Lineup Chemistry and Scoring Potential: Breaking Down the Canes' Roster

How many points will Sebastian Aho score this season? Could Seth Jarvis crack the 75-point barrier? Will Alexander Nikishin partner with Jacob Slavin on the top defensive pair? The stormTRacker crew tackles these questions and more as they project the Carolina Hurricanes' opening night lineup and forecast point totals for every player on the roster.

With General Manager, Eric Tulsky, suggesting the current roster will likely remain intact heading into the 2025-26 season, we dive deep into potential line combinations and defensive pairings. Our analysis reveals some surprising deployments, including Jackson Blake potentially joining Aho and newly-acquired Nikolaj Ehlers on the top line, while Seth Jarvis could bring defensive stability alongside Andrei Svechnikov and Jesperi Kotkaniemi on the second line.

Highlights: 
• Jackson Blake could start on the top line with Sebastian Aho and Nikolaj Ehlers, utilizing his net-front presence with their playmaking abilities
• Alexander Nikishin may earn top-pairing minutes with Jaccob Slavin rather than being sheltered as many expect
• Seth Jarvis and Nikolaj Ehlers could both reach 75+ points if the power play improves from last season's struggles
• Jesperi Kotkaniemi faces a make-or-break season as the projected second-line center, with potential for 45-59 points
• Sebastian Aho could break the 90-point barrier with improved deployment and chemistry with Nikolaj Ehlers
• The Hurricanes need more 30+ goal scorers beyond Seth Jarvis to elevate their offensive production
• Taylor Hall brings offensive upside whether deployed in the top-six or on the fourth line with Logan Stankoven
• Team scoring shows the Hurricanes' identity as a "score by committee" squad rather than relying on a few superstars

Check out our social media for an interactive tier list where you can create your own player point projections and share them with us! We'd love to see your predictions for the upcoming season.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:33):
With all quiet on the Carolina Hurricanes front these
days, we thought we wouldconsider the roster to start the
season and project point totalsfor each of the players.
Recent comments from GeneralManager Eric Tulsky suggest the
Canes will likely head into the25-26 season with the current
roster of players, with thecurrent roster of players.

(00:58):
With that in mind, we thoughtit would be fun to take a stab
at the opening night lineup andforecast point totals for each
of the players To kick thingsoff.
I thought we would just spend afew minutes and discuss our
thoughts on that opening nightlineup and what it might look
like based on the current roster.
You know there's some questionsabout some of the players that
we have to take a look at as towhere they're going to slide

(01:20):
into the lineup.
We know for sure the dads willprobably end up with Logan
Stankover with them.
It's likely that Eric Robinsonand Mark Jankowski will be on
the fourth line and to thispoint it looks like Isperi
Kokaniemi is going to man thatnumber 2C or whatever we might
call it spot.
And of course, sebastian Ajowill be the number 1 center and

(01:43):
it's expected that NikolaiEhlers will join him on the top
line.
But there are some questionsabout the forwards and I thought
we might just spend a fewminutes on this.
Katie thoughts.

Speaker 2 (01:58):
On this particular lineup.
Most people have the top linebeing Ehlers Aho and Jarvis, but
our version has Ehlers Aho andBlake and I think a lot of that
is indicated by the fact thatBlake was given that extension.
He has the trust of RodBrindamore and the coaching
staff.
He proved that he could dotop-line minutes and take on

(02:22):
those top-line responsibilitieslast season and he is a net
front guy.
The majority of his scoringchances and his goals came right
in front of the net and that'swhat Ehlers and Ajo need for
their particular skill set andwhat they're looking to do.
They are playmakers first andthey need someone like Jackson
Blake to be in the front of thenet for them to find and for him

(02:44):
to be able to finish theopportunities that they create.
So it just makes a lot of sensethere.
Jarvis on the we'll call it thesecond line for clarity purposes
.
On that second scoring linewith KK and Svetch.
It gives more of a defensivepresence and I think that KK's

(03:04):
line has always been one thatRod has worried about as far as
their defensive capabilities,and so that line will be a
little bit more steady withJarvis there in that presence
and still give it a good scoringpunch Between Jarvis and Svetch
.
I think there will be plenty ofgoal scoring opportunities and
KK will help create the spaceand the opportunities for the

(03:25):
two of them to get to work.

Speaker 1 (03:30):
Erin.

Speaker 3 (03:32):
I think this is a really creative way of looking
at what the Canes could do, andyou know we all know that what
the best clue to what theopening night roster will look
like is how do they line up thefirst day at camp?
Because even though RodVendemore always says don't read
anything into it, we're justtrying things that more often
than not as I think CoreyLavallette has pointed out on

(03:53):
multiple occasions that is thelineup that starts on opening
night.
We also know that Rod deservesthe nickname Rod Blendamore.
I could see scenarios where wesee anyone from Jackson Blake,
andrei Svechnikov or Seth Darmuson that top line on the right.
I think we will see all of themthere at some point during the

(04:13):
season, but I love the idea thatJackson Blake might get the nod
to start there.
He played extremely well duringthe brief time period that Miko
Rantanen was on that line withAjo and I don't see why that
wouldn't be kind of a similarlook, so why not give him a
chance?
He's just got this new contract, like Katie said, and one of

(04:37):
the things that we could look atas being a potential benefit of
this as well is there's been alot of discussion about would
Rod Bryn Mawr consider tryingSeth Jarvis at center?
It's a very easy move to putSeth Jarvis at center on that
second line if he's playing wingon that second line, even
within the context of shift byshift.
You know, you could haveKokuniemi take the draw and then

(04:58):
Jarvis kind of run the playsthrough the middle of the ice.
They could kind of co-authorthe second line center for a
little while there and we couldsee how Jarvis could do without
putting the pressure of himneeding to improve significantly
in the face-off dot right away,especially given that he's been
dealing with an ongoingshoulder injury.
So, that would really be aninteresting thing to see if they

(05:21):
decided to try it, and I thinkthere could be benefits on both
the first and the second line.
So we'll see.

Speaker 1 (05:27):
Well, and I think if you have Sveshnikov, kokeniemi
and Jervis, those guys are goingto move around on the ice
anyway.
That's kind of how they play.
So I think they would be ableto, you know, to find some magic
.
And one of the things I'mreally excited about with the
idea of Jackson Blake on thattop line is it gives you a much

(05:48):
stronger unit with Kokaniemi.
I mean, for sure, puttingSveshnikov and Jarvis on that
unit makes a big difference.
You've now got two guys thatare two of your young studs
basically trying to get it done,and they've got things to prove
as well.
That's an interesting thing andyou know, we've seen from time
to time we've seen, I think,kokaniemi, more so maybe, than

(06:09):
Jarvis, with sorry, with AndreiSvetsnikov.
So I think those guys have hadsome chemistry, they've been
able to do some good work.
So maybe that's an opportunityas well and a good-sized line.
Again, you've got Svetchnikov,you've got Kokanemi with size,
and then Jarvis plays bigger.
So it could be an interestingmove On the Blake side.

(06:32):
Look, eric Tulsky was effusiveabout, you know, jackson Blake.
Right, he had great things tosay about Blake and for sure
expects him to do a lot more andget a lot better.
So I think you know earlier wewere chatting that we might see
Blake in a move to get anotherplayer on the roster.

(06:52):
I think those discussions havebeen quieted for sure and I
would think it's probably goingthe other way, where Blake he's
viewed upon as a key pillargoing forward, obviously getting
an eight-year extension.
So he's got nine years leftwith the Hurricanes.
Oh man, interesting story, ofcourse.

(07:12):
And we know that there are 12players with over four years
remaining on their deal with theHurricanes.
So the one other piece of thatforward crew which is
interesting is Taylor Hall.
You know Hall in this situationgets slipped down to the fourth
unit and even no matter howthey shake down the top six, it

(07:33):
looks like Hall will end up downthere and that's kind of an
interesting opportunity as well.
He brings a little bit ofoffense.
He's definitely a hard worker.
He could play in the fourthline as well.
The other question is wheredoes Will Carrier end up in this
?
And that's, you know it's a lotof riches, as we know, in that
forward crew.

(07:53):
So interesting look as we getinto the point totals.
Of course, if we think thatJackson Blake's on that top unit
, that will affect his numberssignificantly.
So let's think about that.
On the D-Core, again, westepped out a little bit here
and we suggested that AlexNikishan is going to be on the

(08:15):
top pair alongside Jacob Slavin.
Now a lot of folks have got KAndre Miller penciled in and
again, that's very possible, butyou know, it would be very.
I think it'd be very excitingto see Sasha on that top group
and see what he can do and andthat would then give you a very
strong second pair with, ofcourse, k'andre Miller and Jalen

(08:39):
Chatfield.
So again, katie, kick this oneoff and tell us what you think
about that.

Speaker 2 (08:44):
I definitely love the idea of Nick Heashon on that
top pair.
Many sites have him as a thirdpair defenseman to start off
with and the suggestion is well,he hasn't played any regular
season games, he still needs tolearn the system, get better on
his English, shelter him alittle bit, don't give him those
hardest matchups right away.

(09:04):
And I would understand that ifwe were talking about somebody
coming up from the AHL who's 19or 20 years old.
But nikishan, he's a veteran ofthe khl and he has played lots
of minutes.
He is used to taking many, manyshifts and going up against the
hardest matchups that the otherteam has to offer.

(09:26):
So that will be nothing new tohim, uh, paired with slavin,
other than the fact that it willbe at the nhl level, which will
be a step above.
But he's up for the task.
Plus, I think his skill setjust complements slaven so well.
Slave and being smooth andintentional and very forward
indication brings that extrapunch.

(09:49):
Whether you're talking the hipchecks or the slap shot or those
particular elements of his gamewill make that duo really,
really hard to play against.
So if the Canes' idea is thatNikitian eventually is going to
be the top on the top pair withSlavin might as well put him
there now and let him learnright from the get-go, get

(10:11):
comfortable, get that chemistryand not try to bring it later
when they have the opportunityto go ahead and take care of
this and get it done.
Then, like you said, that movesmiller down to the second pair
and talk about a tough, heavysecond pair to play against with
him and chatfield together.
Those two will be able to move,they'll be able to cover the

(10:32):
ice, they'll be able to denyzone entries so well it's going
to be out of the frying pan intothe fire for other teams when
it comes to pick your poisonbetween those top two pairs.
And then that leaves Ghost andWalker, and they already know
how to play together.
They're already comfortablewith each other, they already
have chemistry.
It makes so much sense, there'sso much balance and it's

(10:56):
beautiful.
But we'll see if that's theplan that the team has.

Speaker 1 (11:03):
Anything to add to that, Erin?

Speaker 3 (11:05):
Just I think that it's a really creative, again,
way of looking at thepossibilities.
We never know, until trainingcamp comes around, how things
are going to work out and howthey're going to try different
things.
There's almost no wrong answerto how to do that top four with
the two new players.
I mean with not two new players, but I'm counting Nikitian

(11:26):
because he only showed up in theplayoffs and played a handful
of games.
So two young, new, excitingplayers on McCain's defensive
core and you can put them reallyanywhere and have good results.
I like the Nikitian on theCanes defensive core and you can
put them really anywhere andand have good results.
I like the negation on the toppair idea because of his ability
to play on the right.
He has played on the right sidefrequently in the KHL.

(11:46):
It's not something that wouldbe new to him in any way, shape
or form.
So I think that Keandre Millerdoes not have as much experience
playing on his off wing and youknow talked about the challenge
of maybe doing that in one ofthe interviews he gave this
summer.
So they'll just have to see.
You know, I think they'll haveto see where the chemistry hits
and everything else, but itwould really be fun to see

(12:07):
Nikishan up there, and I mean,if they see him as a future top
pair defenseman, why not startthere?
I think that there's too muchof a tendency sometimes in some
teams to start with thewell-liked, give you sheltered
minutes and slowly work you in.
But the danger of that is thatmaybe they never adapt to the
bigger role.
So there's no reason to wastetime with him.

(12:28):
If he's ready to go, theyshould do it.

Speaker 1 (12:31):
Well, a couple of things that I think about with
that concept.
First of all, nikitian is muchmore of an offensive-minded
D-man than is Keandre Miller,and I think with Slavin you've
got the ability for Nikitian todo more offensively, which I
think would be tremendous.
I mean, he's a juggernaut.
The other thing about Nikitianand you look at his minutes the

(12:55):
last three seasons almost 23minutes three seasons ago, 24
plus last two years ago and 24plus last year this guy plays
big minutes.
And here's a crazy one heplayed 39 minutes in a
multi-overtime game last year inthe KHL 39.
I mean, that's absolutely offthe chart.

(13:15):
This guy is not a third pairing.
Give me 12 or 14 minutes a game.
It's not happening.
This guy should be playing big,heavy, heavy minutes and I think
the guy he should be with isJacob Slavin for sure.
So I totally am on board withAlexander Nikitin taking that
that spot and I think he should,and if he's given the

(13:37):
opportunity he'll hold it.
I have every expectation.
This guy's a beast he's, and Ireally I.
I think it's unfortunate.
Some people saw him in some ofthose games in the playoffs and
said, well, maybe he's not theplayer we thought he was.
Uh, come on, give me a break.
I mean, the guy was brought overhere in the dark of night and
bring him in he doesn't speakmuch English, he doesn't know

(13:59):
the system and he's thrown intothe toughest series you can get
into.
So no, we'll see a different.
At what do we think the pointprojections are going to be?
And, katie, you've come up witha kind of creative way for us
to do this.

Speaker 2 (14:22):
Can you take it at this point, absolutely.
So I took inspiration from thetier lists that get created on X
and shared, that get created onX and shared.
But, being a teacher, I had tocreate my own version of it and
put it together with the toolsthat I'm accustomed to, and so

(14:45):
this is the one that I created.
I have all the players downthere at the bottom and created
some different tiers.
Now, if you're going with lastyear's Keynes Point totals,
almost all of them would be inthe yellow, orange or red tiers.
But I think we have a whole lotmore high hopes this season
that there will be some growthand some progress with where

(15:06):
these players are going to endup, and hopefully we'll have a
few in the upper echelons.
In the upper echelons, ofcourse, we know it's very, very
difficult in the NHL to score alot of points, whether it's
mostly goals or mostly assistsor balance thereof but it will
at least make for someinteresting conversation with
some of them, and one of thosethat would be interesting

(15:29):
conversation is Seth Jarvis.
So I will cede the floor to youguys and you tell me where you
think Seth Jarvis is going toend up this season.

Speaker 1 (15:42):
Well, let's take a look at Seth.
The last two years he had 67points in each season, high of
33 goals.
He had 98 points last yearjunior okay goals, 56 assists,

(16:03):
um.
So he's a guy that definitelycan put up the big points.
Um, what are we thinking?

Speaker 3 (16:06):
aaron, I'm going to go ahead and take the bold move
of putting seth jarvis in thattop tier, the 75 to 89 point
range.
Um, I do think that that's abit of a reach because you know,
67 points in the last twoseasons.
We don't know for sure whatline he'll be on and what his
opportunities will be.
But I'm basing it on one thing,and I think it's something that

(16:28):
I think all Canes fans arethinking about right now I'm
basing it on the idea that thepower play simply cannot
continue to be as disappointingas it was last year.
If the power play is even, youknow, in that top 10 in the NHL
next year, seth Jarvis, I think,could get into the above 70.

(16:49):
Will he make it all the way to75?
I don't know, but I mean, hewas only three points shy of 70
with a terrible power play lastyear.
So I think that you know, Imean, and we all know that we've
talked about it to death so Ithink that he could get there
and I would like to put him inthat, in that band, just to see,
you know, can he do it?
So that's my take.

Speaker 2 (17:11):
You good with that, Tom 75 to 89?

Speaker 1 (17:13):
I'm absolutely good with that and I think this year
it's going to be a coming outparty for him.
He had injury last year as well, as we know, so he was playing
hurt a good part of the time.
I think he's definitely 75 plus.
He's got to be for sure.

Speaker 2 (17:27):
Okay, good.
Well, we've got our firstplacement.
We just talked about Nikitian,so if he's playing, top pair
minutes with Jacob Slavin.

Speaker 1 (17:38):
Where's he going to end up?
Okay, this is an interestingone, alex.
The last three years has had 55, 56 and 46 points in the KHL.
I know easier league for sure.
I think I think he's a 30 to 44guy this year.
Um, you know, he depending onif he gets any serious power
play time in the second PP, butI think that's.

(17:59):
You know, that's a challengebecause Rindemore likes to give
that top power play unit most ofthe time.
So I think 30 to 44 is where Isee him slotted in.

Speaker 3 (18:12):
I agree.
I think that's a realistic bandfor him because even though
I've, you know, certainly we'veseen young defensemen come in
and put up more.
I mean, lane Hudson had 65points last year but the
deployment on those kinds ofsituations are different and
also it's a different type ofdefenseman, because Nikishan is
such a big heavy physicaldefenseman who's going to spend

(18:34):
a lot of his time actuallydefending.
I don't see him being quitethat prolific yeah.

Speaker 2 (18:43):
Yeah, I would agree.
I think it's safe to put himthere.
It would be nice to be able tothink of him being in that upper
tier, but until he takes overfor Goss Despair on the top
power play 30 to 44 is veryrealistic Okay.

Speaker 1 (19:00):
That's a good number, Logan Stankoven.
So Logan Stankoven last yearhad 38 points, 14 goals combined
between Dallas and theHurricanes.
This guy was a point machine injunior.
He had 104 points one year in59 games.

(19:20):
He had 97 another year in 48games.
This guy is an offensivejuggernaut and we haven't seen
anything close to what I thinkwe're going to see out of this
guy.
I think he's a 60-plus pointguy.

Speaker 2 (19:35):
I think that might be a bit ambitious because of him
playing on the dad's line.
Is that what you were going to?

Speaker 3 (19:41):
say, Erin, that's exactly what I was going to say.
I think deployment matters andI think that you know I mean I
could see him in the 45 to 59,but it's really worth paying
attention to the Canes as awhole and their history on
points.
For the last three seasons theyhave only had about two players
exceed 60 points.

(20:01):
There was one exception, theyear that Brent Burns had 61.
That year they had three.
So I think that we have to berealistic about the fact that
we're not going to have a lot ofplus 60 guys.
I think that I agree with katiethat the 45 to 59 would be the
safer band to put him in.
He could always exceed that.
That would be great.
But I think that playing withuh, with jordan stall and jordan

(20:24):
martinook, if that's hisdeployment for the most of the
year, then I don't see himgetting a ton above that but I
do think he is going to helpthat uh, that trio score more
than they have in the past.

Speaker 2 (20:38):
I do think that will be one of the benefits to having
Stankoven there.
The problem is that, whilehe'll be the main goal scorer
for that crew because we knowStahl and Martinuk don't finish
as well as Stankoven- Come on,there we go.

(21:00):
He'll be.
He'll be the finisher.
He'll be the finisher for them,but there it will still be
limited how much they actuallycreate together I mean I I tend
to agree with both of you.

Speaker 1 (21:11):
I mean I'd love to see him at 60 and above and I
think he's going to be anoffensive player over time.
I think, as you say with thedads correctly, that's a
challenge.
The one area he might gain somesuccess will be on the power
play, because he's definitely atrigger man and he can score
there.
So it's a question of how muchpower play time they get.
But I think you're right.
You're probably right 45 to 59.
That's probably a nice secondyear for him being a sophomore

(21:36):
in the league.
So we'll see how that goes.
But I'd love to see him takeadvantage of that offensive
talent that he has because hecould certainly be a guy to
drive some offense for the Kings.
Will Carrier is up next.
His best year is 39, 34, 30.
Do we think he's above 30 orbelow?

Speaker 2 (21:58):
Below.
Yeah, I would say below mostlybecause he's going to be
fighting for ice time with someof the other guys for that
fourth line, so he's probablynot going to see a full season
of games, even if he does stayhealthy.

Speaker 1 (22:12):
I agree.
K'andre Miller comes up next.
Last year he had 27 points.
He has had a 43-point season.
Do we think he's going to beabove 30?
I'm not sure, but probably inthat 30 to 44 range for me.

Speaker 3 (22:31):
That's where I had him to.

Speaker 2 (22:33):
Yeah, I would agree.
I think he's going to do wellwith the Canes blue line,
especially if he's the onedriving offense.
Chatfield is more of adefensive defenseman, and so
that would give Miller theopportunity to spread his wings
a little bit more on thatpairing.
And yeah, I think it might notbe a whole lot more over 30.

(22:54):
I mean, I'd love for it to be,but he's not going to get power
play deployment most likely, soI think that's a very good tier
to put him in.

Speaker 1 (23:03):
Okay, we move on to Jordan Stahl.
This is an easy one.
Jordan's last five years are 38, 36, 34, 30, and 36.

Speaker 3 (23:17):
I think the 30 to 44 range is absolutely tailor-made
for Jordan Stahl.
We could just put his name onthat band.

Speaker 2 (23:21):
Yes, the Stahl band, although I will say I wouldn't
be surprised if he ends upscoring a little bit more than
he has in the recent pastbecause of Stankhoven there, the
opportunities that he andMartinuk create.
Stankhoven should have a betteropportunity to finish on, and

(23:42):
so I would love to see Stahl andMartinuk on the higher end of
that band rather than the lowerto mid-end.

Speaker 1 (23:50):
Yeah, and, as I mentioned, they've been in that
30s range, so it'd be nice tosee them slip up to 40 and above
.

Speaker 2 (23:57):
That'd be fantastic.

Speaker 1 (24:00):
Okay, jacob Slavin.
Jacob, best season was 42points.
He's had five seasons over 30.
Again, 30 to 44, I think isabout right.
I think he'll get over 30points.
He may get a few more dependingon if Nikitian is with him and
they get some offense going,because you know he can get

(24:20):
those extra passes off toNikitian who can score.
But I think the 30 to 44 rangeis probably where he's going to
land this year.

Speaker 3 (24:30):
I think that's realistic.
As much as we would all loveSlavin to have a 60 plus point
season and finally be in therunning for the Norris, I don't
know that this is the year.

Speaker 1 (24:45):
Nikolaj Ehlers is a little bit of an interesting one
.
His best season was 64 pointsin 2016-17.
He's had 61 and 63 his last twoseasons, so he's holding quite
nicely.
He had a 29-goal season in17-18.
What are we thinking aboutNikolaj Ehlers?

Speaker 3 (25:02):
Nikolaj Ehlers well, I I think that, um, the safe
band to put him in is that 60 to74 point band, but I really
would like to put him in the 75to 89 point band, just because
the winnipeg jets have notreally given him much in the way
of of ice time.
His ice time has been low forsomeone who scores as

(25:25):
efficiently as he does.
And I know that the canes seehim as someone they want to
deploy on the top line.
You know just that's obviouslywhy they acquired him.
They want we need somebody thatcan score and score a lot.
So I'm kind of hopeful that hetakes this opportunity and
really runs with it and that hedoes kind of crack that 75 point
mark.
That would be a huge leap.

(25:46):
I'm not saying that's realistic, but it would be.
It would certainly be nice tosee him get close to it.
So, yeah, it's hard for me tosay, just put him in the 60 to
74, because that's the safe betand he'll probably end up there,
but I would love to have him upthere next to Jarvis myself.

Speaker 2 (26:06):
Yeah, I agree, top power play more minutes next to
the skill guys that the thecanes have.
That should provide a boost forhim and get him up into that
range, and I think it's going tobe key for him to be up there,
provided he stays healthy forthe season.
That's been one of his issuesas well.
Um, but assuming a completeseason of play, I think for the

(26:30):
Canes to be the contenders inthe postseason they want to be,
they need to have him producingat a higher level than what he
has historically produced withthe Jets.

Speaker 1 (26:42):
Yeah for sure.
And you know the Canes arepaying him, you know, eight plus
million dollars a year.
He's going to be a guy they'recounting on for offense.
A lot of it's going to be thechemistry that Ehlers can craft
with Sebastian Aho.
Those guys can find some magic.
I think 75 to 89 points forEhlers is very doable.

(27:04):
So again, the Canes need toimprove their offense somehow.
They've got to get some peopledriving more offense and he's a
guy that I think can be a partof that.
So, healers, 75 to 89 looksabout right.
So we'll see how it goes.
Jordan Martinuk another easyone with the dads.
He's had 34, 32, and 36 points.

(27:27):
His last three years Now lastyear was a better year for him.
I just don't see any situationwhere he gets above 44 points.

Speaker 3 (27:37):
Agreed and that actually put just a tiny little
asterisk with Martin Nook,because we are it's early stages
and you know I don't want to go, you know, jumping way ahead of
it.
But there's some indications ofsome regression starting to
creep into his game in theunderlying metrics.
So he may be fighting to get tothat 30 point mark, depending

(27:59):
on what happens with that.
You know, it's not that he'stoo.
Certainly with playing withStahl and Stankoven will help a
lot, you know.
But we may see him closer backto his 32 range than the 36 he
had last year.
I think that's realistic forhim, yep.

Speaker 1 (28:16):
I'd agree.
Yeah, you know, an interestingthought I'm just having as we
talk about this is that one ofthe interesting chemistry kind
of developments that we saw wasTaylor Hall with Logan Stanko.
I wonder if there would ever bea situation where those two
guys could team up with JordanStahl, and Jordan Martinuk would

(28:39):
be the fellow that comes backto that fourth line.
You know, we think for surethat the dads will be together,
because of course they've beeninseparable for a period of time
.
But what if Rod decided tochange things up and said, hey,
let's try Taylor Hall on thatline with Jordan Stahl and Logan

(29:01):
Stankhoven and create a littlebit of an interesting
opportunity there as well?

Speaker 3 (29:05):
So yeah, so yeah again, really be.
You might really be ontosomething there, because, if we
remember, before we had Martinukand Stahl, it was always Nino
Niederreiter with Stahl and Fast, and so you could get that
scoring punch from Taylor Hallthere as well with Logan
Stankoven.
So why not?

Speaker 2 (29:28):
You know that that could be an interesting thing
for them to try.
In which case, if you havemartin nook at a fourth line
role, yeah yeah, probablythinking about putting him at
the tier below oh yeah for now,I think that 30 to 44 is the
correct place, because as goesright.
So there's martin nook as ofright now.
Right, right yeah.

Speaker 1 (29:49):
No, I agree, and I just think it would be kind of
fun to see if we could get alittle bit more offense from
some of these guys and put themin different positions.
We know that the ceiling forMartinuk is not that high.
Is there a higher ceiling for aguy like Taylor Hall if he's
moved up in the lineup andgetting more minutes?
That's the question.

(30:11):
He's not going to hurt youdefensively and of course he's,
in the past, had some bignumbers.
Okay, here's an interesting one.
Shane Goss is fair Now.
Goss has been an enigma sincehe came over.
He's had some big seasons,right.
The last two years he's been 56and 45, but he had 65 points
one year with the Flyers in17-18.

(30:32):
So he knows how to put thenumbers up.
He's had five seasons over 45.
And I mean it's the whole powerplay discussion, right.
And I know, aaron, you lookedat the numbers and they're
paltry.
He's the quarterback right nowof record for you.

(30:54):
Um, he's the quarterback rightnow of record.
Uh, let's assume that's what hedoes.
Adding ehlers, a little bitmore offense to the to the mix.
What do we think we can getfrom a guy like shane goss to
spare?

Speaker 3 (31:03):
well, I think he belongs in that um 45 to 59 um
band because that's where he'sbeen so consistently right.
And I I do think even if he wasto um trade off, if there was a
point where they wanted to see,say, nikishin um quarterbacking
the top power play for a littlewhile just to see what that was
like, I still think gus isgoing to be the go-to guy um and

(31:27):
and if he stays healthy, Idon't see any reason why he
wouldn't put up it somewhere inthat range again.
So he's been Point productionhas not been an issue for Ghost,
it's been other things in hisgame.
So as long as he's doing it onthe power play, I don't see any
reason why he would be takingoff that.

Speaker 2 (31:46):
I agree.
I think that's very fair there.
It would be asking a lot forhim to break the 60-point
barrier, even being on the toppower play, just because that's
a lot of points for a defensemanto get.

Speaker 1 (32:10):
That is a lot of points for a defenseman for sure
.
And again, all of what we'retalking about assumes that the
cast that is with the Canesright now remains as the cast as
we go into the season.
So we can't really contemplateif there are other players that
might change this.
I'm kind of with you.
You know, ghost had a greatyear a couple of years ago with
Detroit, a much better season, Ithink, than he did with the

(32:30):
Canes last year, point-wise forsure.
So I'm hoping he's closer tothat 50-plus number and I think
that would be key for the Canes.
So again, he's a guy that hassome upside for sure with the
Hurricanes.
Mark Jankowski, this is an easyone.
His best season was 32 points,but that's years ago.

(32:53):
I don't think there's anyquestion.
He's a below 30-point guy.

Speaker 3 (32:58):
Agreed Yep.

Speaker 2 (33:02):
We love all his goal scoring that he did with the
Canes after they got him.
But he will be down theregrinding away and just making
sure the other team doesn'tscore, and that's what we need.
Got him, but he will be downthere grinding away and just
making sure the other teamdoesn't score, and that's what
we need from him Absolutely.

Speaker 1 (33:16):
Well, eight goals in 19 games.
If we extrapolate that over theseason, Noah says he would have
32 goals.

Speaker 3 (33:24):
He's over that 30 number.
He was also shooting at someridiculously high percentage, so
that's not gonna happen againas you like to say, erin, it's
not sustainable, not sustainable, nope, okay, um, okay.

Speaker 1 (33:41):
Next up, uh is a gentleman that got a four-year
extension with the hurricanes,eric robinson.
We like him a lot.
Eric had his best season lastyear with the Canes 32 points.
Other seasons in the 20s.
Where do we see Eric Robinson?

Speaker 2 (33:58):
Unfortunately, I don't think that Robinson is
going to get the boost that hegot last season from playing
alongside Natchez when Natchezwas hitting his hot streak
Natchez when Natchez was hittinghis hot streak.
So as much as I'd like to thinkthat he can replicate those
numbers again next, season.

Speaker 3 (34:16):
It's much more realistic that he would be below
30.
Yeah, yeah, agreed, agreed.
Yeah, he's going to have fourtime minutes.

Speaker 1 (34:22):
Sorry yeah.

Speaker 3 (34:24):
I was just going to say, like Katie said a minute
ago, they're all going to becompeting for that ice time on
that fourth line.

Speaker 1 (34:36):
So yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, okay, and that's great,
and you know he does so manywonderful things out there.
He's a hard worker, of course,he plays with size and he's
great on the forecheck, so we'llhope that he sees a lot of ice
on that fourth line.
At least I do.
I think he's a great guy.
The next one, another trickyone, Okay, andrei Svetlakov.
His best season was 69 pointsin 21-22.

(34:58):
But get a load of this His lastfour years 69, 55, 52, and 48.
And I know there's game numbersdifferences and so on, but his
numbers are tracking down.
He hasn't scored over 30 goalssince 21-22.
So what are we thinking withAndres Vesnikoff?

Speaker 3 (35:20):
I think a lot is going to depend on how he's
deployed and how much patiencethere is with that.
There's been a tendency in thepast to throw him down next to
the dads any time he had anissue and that's not always
worked for his benefit.
In terms of points it certainlyhelped.
I think that I'd like to puthim back in that 60 to 74 point

(35:42):
band because, as much as I'dlove to see him have an
offensive explosion, I don'tthink he's the likeliest
candidate to be on the top line.
I think it's going to be Blakeor Jarvis.
I don't think it's going to beSvechnikov, at least not to
start.
So if he's on the second line,I think he could get that 60 to

(36:02):
74 if he's healthy.
I think most of us you know, Iknow we all want to see
Svechnikov score more and I knowthat he has, you know, know,
just a tremendous shot when heuses it properly and there's no
reason we can't see more of thatfrom him.
But I think that the thedownward trend in points over
the last few seasons has partlybeen due to the injury, the um,
the torn ACL and the recoverytime from that, but it's also

(36:24):
partly been, I think the focuson making him a more complete
player, um, getting those uhpenalties out of his game, some
of the more unfortunate ones andjust the discipline and
everything else.
I would rather have Sveshnikovbe an effective power forward
with 65 points than a loosecannon goal scorer with 75 who

(36:47):
hurts the team defensively, andI think that that's pretty much
what we all hope for at thispoint.

Speaker 2 (36:53):
I would agree.
I would also say that I think,if, if it is a line with KK and
Jarvis, or even KK and Blake,because Blake has a really fun
personality.
I think might just help Svetchloosen up a bit.
There's not going to be thepressure of that top line.
He can really play into thestrengths of his game.

(37:14):
And then another reason to beoptimistic about him reaching
that is that you know he isgoing to most likely be on the
top power play as well, oh yes.
And if that's the case, thenthat would help increase his
points, in addition to whateverhe's able to get with the second

(37:36):
line.

Speaker 1 (37:38):
Well, I think there's one other element here.
Of course, he played extremelywell in the playoffs.
In fact, it was one of hisbetter performances in a while,
and I wonder if he can build onthat.
And that's going to be the keyquestion as he comes into
training camp Is he ready tokind of go to the next step,
because he was dominant for anumber?

Speaker 2 (37:59):
of games.

Speaker 1 (38:00):
And folks really started to say this is the power
forward and the guy that weexpected to see with Svejcian.
So we did see a little bitabout what he can do and again,
sure, he's definitely able to do60 to 74.
Um, if he gets hot he can domore than that.
So we'll see.
But uh, I agree, 60 to 74 is agood range for uh for svetch

(38:22):
this year.
Um, next one is easy seanwalker.
Um, we love sean, but he's athird pairing guy.
He doesn't get much action onthe power play.
His best year is 24 points.
I don't think there's any wayhe tops 30.

Speaker 3 (38:38):
no, I would agree with you.
I think that he belongs on thatbelow 30 level, and that's.
You know what he does.
What he is is valuable in itsown right.
He doesn't need to be a pointscorer, so absolutely.

Speaker 2 (38:52):
I would agree, although the one thing I'm going
to say that could possibly puthim into that upper tier is the
fact that, after Burns, Ibelieve he was the defenseman
that took the most shotsattempts of the canes.
He just like Burns, for somereason was snake bit when it
came to getting those shots,either getting them through or

(39:15):
having them turn into something.
So if those numbers improve forhim a little bit, he could be
flirting with that 30 pointrange, which I, of course, would
love to see because I'm a bigWalker fan of course would love
to see, because I'm a big Walkerfan.

Speaker 1 (39:30):
Yeah, you love Sean Walker, for sure I do.
Yeah, great guy.
We'd love to see him get morepoints.
But again, he's teaming withGoss' pair and he's the point
engine on that third pairing.
So yeah, it's going to be toughfor Sean to get that number
Next up.
Somebody we've talked a lotabout, and of course usually in
your bailiwick, and that'sYusperi Kokuniemi.

(39:52):
Kokuniemi's best year was 43points, 22-23.
He's had a couple of other 30point seasons, you know.
Again, we really don't knowwhat to expect with this guy,
like with the real.
You know, yusperi Kok and emmy,please show up.
Um, why don't you kick it off,erin?

Speaker 3 (40:15):
um, okay, um, I will, and I'm gonna, I'm gonna put um
kk in the 45 to 59 pointbracket this year.
Okay, and the reason I'm doingthat is because he's going to
hit that level, um, maybe even alittle bit closer to 50.
It's going to be either on thecanes or to whatever team he

(40:36):
gets traded to.
Right, because at this point ifthey're going to do another
year of yo-yo deployment reducedminutes, low ice time I think
that that's when Eric Tolskysays OK, just like with nature's
, you know, this is not workingand we need someone that Rod
will actually play in thatposition.

(40:56):
So it's going to come down to.
I mean, I think in a lot ofways that decision is probably
already been made, even if we'renot privy to it.
You know, one way or the other,they've either decided that
they're going to continue towork with this situation or that
they're going to move on fromit.
But Kokuniemi was where we weretalking a minute ago about Eric
Robinson and his effects playingwith Natchez.

(41:19):
At the beginning of the year,both Natchez I mean sorry, both
Kokuniemi and Robinson were ator above a 54 point pace in
those games that they play withNatchez.
Now Natchez was on a ridiculous135 point pace for those 20
games.
A short sample.
The dangers of short samplesizes should be noted, but it
has happened um pretty muchevery season that uh kokanemi

(41:43):
will start out and you know 20,30 even games and be at or above
a 50 point pace and then hewill end up banished to the
fourth line for an interminablenumber of games and he does not
regain that offensive confidence.
So you know, if you're usingthat same, that's your tool to
try to correct defensive issues,and it keeps having this effect

(42:03):
on the player, it's never goingto change, you know, um.
So they have to either ridewith him in that position or
make a move early to move himoff the team and either way,
this is going to be a 50 pointseason for him.
So that's how I'm seeing it.
It's going to be, whether it'shere in Raleigh or whether it is
somewhere else Vancouver,boston, san Jose he will have 50

(42:25):
points this year.

Speaker 2 (42:27):
I agree.
I think another thing to keepin mind is, even with Natchez
moving on, I think the wingerpool for the Canes this year is
much more talented and deeperthan it was at the start of last
season.
So even if Rod moves thewingers around a little bit,
maybe moves Jarvis or Blake,swaps the two of them out or

(42:50):
moves Hall up to that line, orsomething like that, I think
that the fact that there's stillgoing to be a lot of strong
offensive talent to work withfor KK will help get him into
that yellow tier there with 45or more points, because he's not
going to be the main impetusfor offense, but he is going to

(43:12):
help allow it to happen and thepoints will come here and there
enough to get to over that hump.

Speaker 1 (43:20):
Yeah, I mean two years ago, when he did get 43
points, he was solid in thesecond half.
He had a great second half andhe proved that he could be that
centerman to help that secondoffensive line, if you want to
call it that.
Um, you know, it's funnybecause I mean part of.
I just mentioned hall and anduh, stanko and you know having

(43:40):
some chemistry and of coursethey were teaming with his very
kokanemi.
So I mean there's there's somany different options that
brendan moore is going to have,uh, to get chemistry with these
guys.
And, as you say rightfully toKatie, it doesn't matter who you
know Kokuniemi is going to bewith.
I mean, even if it's Dankovinthat moves up, he's a guy that
brings offensive acumen.

(44:01):
So you've got, you know, you'vegot the options to put him with
a couple of players that canactually bring offense.
Put him with a couple ofplayers that can actually bring
offense and so his job is getthe puck and do what he does
well and get in on the forecheckand so on.
So I'm with you on that.
I think he's got a chance tohave a better season.

(44:22):
Some of the discussion in thesummer seemed to indicate that
they're going to be with him forthe long haul.
I hope that's what we're seeingand if that's the case, that
should be a confidence builder,and everything with KK is about
confidence.
When he's got confidence, he'sa great player.

Speaker 3 (44:40):
And then there's two more things that can really
impact that as far as justconfidence and getting the
offense going.
One is, of course, as we know,this is an Olympics year and
I've been enjoying some of thecontent on X, of the pictures
and things people are sharingfrom the Finnish Olympic
Committee meeting.
Pretty much every Finnish NHLplayer was invited, so it's nice

(45:01):
to see all of them there.
I know he's going to probablywant to be focused on earning a
slot, you know, at least in theintroductory group, so that's
going to be a big motivator.
And then the other thing too iswe've talked about it again here
we go back to my typicalconversations, but the power
play, the second unit, washistorically bad last year.
Yes, yes, the power play as awhole was bad, but the second

(45:22):
unit was historically bad, andyou know we've discussed why and
we've gone into the detailsabout that.
But if this year's second unitplayers can average five or six
points each, which is what asecond unit typically does, that
creates another little boostthat bumps you up from the mid
to high 30 point range into the40 to 50 point range.
So, again, not at all somethingthat should be impossible.

Speaker 1 (45:46):
Yeah, agreed, okay.
Next up is a gentleman wetalked about before who's got
nine years left with theHurricanes Jackson Blake.
He had 34 points his first year.
His best season in college washis last year.
He had 60 points and he had a77-point season in 61 games in

(46:09):
the USHL.
He's had some good offensivesuccess in everywhere he's gone.
What do we think he can do thisyear if he moves to that top
line?
It becomes interesting, katie.

Speaker 2 (46:20):
That is the key right there, isn't it?
What line is he deployed on?
Because if he is deployed onthat top line, I could see him
exceeding 60 points.
Because you obviously have highexpectations for eelers.
You know we're not going to beranking aho very low.
So if he's on that line withthem, he is going to be helping

(46:41):
with that production, he isgoing to be cashing in on the
opportunities they create orhe's going to be setting them up
for for their goals.
And I would imagine he will beon the power play.
Whether it's power play one orpower play two, he will be there
as well.
The safe bet is the 45 to 59,but oh, I would love to see him

(47:03):
hit that 60.
So I'll let you guys kind ofthrow in your two cents before
we decide where he settles.

Speaker 3 (47:10):
I'm going to vote for the 45 to 59, just for the,
because I don't know that thatdeployment would last an entire
season, just knowing Rod.
You know this is knowing RodRindemore, that he never tends
to set a line and just forget it, unless it's Jordan Stahl's
line.
So I think there could be somemovement.
There's going to be some up anddown, there could be some other

(47:30):
things like that, and the otherfactor that could impact how
much time Jackson Blake gets tospend on that top line is, just
like Logan Stankoven, this isgoing to be his sophomore season
, and the sophomore slump is,you know, something that people
talk about as as kind of oh,it's a joke or something, but it
really isn't.
There's, there's so many playersthat have experienced it, and

(47:53):
sometimes it's the second year,sometimes it's the second half
of the second year, thebeginning of the third year,
whatever it might be.
But there comes a point wherethe grind kind of sets in.
This is the NHL, this is whatwe have to do every day, and on
top of that, all of the goaliesin the league now know you, so
they know very well what you'regoing to do when you approach
them and you know it starts tokind of shut down some of those
chances and some of thatfinishing.

(48:13):
So I think I would vote forputting him in the safe bet,
just to not raise expectationstoo much.
But I could see a scenariowhere he does, you know, crack
that 60 point mark too.
So it just I just think thatit's best to put him in the 45
to 59 to kind of have theexpectations kept realistic and
not putting him in a positionwhere people are going to be
expecting so much in his secondyear.

Speaker 1 (48:36):
Agree, thanks for that.
I was going to talk about thesophomore jinx.

Speaker 3 (48:41):
I'm sorry about that.
I didn't mean to jump in, no,no no, I think it's great.

Speaker 1 (48:44):
I'm glad you did, because it's very, very much a
reality.
We see it regularly and I thinkcoming off the blocks part of
the reason you suggested teamsknow him a lot better now.
He's not going to surprise them.
They know who he is, they knowwhat he can do, and so I think
you're right on with that number.
I think 45 to 59 is probably agood number for him.

(49:06):
Taylor Hall We've talked a lotabout Taylor Hall in different
ways.
His numbers are all over theplace.
Of course, he had a big year,uh, one season with the Devils
when he was MVP at 93 points,but that's a long time ago.
Last season he had 42.
He had 18 points in 31 gameswith the Kings.
Not bad, not bad.
So he was over.
You know, a point every twogames, um.

Speaker 3 (49:28):
So again, depending on where he plays and what he
well, I personally would put himin the 30 to 44 bracket because
I do think that the abundanceof wingers on the canes this
season means that he is going toprobably be spending at least
some time in the bottom six,probably on that fourth line.

(49:49):
So, but at the same time Iwouldn't put him below 30
because I think that he's goingto get at least second unit
power play time, if not more.
So, um, you know, the powerplay should boost his point
totals to a, you know, good,respectable level, regardless of
what lines he ends up playingon, and I think we're going to
see him move around during theseason.
So I wouldn't want to put himabove that without knowing for

(50:11):
sure that he was getting top sixdeployment.
But I think 30 to 44 isrealistic.

Speaker 1 (50:17):
I agree Absolutely to 44 is realistic.
I agree Absolutely.
You know it's interesting.
Hall is a bit of an enigma.
He's a guy that has the abilityto play a lot better than he's
been showing, I think.
Obviously he's been an MVP andhe was the first overall draft
pick at one point.
He's gone through a ton ofinjuries, but a couple of things

(50:45):
that are interesting now.
One of them is he's veryhealthy.
And number two is he loves toplay for the Hurricanes, like he
really wanted to come backdesperately and get that
three-year deal and ateam-friendly deal it was.
If he performs anywhere close towhat he might be able to do and
I'm with you on this too, aaronit's all a question of where is
he deployed.
You know it's going to be howmuch ice time he gets.
Does he get any time in the topsix?

(51:07):
What about the number two powerplay unit?
He's definitely got offensiveskill, there's no doubt, and if
he comes in ready to go in camp,a fresh start with the Canes.
You know, healthy, everythinggoing.
He's a guy that could put upsome numbers.
So I think we have a good placefor him right now.
I think 30 to 44 is probablyright, but if he gets any kind

(51:30):
of ice time and moves up in thetop six, he's going to beat that
number.
Yep, absolutely Okay.

Speaker 3 (51:51):
Next one is easy.
Another easy one for us, jalenChatfield, chatty ice is much
more important than mirror pointproduction and he's, you know,
one of those guys that's justhard to play against and that's
something that you don't want tosacrifice that for some point
production.
So I agree.

Speaker 1 (52:11):
Well, occasionally he'll go to Chatmandu, as Trip
Tracy would say the odd goal forthe Hurricanes, so that's
always good fun.
The Canes missed himdesperately in the playoffs.

Speaker 3 (52:21):
There's no question.

Speaker 1 (52:22):
He's a key part of that roster and, yeah, we don't
really get concerned ifChatfield brings in 15 or 20
points or whatever.
That's fine.
Okay, the last one might be thebiggest one and a guy that
we've talked so much about,sebastian Ajo.
His best year was 89 points in23-24.

(52:44):
He's had, you know, 81, 89, 74.
You know, he's all over theplace, and the one thing we I
think we've said a lot aboutwith Ajo is he goes through
these stretches where he isn'tthe Ajo that we would like him
to be.
Is this going to be a yearwhere he can turn around?

(53:04):
Of course he's going to begetting ready for the Olympics.
We know he's definitely playingfor Finland, so what are we
expecting?

Speaker 2 (53:16):
with Sebastian Aho.
If there's a season that he canhit 90 plus points, this is it.
And I think part of that isbecause with the signing of
ehlers, the front office issending a signal of we need a
top scoring line and ajo is notgoing to be your jordanahl part
two.
He is going to be Ajo numberone, center on a scoring line

(53:43):
where the purpose of the linefirst and foremost is offense
and then defense second,regardless of Jarvis or Blake,
is on the other wing.
I think having Ehlers therewill help Ajo break his own
scoring record.

Speaker 3 (54:02):
Agree 100%.
I put him in the 90-pointbracket.
I found it interesting, Tom,that when you shared his points
from the last five seasons, wehave 57 and then 81 and then 67
and then 89.

Speaker 2 (54:20):
So looking at that math he had, a down year of 74.

Speaker 3 (54:24):
I think we could see him get very close to 100 points
this season and I wouldn't besurprised at all if that was the
case.
I think that he's been buildingtowards it for a long time and,
like Katie said, if the messagefrom the front office is go out
there and be that offensiveline, stop trying to be a
shutdown line primarily andstart being a line that scores,
because you can inhibit theother team's ability to score by

(54:48):
scoring yourself.
And that is something that youknow, katie.
You've been kind of teaching methat from the avalanche and how
they approach offense.
Mckinnon is not out theretrying to shut down McDavid.
Mckinnon is out there trying tooutscore McDavid, and he does
it pretty frequently.
So it's something that I thinkthat the Canes need to embrace

(55:10):
going forward, because hockeyhas changed from the days when
your top center was yourshutdown center.
So I'm excited.
I want to see it happen.

Speaker 1 (55:21):
He's got to lead by example and I think his past
season he did not do that asmuch as we would like.
He had periods where he wasalmost invisible and and so I
think if he can get back to hisself and you know he said a year
away from, you know, beingwithout Tebow Taravainen so he

(55:42):
can't really use that excuseanymore.
And again, I think the otherside of it which we've talked an
awful lot about is BrendanMoore has got to lead these
lines alone.
He's got to let them get sometime together, build some
chemistry, and I think thatwould help a guy like Sebastian
Ajo, because he'd know who hiswingers are.

(56:03):
They can work together, theycan get time together and get
their chemistry where it shouldbe.
So I'm with you.
I think if the Canes are goingto go, they need him to do this.
He's got to be a 90-plus pointguy.
So I'm with you 100% on that.
So, as we take a look at thechart, what do you think about

(56:26):
this team when you look at thechart and the number of players
down in the lower segments.

Speaker 3 (56:29):
What are we thinking, erin?
Well, I think a lot of peopledon't realize that this is
actually more typical of many ofthe teams in the NHL.
If you go to a website likeQuant Hockey or you look through
some of the things on HockeyReference, there aren't that
many teams that are top-heavywhen it comes to players that
score well above the 50 to60-point range, and even in the

(56:53):
NHL last year.
I think that this wouldsurprise some people, but there
were only 85 players in the NHLlast year who exceeded 60 points
, so that's an average of notquite even three per team.
So I think that we have thisinflated idea that every team
should have a lot of people thatscore all these points, and the

(57:14):
reality is that the teams havemore parity than that.
They're spread apart more thanthat.
What this to me, looking atKatie's chart here, says is that
the teams have more parity thanthat they're spread apart more
than that.
What this to me, looking atKatie's chart here, says is that
this is the identity of theCanes that they score by
committee and that they rely ontheir depth, and I think that
that was something last yearthat they struggled with a
little bit more, even thoughthey still exceeded, I think, a

(57:35):
lot of the initial projections.
There were people projectinglast year they wouldn't even
make the playoffs with theroster that they had, you know.
So they made it all the way tothe Eastern Conference final and
even won a game this time, andthey did it with a somewhat
depleted roster that did nothave this much oomph behind it
and that did not have the decorset the way that it is now.

(57:55):
So I think we're going to see alot more of you know the Canes
identity hockey that we've seenin previous seasons.
I think that this is going tobe a season where we see them
play and we say, oh yeah, that'show the Canes play, because
last year there was a lot of youknow differences here and there
.
I think, just in especiallygetting getting those points
from the blue line, that thatwas not happening Anything like

(58:16):
it usually does.
So to me, this is Kane Saki.
This is what we should see.
We should see a handful ofpeople at those really top you
know the green and above bars weshould see a good chunk of
people in the yellow and orangebands, and then you have your
depth players that are downthere in the red, and that's.

(58:42):
I think this team has everypotential of going very far
again this year, because this iswhat the Canes do, and more
teams in the league are likethis than we realize, if we
really look at them.

Speaker 1 (58:48):
Yeah and Katie, when you look at the roster, do you
think there's going to beplayers with over 30 goals this
year?
I mean, the only one we hadlast year was Seth Jarvis at 33.
What do you think aboutpotential 30-plus goal scores?

Speaker 2 (59:04):
Definitely Jarvis.
I would love to see Jarvis bepushing the 40 goal mark,
especially on the power play,because he's just got such a
great shot.
And then as far as 30, there'sno reason Ajo shouldn't have 30.
If he's in that 90 plus tier,it should be.
He should have 30 goals as partof that, because he needs to

(59:27):
trust his shot more, and that'sa message that I hope that the
coaching staff reallycommunicates to him, because he
has a shot that is fantastic.
Especially, there's somethingabout when he sets up in the
right face off circle, whetherit's during the power play or
when they're cycling the puck inthe zone it is just wicked hard

(59:48):
for the goalies to stop.
So I definitely look for him inthat.
There's one other person thatcould hit 30 between Ehlers and
Svetch up there, one otherperson that could hit 30 between
Ehlers and Svetch up there.
I would like to see it beSvetch, because Ehlers, by
reputation, is more of aplaymaker, and I think that

(01:00:09):
Svetch especially since he wouldbe trying to bounce back from
the past you need to see himshoot more, and if he shoots
more, he's going to gainconfidence.
Confidence and that's wherethose goals are going to come
from plus, he's going to be ableto pad his stats a little bit,
in the sense that he is thecanes best goal scorer when the
other team pulls its goalie.
And if the canes are generatinga lot of offense, there'll be a

(01:00:32):
lot of games in which in whichthey are ahead by one or two
goals late and the other teampulls its goalie.
So if Svec gets 30 goals, Iwould expect five to eight of
those goals will be empty netgoals, and it's easy to make a
joke of that sort of thing withjust an empty net goal.
But it's hard to score empty netgoals.

(01:00:53):
It's harder than you realizewith the pressure that you're
under.
It's the other team's bestplayers on the ice You're trying
to get it out.
If you don't, if you're on theother side of center ice and you
don't hit the net, then it'sicing and everybody's tired it's
.
It takes a a skill set to beable to be successful with that,
the way that Svetch has beenable to be successful.

(01:01:15):
So that could that could end upbeing a big contribution from
him as well.

Speaker 1 (01:01:21):
No, I agree, and I think somehow the Canes have got
to get some 30-plus goalscorers.
They've got to find a way toget some gunners.
And yeah, I think for sure Ajoand Jarvis should definitely do
that.
And it's a question can theyget one or two more guys to step
up and be some serious scorersfor them?

(01:01:41):
Katie, just to kind of wrap upnow, you have set this up in
such a way that folks canactually do this on their own
and have some fun with it.
Why don't you share that withus?

Speaker 2 (01:01:53):
So what I'm going to do at some point I don't know if
it'll be with the same post asthey got the podcast from on X
but I will send out a link whereyou can get the blank or the
original template of this chartand fill it in for yourself.

(01:02:15):
I will have instructions in thatpost exactly how to go about
doing that, and you'll do justlike I did You'll click on a
picture of a player and you'llslide him up into the tier that
you think that he belongs in,and then what we would really
love more than anything is, onceyou've created your tier,
please screenshot it and shareit with us, either in our

(01:02:36):
original ex post or on your ownpost, and then tag us, because
we would love to see what y'allare thinking as far as the canes
and their players this seasonand where they're going to be
and you know where, where weoverlap and where we differ a
little bit and continue thisconversation, because it is a
fun one to have and to look at,and hopefully we will be able to

(01:02:58):
revisit this at a coupledifferent points during the
season and see how ourpredictions are going so far,
where we've been on the moneyand where we might have missed
the boat a little bit one way orthe other.

Speaker 1 (01:03:13):
Yeah, for sure We'll have some fun and we'll move
some players around and theremight be some new players to
have it as we do this throughoutthe year and and, uh, try to uh
, try to get ourselves in theright place with the different
players, for sure, but it's agreat start.
It's been a great amount of fun.
Um, you know, I think, uh, youknow we're we're still early
days heading into the season, sothere could be some more tweaks

(01:03:35):
and tunes before, uh, this allgets done.
But clearly, you know, you cansee how the Canes are shaping up
and we can see that where thelineup is, it's pretty well
locked and loaded, which is kindof an interesting place to be
when you think of the past fewseasons.
Any final comments from you,erin, or from you, katie, as we

(01:03:57):
wrap up?

Speaker 3 (01:03:59):
I think I'm just, you know, looking forward to the
season.
I think you know these kinds ofthings are so much fun to do
and you know, katie, I think youput a lot of work into this.
So, you know, I want to makesure that you get the
appropriate shout out for that,because that's, you know, a lot
of work on your part to createall this and have it ready to go
for a podcast.
So I think that the main thingnow is just, it's hard to get

(01:04:24):
through these last weeks ofwaiting because we don't know
what they're going to do andwe're, all you know, so excited
to see how this is going toshape up in terms of the roster
and some of the other decisionsthat have to be made yet.
So that's just, you know,hanging on to till the season

(01:04:45):
starts, I think.

Speaker 2 (01:04:45):
Well, thank you for that, erin.
And yeah, I just you know a fewof these might be a little
rose-colored glasses, but it isfun to think about.
It kind of whets the appetite alittle bit.
And it definitely will be very,very interesting to see how

(01:05:05):
brindamore goes about puttinghis, his players together and
and mixing and matching,hopefully just in the pre-season
, so that once the season getsoff on the right foot that he
can leave them alone and letthem get their consistency, like
Aaron mentioned before.
But these guys are a lot of funand getting to see a full

(01:05:28):
season of Nikishan and seeinghow Miller integrates and seeing
how the chemistry plays outbetween Ehlers and Ajo they're
all such fun storylines andexciting storylines plays out
between Ehlers and Ajo they'reall such fun storylines and
exciting storylines and there'sjust a lot to like about this.

Speaker 1 (01:05:46):
Canes squad and a lot of high expectations that go
with that.
Yeah, and I mean, we look atlast summer and the many changes
that took place, some of theyou know, our favorite Canes
moving on and some new playerscoming in and again, several of
those players, of course, remainwith the Canes, and then
they've now had a year undertheir belt with the Hurricanes.
So I think that's going to help.
And the additions that you justmentioned, boy, adding Keishon

(01:06:08):
and adding K'Andre Miller andadding Nikolai Ehlers to that
cast without really losinganything of significance is, I
think it's quite a story.
So I hope we're close on someof these, some of these analysis
, and I hope, in fact, some ofthese players do better than
what we expect.
So that'd be great For those ofyou who've been watching or

(01:06:29):
listening.
As always, we really appreciatethat you've spent time with us.
If you liked this episode,please press the like button.
That'll give us someencouragement to continue doing
this and having fun together.
If you have comments or youjust want to say anything about
the Canes roster or how we putthis together today, by all
means do so in the commentssection down below.

(01:06:50):
And finally, if you want to bealerted of future episodes of
Storm Tractor.
Please press the subscribebutton and we'll make sure that
you're made aware just as soonas those are available.
As always, aaron Katie and Ithank you so much for spending
time with us and we look forwardto getting together with you
real soon right here on StarTrek.