusing season in the Coffee Shop. 🙂
You used the phrase “safe and sound” to describe a 4th line of Jooris-Kruger-Nordstrom. I think this is the 4th line going into the season – I don’t see any young guns breaking into that line. One big reason is Peters’ stated preference for “can play in the NHL” vs. “might be able to play”. That was a big driver for the Kruger and Jooris pickups. And I admit I was disappointed when they were picked up because I recognized it meant that the young players were not going to get the chance to make the NHL roster. I also think there is a mismatch in styles trying to put a young offensive-minded forward on that 4th line. In spite of the success of offensive-minded 4th lines in the NHL last season and in spite of Peters’ statement about wanting to roll 4 lines I think he counts on the 4th line primarily for defensive 5×5 play and for roles on the PK.
When this may change is if injuries occur; also if Kruger is spending a lot of time on ice as a shutdown forward with a line that is not keeping up offensively. Even in the latter I think Peters will, initially at least, turn to McGinn or even PDG who are more (relatively speaking) proven at the NHL level before experimenting with younger players. It may also change if a younger player is lights-out down in Charlotte and would be an obvious fit for recognized need on the Canes’ NHL roster.
tj. Agree that BP is likely viewing fourth as shut down line. But I am not as strong in belief that Jooris has a spot locked up. I think he is more like Tennyson was for D last year–an inexpensive insurance policy.
That is why I think Roy might have best shot by a prospect. If he shows he can be solid/responsible in camp, then he provides the same qualities as Jooris with added offense. Both give line a right-handed player who takes face-offs. In fact both Kruger and Jooris are average at draws. In juniors Roy was excellent. I remember several box scores from playoffs where he won 2 out of 3. If that translates to NHL, it would give BP options other than Staal on key defensive zone draws. Also Roy was voted outstanding defensive forward in his league. He may not be ready, but I think he is most logical option at some point this season.
Anyone want to take a guess which of the following two groups score most goals- over 6’1″ players OR under 6’1″ players (exactly 6’1″ guys – NOT ALLOWED! ..in the contest..!
I’m looking at all the goalies…and hope we find more than one who DOESN’T SUCK!
McKeown interests me, as I think we really need a right shot Dman who can step in if someone (of our starters) is hurt…or ineffective!!
puckgod. For the Canes it is under 6’1″ by a mile. Actually 5’11” players will score the most by themselves. Now in Charlotte, it is a close contest.
1. “The next man up” Kuokanen, Saarela, Zykov, Roy, Gauthier. BP may have his 4th line dialed in, but if one of theses guys can score without being a defensive dumpster fire, there may be a third line slot open.
2. Can Darling repeat his Chicago success?
3. Does anybody use the Prospect tournament to spring into the NHL(like the Czech Condor)?