The Carolina Hurricanes offense is off to a better start this season. The Hurricanes peppered Detroit Red Wings Goalie Petr Mrazek with 47 shots, 12 on the Power Play, while only giving up 19. The problem with that is the Hurricanes only got three goals by Mrazek while the Red Wings slipped four by Hurricanes Goalie Cam Ward.
Hurricanes rookie Defenseman Noah Hanifin got his first professional point when he assisted on the first Hurricanes goal by Victor Rask in the second period. Nathan Gerbe and Justin Faulk scored the other two goals.
The Hurricanes took a 3-2 lead into the third period but could not make it hold up.
This is the beginning of Bill Peters second campaign as the head Coach of the Hurricanes and the Hurricanes can ill afford to get off to an 0-6-2 start like they did last season. Injuries played a major part in last season's start and James Wisniewski's injury in the first game dealt a blow to the Hurricanes experience on the blue line. The Hurricanes recalled Defenseman Danny Biega who has all of ten games of experience in the NHL to take Wisniewski's place on the roster.
Monday, October 12, 2015
Friday, October 9, 2015
A Loss Plus One
The Carolina Hurricanes lost their 2015-16 opener to the Nashville Predators 2-1 but may have suffered an even bigger loss when Defenseman James Wisniewski went down with a serious knee injury 47 seconds into his first season with the Carolina Hurricanes. His estimated recovery time is six months.
The Carolina Hurricanes came into this season looking to improve on last season's goal scoring average which was third worst in the league but were only able to score a goal late in the third period by Captain Eric Staal on an assist by Justin Faulk. The Hurricanes gave up both Nashville goals in the first period as they caught a bad break when Ron Hainsey had to discard his broken stick and the puck shot by Nashville Predator Craig Smith appeared to go off Hainsey's skate blade shortly thereafter. The Hurricanes were also shaky with the puck in their own zone and Cam Ward had to make several difficult saves.
Rookie Defenseman and top draft pick Noah Hanifin made his NHL debut and logged 18 minutes of playing time and zero on the Power Play and only five seconds of time on the short handed unit. The loss of Wisniewski may push Hanifin into more playing time especially on the Hurricanes special teams.
The Carolina Hurricanes came into this season looking to improve on last season's goal scoring average which was third worst in the league but were only able to score a goal late in the third period by Captain Eric Staal on an assist by Justin Faulk. The Hurricanes gave up both Nashville goals in the first period as they caught a bad break when Ron Hainsey had to discard his broken stick and the puck shot by Nashville Predator Craig Smith appeared to go off Hainsey's skate blade shortly thereafter. The Hurricanes were also shaky with the puck in their own zone and Cam Ward had to make several difficult saves.
Rookie Defenseman and top draft pick Noah Hanifin made his NHL debut and logged 18 minutes of playing time and zero on the Power Play and only five seconds of time on the short handed unit. The loss of Wisniewski may push Hanifin into more playing time especially on the Hurricanes special teams.
Thursday, October 8, 2015
The Rookie Race
The National Hockey League season begins tonight and all eyes will be on the top two draft picks, Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers and Jack Eichel of the Buffalo Sabres. Their offensive potential has been opening eyes over the past couple of years and will be what fans are wanting to see.
The Carolina Hurricanes top draft pick, number five overall, Defenseman Noah Hanifin has made the team as one of seven Defensemen on the roster coming out of training camp and he is only 18 years old. Offensively, not much will be expected of him as he learns the game of professional hockey but he has a very high upside. He is not a big bruiser but he plays positional defense and is a solid passer from the blueline. He will be under the tutelage of veterans James Wisniewski, who was acquired over the summer, and Justin Faulk. I look for some good things from Hanifin this season.
The Carolina Hurricanes top draft pick, number five overall, Defenseman Noah Hanifin has made the team as one of seven Defensemen on the roster coming out of training camp and he is only 18 years old. Offensively, not much will be expected of him as he learns the game of professional hockey but he has a very high upside. He is not a big bruiser but he plays positional defense and is a solid passer from the blueline. He will be under the tutelage of veterans James Wisniewski, who was acquired over the summer, and Justin Faulk. I look for some good things from Hanifin this season.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Fourth Round Pick Nicolas Roy, Center
Nicolas Roy was projected to go anywhere from the end of the first round to the third round. The Hurricanes may have gotten another steal with Roy in the fourth round, #96 overall. Roy is a Center with some size, (6'4", 205 pounds) and he came into the draft as the 45th ranked North American skater. Roy played his last two seasons with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens of the QMJHL where he posted, solid but not spectacular, numbers.
Curtis Joe of Elite Prospects decribed Roy as being "a big-bodied, imposing presence on the ice."
Chris Lund of mapleleafs.nhl.com said of Roy "a tenacious forechecker" who "consistently wins puck battles with his size and stick." Lund went on to say that Roy "owns a good shot and can distribute the puck effectively." He positions himself well in front of the net.
The criticism of Roy's game is that he is not seen as a strong skater. Lund acknowledged that in his assessment of Roy and said that other player's have overcome not being strong skaters to make it to the NHL and his skating would need to become a priority for him to make it to the NHL.
Curtis Joe of Elite Prospects decribed Roy as being "a big-bodied, imposing presence on the ice."
Chris Lund of mapleleafs.nhl.com said of Roy "a tenacious forechecker" who "consistently wins puck battles with his size and stick." Lund went on to say that Roy "owns a good shot and can distribute the puck effectively." He positions himself well in front of the net.
The criticism of Roy's game is that he is not seen as a strong skater. Lund acknowledged that in his assessment of Roy and said that other player's have overcome not being strong skaters to make it to the NHL and his skating would need to become a priority for him to make it to the NHL.
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Fourth Round, Callum Booth, Goalie
The Hurricanes drafted Goalie Callum Booth with their first pick in the fourth round, #93 overall. The Hurricanes may have gotten a steal here. He has nice size, 6'3" and 200 pounds, and he was the second ranked Goalie in North America by most scouting services. There were seven Goalies drafted ahead of him.
Booth played the last two season with the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and posted a 23-12-5 record last season with a 3.05 Goals Against Average.
Ben Kerr of the website thelastwordonsports.com described Booth as being "a bit of a project as he is likely several years away from the NHL." Kerr described his attributes as "he gets out well to cut down angles and gives shooters very little to look at" and that he had "very good rebound control." Al Jensen of NHL Central Scouting said that "he has excellent positional play and net coverage and is strong in all areas."
Among the negatives for Booth is that Kerr does not believe that he will make acrobatic, athletic saves when he is caught out of position and Jensen believes that he can be beat to the high side in spite of his size. It will also be several years before this draft can be evaluated as well.
Booth played the last two season with the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and posted a 23-12-5 record last season with a 3.05 Goals Against Average.
Ben Kerr of the website thelastwordonsports.com described Booth as being "a bit of a project as he is likely several years away from the NHL." Kerr described his attributes as "he gets out well to cut down angles and gives shooters very little to look at" and that he had "very good rebound control." Al Jensen of NHL Central Scouting said that "he has excellent positional play and net coverage and is strong in all areas."
Among the negatives for Booth is that Kerr does not believe that he will make acrobatic, athletic saves when he is caught out of position and Jensen believes that he can be beat to the high side in spite of his size. It will also be several years before this draft can be evaluated as well.
Sebastian Aho, Second Round Pick
The Carolina Hurricanes selected Finnish Right Wing Sebastian Aho with their Second Round draft pick, #35 overall. I thought this pick was a little bit of a reach for Carolina. Most scouts doubt Aho's offensive upside and with higher ranked wingers Paul Bittner (taken 38th by the Columbus Blue Jackets) and Daniel Sprong (46th by the Pittsburgh Penguins) still on the board, I think the Hurricanes could probably have gotten Aho in a later round. The hockey draft experts had Aho ranked anywhere from the 28th overall prospect down to the 110th but most questioned whether his game could translate to the NHL and its bigger hockey rinks.
Aho played with Karpat and Asaat in Finland's Elite League Liiga last season where he scored four goals and had nine assists in 30 games as a 17 year old. Curtis Joe of Elite Prospects see Aho as being "strong on his skates" with "excellent puck handling ability and finesse." Hockey writer Cole Hamilton on bsndenver.com believed that Aho would go anywhere from the second to the fifth rounds.
Aho is still under contract for one more season to Karpat and so he is a project for the future for the Hurricanes organization. It may be three or four seasons before this pick can be completely evaluated.
Aho played with Karpat and Asaat in Finland's Elite League Liiga last season where he scored four goals and had nine assists in 30 games as a 17 year old. Curtis Joe of Elite Prospects see Aho as being "strong on his skates" with "excellent puck handling ability and finesse." Hockey writer Cole Hamilton on bsndenver.com believed that Aho would go anywhere from the second to the fifth rounds.
Aho is still under contract for one more season to Karpat and so he is a project for the future for the Hurricanes organization. It may be three or four seasons before this pick can be completely evaluated.
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Carolina Hurricanes Select Hanifin
Although I wanted the Carolina Hurricanes to go with an offensive player with their first pick, the Hurricanes could not go wrong with Defenseman Noah Hanifin of Boston College. He was considered by many to be the third best overall prospect in a very deep draft and the top defensive prospect. My top pick for the Hurricanes, Lawson Clouse, fell all the way to the eleventh selection to the Florida Panthers.
I look for Hanifin to stay at Boston College for at least one more season and get more playing time under his belt and to get some international experience as well on the United States team at the World junior Championships. I would look for him to be in Carolina's system by the end of next season.
ESPN.com listed Noah Hanifin as one of the players to watch (not named McDavid or Eichel) in the 2015 season because of his size and his advance skill set. They labeled Hanifin as already possibly the best Defenseman in the Hurricanes system (I believe Justin Faulk would have something to say about that) and a really good selection for the Hurricanes.
I look for Hanifin to stay at Boston College for at least one more season and get more playing time under his belt and to get some international experience as well on the United States team at the World junior Championships. I would look for him to be in Carolina's system by the end of next season.
ESPN.com listed Noah Hanifin as one of the players to watch (not named McDavid or Eichel) in the 2015 season because of his size and his advance skill set. They labeled Hanifin as already possibly the best Defenseman in the Hurricanes system (I believe Justin Faulk would have something to say about that) and a really good selection for the Hurricanes.
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