Young Hurricanes Shine Bright in Preseason Action!

Erin, Katie & I are joined by Matt Somma as we break down a lively Hurricanes preseason: who popped at the prospect showcase, what the camp cuts mean, and how the top nine might actually score. Depth looks real, the blue line gets younger, and the door stays open for a deadline swing.

• Prospect Showcase takeaways and who advanced roles
• Nadeau’s NHL-ready shot vs development minutes in Chicago
• Lego, Badinka, Nystrom steadying the pipeline
• Kazheyev's calmer game and Primeau’s value as a third goalie
• Ehlers with Aho and Jarvis needing more first-touch shots
• Svechnikov on his off-wing and Stankoven down the middle
• Blake’s hockey IQ and finishing gap, usage to unlock the line
• Kotkaniemi’s two-way bump and the “third” fourth line with Hall
• Nikishin’s adjustment curve, partner fit, and power play timing
• Cap space as a lever for a true finisher later in the year

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_03 (00:33):
Well, the preseason is well underway for the
Carolina Hurricanes, and asexpected, the Canes are keeping
things interesting.
At the prospect showcase, we sawsome great hockey with stellar
performances from some Caneskids and work in progress with
some of the other younghurricanes.
Now we're well into trainingcamp, and returning NHL players,

(00:57):
as well as NHL regulars, youngprospects, and PTO signings have
been working hard.
What have the preseason gamesbeen like so far?
Have there been any majorsurprises, disappointments?
And what new storylines have weobserved as training camp has

(01:18):
progressed?
Joining Aaron, Katie, and I totalk about this some more, I'm
delighted to welcome inHurricanes podcaster and
blogger, Matt Soma.
Howdy, y'all.
Hi there.
Hello.

SPEAKER_02 (01:36):
Hey Tom, how's it going?

SPEAKER_03 (01:38):
Okay, so Prospect Showcase done.
Moving into the Canes camp, ofcourse.
A number of exhibition gamesunder their belt, and uh and
lots to talk about.
Let's start with the prospectshowcase.
Now, Matt, you were there.
You watched them up close andpersonal.
What were some of your thoughtsfrom the prospect showcase?

SPEAKER_02 (02:02):
It was frustrating, I think, for the team.
You know, they would have likedto have won all three games, and
at least even one, you know, Ithink towards the end.
But um the way these games areis it's a benchmark, right?
It's it's a chance for you tosee, okay, this is where they
were at Death Camp in July.

(02:25):
Here's where they are inSeptember after two months of
training with uh feedback fromthe NHL coaching staff, right?
So you know, who took theirlessons to heart, who needs a
little bit more to go, who youknow, we've seen players in the
past kind of take theperformances from this
tournament and run with it.

(02:47):
Like I remember four years ago,back when the tournament was at
Tampa, Seth Jarvis was unreal.
And that was before he wasguaranteed to make the roster.
So, you know, like obviouslythis year we didn't have a Seth
Jarvis, but you know a lot ofguys stood out.
I mean, I think I think we sawmostly just the AHL guys, the
guys that had had a season undertheir belt, kind of take the

(03:11):
reins there, and you know that'swhat you want.
You know, I'd be a littleconcerned, especially with the
Canes not drafting until I thinkit was what 42, where like if if
any of their picks kind ofoutperformed the AHL guys, I'd
be a little concerned, you know,just but like Charles Legal was

(03:32):
I think really good, and we'veseen that kind of carried into
camp.
And then same with BradleyNadeau, and then even Dominic
Bedenka, I think, had a reallyimpressive showing.
Just giving he wasn't, I mean,he he was good last year, I
think, in spurts, but I thinkconsistently we saw a lot more
from him.

unknown (03:51):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 (03:52):
Well, I mean, Nadeau, um, he scored in his
first two games, so we know whatBradley can do, and and uh, and
he was uh he was firing the puckand he had lots of room out
there because of course uh youknow players were lesser players
in some cases, so it gave himthe room to get and do what he
does.
Charles Alexis Lego, um, CamAbbott was so impressed with uh

(04:15):
with Charles Alexis Lego.
Um he said he's just socommitted to the process of
getting better.
Uh he's a great young man towork with.
He's just looking to doeverything he can to keep
getting better.
I think uh again, solid wordsfor Lego.
Uh obviously, Nadeau can score.
Ladies, thoughts?

(04:38):
Aaron?

SPEAKER_00 (04:40):
Sorry, I didn't know which one of us you wanted there
first.
I I think that the thing aboutNadeau that is so impressive to
me is just that release.
It's just incredible how quicklyhe can get that puck off his
stick and then, you know,towards the net, if not in the
net, you know.
And that's the kind of thingthat I feel like the Keynes
don't have an elite shooter onthe team.
They have some very goodshooters on the team, but they

(05:00):
don't have somebody, you know,um, being that I'm also a Habs
fan, I get to watch uh ColeCaulfield fairly frequently.
And there's just you you cantell when it's gonna happen, you
know.
It doesn't even, I mean, as he'sentering the zone, you know that
this one's gonna go, you know.
So it's it's having somebodylike that that is that kind of a
threat, I think, is critical forthe Keynes, not only um in you

(05:21):
know, by five-on-five play, butcertainly on the power play.
And that was really cool to seewhen he was playing in the
prospect, showcase how often hewould get those chances and get
those shots off.
And again, even if the goaliemade a good save, even if
somebody blocked it out frontbecause they knew it was coming,
it's just the fact that he cando that that I think is going to
be such a game changer for theKeynes going forward.

SPEAKER_03 (05:40):
Yeah, and with Nidou, as you mentioned
rightfully, they were settinghim up.
That was really the play.

SPEAKER_05 (05:47):
It was, it was the dough and let him run.

SPEAKER_03 (05:50):
Yeah, for sure.
Now, Katie, you like CharlesAlexis Lego.
What did you see with Charles?

SPEAKER_01 (05:56):
I just like as Matt said, I like to see that they
were take that he took that stepforward as far as his game and
his development was concerned,and that he's playing inside his
frame.
Um, in a lot of ways, becauseyou know, we we're very familiar
with Brent Burns.
You know, Brent Burns isn't asuper physical defenseman, but
he uses his size to take upspace, to be in passing lanes,

(06:19):
and that sort of thing.
And that's what I'm starting tosee in Charles Alexis Lego is
he's starting to figure out howto use his frame, not to be a
brute, but to take away time andspace from players.
Um, you know, there's still workto do, but he's getting better
at not giving other um playersas much opportunity to dangle or

(06:41):
do whatever they want.
He's making them having to thinkfast on their toes and
pressuring them into mistakes.
And he he still has has room togo, but I think there's um, you
know, with the dings and stuffthat are currently plaguing the
Av's defensemen or the Cain'sdefensemen.
Um sorry, I said Burns and I gota whole other train of thought.

(07:04):
Um but that but that is whatwhat Lego is showing.
And I think that with so manyother puck moving defensemen
that the team has, that theyreally can use somebody like
Lego, who is perhaps more whatwe would call a stay-at-home
defenseman, and be that supportsystem in order to free up the

(07:24):
other puck moving defenders,whether it be someone like a
Gosses Bear or whomever, to dotheir thing and be able to be
more aggressive on offense.
So we'll we'll see how it goes.
Um I I hope that the Keynes D ishealthy and ready to go for the
beginning of the season so thatLego can get another AHL season
under his belt and really um uhI guess grow into himself a

(07:49):
little bit more.
But it's encouraging that ifthey were to meet him the way
that they needed to rely onMorrow some last year, that I
think he could do a passable jobif needed uh in a pinch.

SPEAKER_03 (08:02):
Well, and the interesting thing about Lego, of
course, he was drafted welldown.
Uh and he was a player that wasuh kind of older in the draft,
he had passed through a draft,and and the canes uh you know
thought you know he had been aquneppiac, so of course they had
seen him with uh SkylarVendamore, but he's a guy that's
really seen his stock rise in ahurry.

(08:23):
There's no question.
Uh he's come in kind of out ofnowhere in the last couple of
seasons, and I know we all likeLagos, so he's a great one.
Now, two other guys I wanted totalk about, and I thought
certainly showed lots in the inthe prospect showcase, one of
them, Ruslan Kazev.
Now, this guy, I love this guy.
I thought he was fantastic uhcoming into Chicago last year.

(08:44):
He had certainly his challenges.
He played more than expected,but he's a six foot-six bull
tender, and this guy has greatlateral movement, he's quick,
and I thought he played well.
Matt, thoughts on Kazeev?

SPEAKER_02 (08:57):
Yeah, it's kind of funny when you look at him and
you're and you realize, youknow, he was six four last year,
and now he is all of six footsix.
And he's making Nikita Kwaff,who is six foot four, by the
way, what time like the six footsix might be misleading.
I I don't know.
But he he was last year, I thinkhe was very raw.

(09:20):
Like oh yeah, he made the jumpfrom the Russian U-20 league
right to the AHL.
He had to be a good one.

SPEAKER_03 (09:27):
The MHL came out of the NHL, I think, didn't he?

SPEAKER_02 (09:30):
Yeah, yeah.
So he had a lot of just kind ofjust young player tendencies,
right?
Like he's playing against youknow junior players, and now
he's playing against arguablysome of the best competition in
the world.
That's outside of the NHL.

(09:51):
And so, you know, he waserratic, rebound control was
bad, he wasn't tracking Puckswell, and now you take him to
this tournament, he still hasthat like Pyotr Kochakov
tendency of let's just see whathappens.
He was a lot more controlled.

(10:12):
He rebound control was, I think,passable.
I I would say even I wouldn'teven dare to say good.
Um I think that the best chanceI would have had him though was
his recovery between making thesave and getting set to the next
play.
Because so many times last yearI'd see him make the save and

(10:34):
then oh no, the puck's behindme.
And so this time he's making theplay, he's reacting, and then
moving and making the follow-upsave, which he wasn't doing
before.
So I think that's a really bigchange.

SPEAKER_03 (10:49):
Yeah, and you know, exactly what you're saying is
what uh Kane's goaltendingdevelopment coach Jason Mazzati
said.
Um he said last year he was justso raw, he was just a
19-year-old and needed time tolearn his big body.
It's gotten bigger.
So we spent a lot of time on hisbody control and having more
refined movements.
He still has that athleticability and he's definitely

(11:12):
playing more efficiently.
And we all, you know, we'll hearthem talk about playing quiet in
goal and calm in goal, and anduh, and I think as you say with
uh Piotr, he's sometimes theopposite of that.
And uh and I guess they've beenworking on the same thing with
uh with Kazim.
But I think he's a guy that hasa future with the Keynes, and
you're right.

(11:33):
He came over as a 19-year-oldgosh, he hadn't even played in
the KHL.
So this is a guy that uhrightfully said uh he moved up
from uh uh Chelyabinsk in theMHL, which is like junior hockey
year.
So good move for him.
I think he's uh I think he'sdefinitely poised to get lots of
action with the Wolves thisyear.
I certainly hope so, because Ilike him a lot.

(11:54):
Now, what did we think aboutRyabkin?
Boy, this guy he likes to laythe body on and uh he makes some
moves.

SPEAKER_01 (12:02):
Katie, what are your thoughts on Ryabkin?
I just loved his energy.
I think that was the mostimpressive thing.
I can't believe he's only 18.
Like there are certain thingsthat he does.
It's like, yeah, this is a youngkid, but um he's he's just very
strong.
Unlike a lot of the Keynesprospects, he already goes to
the center of the ice a lot.

(12:23):
He's not afraid to get in thereand and go to those tough areas.
And if that's not a RodBrindamore quality in a
prospect, I don't know what is.
Um so I I I'm just I'm excitedto see how he develops.
I'm glad it looks like they aresending him to Chicago and not
back to one of the otherleagues, that that'll hopefully

(12:44):
fast track him to being able tocontribute first, of course, to
the Wolves and then eventuallysomeday to the Canes.
So I just I I like I like hisedge, I like his his energy, as
long as they can keep itchanneled.
I know that's part of why hefell to where he did in the
draft, is because there weresome questions on his discipline
both on and off the ice.

(13:05):
But uh I think that the betweenthe wolves and the canes, they
have a good system in place thatI will help I think will help to
polish off uh some of thoseedges.
And I I was glad to see that hewas reassigned to Chicago also
because it means that he's nothurt after that hook quite a bit
the other night because sinceyou can't reassign our uh

(13:28):
players that are injured, thatmeans that he's okay.
Because I think we were we wereall kind of holding our
collections for for a while,hoping that you know there
wasn't some sort of major injurybecause he looked so good.
You just hate you'd hate forsomeone like that to be sideline
for a significant amount of timedue to injury.
So I'm I'm excited to see whathe's able to do in the um in the

(13:49):
AHL because you kind of alreadyknow what a lot of the other
guys in a Suzuki and company aregoing to be there, but he's
gonna be one of the funstorylines to follow this
season.

SPEAKER_03 (14:00):
Well, you know, the the one thing about uh they do
have Nadoa now, but if you lookup and down the lineup in
Chicago, scoring is a bit of a achallenge for them still.
Um now Justin Robodaugh, who Ithink is again continues to look
interesting when he uh when wesee him uh is going to be a
contributor.
But you know, you wonder aboutguys like Noel Gundler, and we

(14:21):
talked a little bit about GlebTrikazov.
Uh we wanted to see more fromGleb.
Uh last year, of course, he toreit up.
He had a hat trick in one game,he had four goals in the
prospect showcase after justcoming over from Russia.
So it looked like, wow, this guycould be the real deal.
Uh second round pick.
Cains love him.
He's a big player.

(14:42):
Um he's got elite offensivetalent, but he just hasn't been
able to put it together.
What did you see with him, Matt,when you were watching uh the
prospect showcase with Gleb?

SPEAKER_02 (14:54):
Gleb.

SPEAKER_01 (14:56):
Uh that's okay.

SPEAKER_02 (14:57):
People think I hate him, and I don't.
I don't.
I truly don't hate any of ourprospects, and I want to say
that on record.
I don't hate any of them.
Gleb frustrates me because I cantell that it's there.
The talent's there.
It's a lot like a Dominic Bachtype, where like, you've got all
this talent, but I don't thinkyou know how to use it.

(15:21):
You know?
And with Gleb, I I wanted togive him the benefit of the
doubt because he missed most oflast year.
Um I believe he was coming backfrom a really bad leg injury.
And that's that's hard to comeback from, especially, you know,
living overseas in general,whether it's Russia or whether

(15:43):
it's, you know, another Europeancountry, like you have less
access to the canes, probably,than some of the North American
guys do.
And so, you know, training-wise,he did look a little slow at the
start.
I felt like gradually he gotback to his game, he was
forechecking better.
Um Riyadh can set him up with agreat scoring chance that uh

(16:05):
unfortunately I think he eithergot blocked or saved.
Um it was a little while ago, soI don't remember now.
But he also started getting tothe middle a little bit.
You know, he's a winger, so hewon't have to, but I think
Carolina really wants him tokind of use the big frame that
he has.
I mean, you know, he'sdefinitely over six feet tall,

(16:26):
and I think that, you know, ifhe can kind of get back to being
the skill, slightly powerfulwinger that he is, you know, I
think he'll have a good year.

SPEAKER_03 (16:34):
Yeah, I think so.
Um Aaron, thoughts on some ofthese players at the uh prospect
showcase.
Any other folks jump out at you?

SPEAKER_00 (16:45):
Is it uh Nystrom or Nystrom?
Oh, Noel Nestrom, yes.
But I was interested because youhad piloted him beforehand, so
you know I thought he had apretty solid uh group of games
there too, you know.
Not flashy, not he's he doesn'tstrike me as a flashy player,
but of course I haven't watcheda lot of the prospects, so I
don't know that that's accurateor not.
But uh but I liked his game.
I thought he was his quietlygood.

SPEAKER_03 (17:07):
Yeah, and I I think that's true.
I mean, that's exactly the theway that I looked at Nistrom.
Not a big player, but verysmart, sees the ice well,
doesn't make a lot of mistakes.
You almost don't notice him attimes.
Um but it's in a good way.
Yeah, and and he's he's a littleolder too, kind of like
Nikishan.
He's 23 years old, he's aright-hand defenseman, that's

(17:28):
great.
Uh, he's played lots in with FarJestav in the SHL in in Sweden.
So he's he's had lots of protime.
And uh, and I think he's gonnabe a solid player for uh for the
uh for the Wolves.
And you know, we saw a littlebit of what he could do in in
training camp as well.
And and I think that was, youknow, again, the the team being

(17:49):
very comfortable with him, uh,giving him lots of ice time.
Gosh, he played, I think, 22minutes one game.
So he was he was among the topice guys for them.
And I think again, just a solidplayer, quietly goes about his
business and gets it done.
So I like I like Nistrom a lot.
The other guy, and you mentionedhim too, I think, uh, a lot as
well.
Uh, Matt, was uh, and we'llfinish up with Dominic Badinka.

(18:12):
What can we say about Badinka?

SPEAKER_02 (18:16):
Other than the fact that he looks like he's from
Stranger Things.

unknown (18:19):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 (18:22):
Um so Badinka had a tough year last year.
Um, you know, he was playing inhis draft year, he was playing a
little bit in the Swedishleague, and he didn't really see
much of an increased role umlast year with his team.
So he's getting kind of lowpairing or low minutes, you
know, and that's hard to developin, right?

(18:44):
You know, you're not gettingfavorable matchups, you're
really not getting any powerplay or penalty kill time,
you're just kind of there.
And so, you know, heunderstandably didn't have that
great of a year.
And so looking at him, theskating stood out immediately.
Like he's one of the smoothestskating defensemen that the

(19:07):
Kanes have right now.
Um offensively, I thought therewas a lot more uh that he
showed.
Um he crashed the net, shouldhave scored in the first game.
I maintain that.
That was a very bad call uh tonot uh allow that goal, and then
um did score on the exact sameplay the next game, so he he

(19:29):
redeemed himself there.
Um and then defensively, I thinkyou know he's he's fairly
physical, I would say likepretty like but you know,
compete and physicality aredifferent.
So he can have averagephysicality and still above
average compete.
He'll always go win a boardbattle, you know, his
positioning's really solid.

(19:49):
Like he's going to need to learnhow to, you know, gap up a
little better.
I thought that sometimes, youknow, he was a little hesitant.
Do I go for the hit or do I, youknow, um try and make a play
with my stick and you know getsome separation between myself

(20:10):
and the puck because there'sanother guy crashing down,
right?
Yeah, and I think that sort ofdefensive IQ is is there.
He just needs to continue.
And the way he's gonna do thatis getting grabs.
So really encouraging stuff,though.

SPEAKER_03 (20:25):
And again, he's in Chicago.
So I think with these youngerguys, and they're bringing them
over young, like uh they didlast year with Gleb and with uh
Kaziv, and and they're doing thesame thing again, bringing a guy
like Badink over uh as he's veryyoung as well.
Um Katie, what was your thoughtson uh Felix Ungersorm?
We talked a lot about himgetting ready for this and

(20:46):
saying, is he is he for real oris he where is he gonna go?

SPEAKER_01 (20:51):
Well, I definitely think he he needs to be back in
the AHO.
He's not ready for the NHO, butit's good to see him on wing.
I think that the the centerexperiment is over.
It's obvious that that's notgonna be his cup of tea, and he
needs to go back to focusing onbeing the best winger that he

(21:11):
can.
Uh, you know, he's just he'sblocked in so many different
ways to getting to the canesthis year for sure, and we'll
have to see from here on out.
But I do hope that I think thathe looked better because of
being on the wing.
He made some nice passes andsome good reads and that sort of
thing, but he he's still he'sjust he's not quite there yet.

(21:33):
But I think it could be adifferent story after another
season with the Wolves wherehe's able to just breathe and be
able to be a winger and focus onbeing the best version of
himself that he possibly can.
And I think that's all we canask of him at this point.
Aaron?

SPEAKER_00 (21:51):
I would agree with that.
Yeah.
Um, I I think uh I think that tome he's just he's one of those
players that people forget justhow young he still is for his
draft year.
You know, he was the youngestplayer in his draft year, and he
almost was too young to bedrafted in that year.
So by one day or something, youknow.

(22:12):
So people people people get thissense of, well, he's been around
for a while.
How come he hasn't steppedforward?
How come, you know, and it'sreally more a case of just, I
mean, in literally needing togrow, literally needing to add
weight and muscle.
You can't do that, you know,until you reach a certain point
in terms of you know how old youare and everything else.
So, I mean, people were talkingabout some of our regular roster

(22:33):
guys, like uh Jackson Blake,needing to add some muscle.
They were kind of exaggerating alittle bit.
I mean, think how much they'vehe could reasonably add in a
summer, you know.
But um, for these guys, youknow, they need to go through
the whole year bulking up andand getting bigger and just
getting stronger.
And and you know, you it's hardto do that while you're also
playing, but you know, they willput that effort in.
And especially in Chicago,there's a little bit more time

(22:55):
between games to work on some ofthat training.
So I'm sure that that's gonna bea huge focus for guys like uh
Felix this year.

SPEAKER_02 (23:02):
With Felix, it's gonna look weird until it
doesn't.
Like the way he plays.
I mean, I think Keynes fans willremember Tavo Terravin, right?
You know, he's that type ofplayer where you know he's not
the best skater.
I wouldn't say he's got eliteoffensive traits, but he's super

(23:25):
smart and he's a really goodpasser.
And so I think those traits,once he figures out how to do
all of that at a consistent paceand level, then it'll start to
click and he'll be like, oh,whoa, like this kid's all of a
sudden phenomenal.

SPEAKER_03 (23:43):
Well, I mean, he's he's one of those classics with
a very high hockey IQ, and hesees the ice extremely well.
And that's back to what you'resaying, too, Matt, on his
passing and and making playshappen.
You know, he's a guy that canmake some really interesting
plays happen out of nothing, andthat's uh skilled.
So I think he's definitelysomeone we're still rooting for.

(24:05):
Um, you know, it's been a bit ofan up and down go for him.
And I I agree with you, Katie,that I think I think when they
were testing with center, theidea was a good one.
It didn't do anything to helphim develop last year.
I think it slowed him down,actually.
And I I'm glad he's back on thewing where he can uh he can do
what he he kind of does best.

(24:26):
Okay, so that's a wrap for theprospect showcase.
Um, certainly some players thatdistinguish themselves, some
others that uh we didn't seemuch from.
But uh it's always fun to watchthese young players and see how
they're developing, and we'llwe'll continue to do so,
particularly with the ones thatare in Chicago this year.
This is going to be a great uhfun year with the with the
Wolves.

(24:47):
So, what's been happening in theKeynes training camp?
Uh big news today.
Uh a number of players uh weredispatched to different
locations.
Uh, we had several that were uhsent back to Chicago, and I
think the key names there, ofcourse, Bradley Nadeau heading
to Chicago.
We'll talk a little bit aboutBradley.
Um, certainly all the guys wetalked about that uh you know

(25:09):
showed a little bit, butcertainly should get more time
in Chicago.
And then there were some folkson waivers, and I guess they've
all cleared.
So uh finally the PTOs that weremoved out were Oliver
Shillington and Kevin LeBanc.
So a lot of movement on the onthe roster, but let's talk a
little bit about what we've seenwith different players.
And I thought we'd kick it offwith Nikolai Ehlers.

(25:32):
So the big question, we didn'tsee much of Ealers.
I think we saw one game ofNikolai, uh, but it was nice to
see him uh kind of parading in ain a cane's uniform.
Um, hey Katie, what were yourthoughts on Nikolai Ehlers in
the uh in the game you saw andwhat you think about the top
line?

SPEAKER_01 (25:51):
Oh, he definitely looks like a cane.
Lots of passing in those story.
Um I just that there'ssomebody's gotta get a hold of
of that top line and say, everytime you touch, every like third
time you touch the puck, you'vegot to put it on net because
otherwise that top line's notgonna score.
Now, granted, they were togetherfor a game, and yeah, I'd be

(26:15):
surprised if they were evengoing 50, 60 percent in that
game.
It will be much more tellingonce we get them in a proper uh
game.
But there there were some reallygood signs there, some creative
plays and some opportunitiesthat even though that line
didn't score, they were reallydangerous uh when on the time
that they were on the ice.
So I'm excited to see what hecan do, but I'm gonna temper my

(26:38):
expectations until I see thatperhaps there's a little bit
more of an elevated game planfor that line than there has
been in the past, becauseotherwise my cynical side is
gonna come forward and say, newbase, same system, same result.
But I'm I'm gonna try andmaintain that hopeful can-do

(27:01):
attitude and stress that maybemaybe this will be the year now
that Jarvis is supposedlyactually going to get top line
minutes from the start.
But yeah, pl plenty more hockeystill to to play to shake that

(27:24):
one out.

SPEAKER_03 (27:26):
Matt, how do you feel about that line as a top
line on your hockey club?

SPEAKER_01 (27:34):
You put them on the spot there.
I'm not the only one.

SPEAKER_02 (27:38):
It's certainly, I think, one of the better top
lines the Canes have had.
Yes.
Yes.
Be that as it may, you stilllack the superstars.

SPEAKER_04 (27:54):
Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 (27:56):
Like, don't get me wrong, Ealers was the top free
agent available.
Any way you look at it, onceMarner got signed by Vegas.

SPEAKER_00 (28:09):
What a surprise.

SPEAKER_02 (28:10):
Yeah, like yeah, yeah, once once Marner um
definitely not tampering signedwith uh with Vegas.
Um I think Ealers became the topdog.
And you know, credit to thehurricanes they got.
And chances are he's gonna be atop-line player for the
Hurricanes.
I mean, he should get theminutes that he didn't get in

(28:33):
Winnipeg, and he was great.
Um Seth Jarvis is great.
He's probably a 1A or a 1B on areally good team.
Um, and then Sebastianaho ismostly a first-line center.
I don't know if if skill-wise hehe gets up there, but he makes

(28:55):
up for it in a lot of otherways.
But as a top line, I think it'sgreat.
Carolina still has the depth,but they're still missing that
one wow factor guy, right?
And I think Katie mentioned itearlier, a lot of all passing,
no scoring.
They don't have that, you know,guy that we can rely on for 30,

(29:15):
40 goals consistent.

SPEAKER_03 (29:18):
Well, that has been the the beck and call of our
group for months.
For sure.
We have uh we've certainly notbeen happy with that.
And I know Katie and Aaron havehave had lots to say about that.
You know, the the challenge thecanes have, and they're gonna
have it repeatedly, and it'sgonna be part of our another
discussion we get into, has beenthis whole center ice

(29:39):
discussion.
You know, we feel like Aho ishe's kind of a 1B or 1C.
He's not he's not kind of apurist top centerman.
And and he, you know, he's askedto do a lot.
And of course, he does a lotdefensive, very heavy defensive
work, penalty killing, and soon, which you know also kind of

(30:00):
affects his overall offensivegame.
But, you know, it I feel likeit's a solid line, uh, but
they're gonna need a lot of helpelsewhere.
And I think as we get into thesecond line, it gets kind of
interesting because as it sitsright now, we see a line that
looks like uh AndreasVetchnikov, Logan Stakhovern,
and of course Jackson Blake.

(30:21):
Now, Blake is interesting.
I thought he looked particularlystrong.
Uh, Aaron, what are yourthoughts on Jackson Blake so far
in Camp?

SPEAKER_00 (30:29):
You know, I'm surprised they haven't played
him.
More to be honest, because he'shad games, but he hasn't been,
you know, like some of thesometimes the younger guys are
there like pretty much everygame, you know, and and you
know, so we have seen him, butwe haven't seen him as much as I
think I expected to see him,given you know the new contract
and his age and everything else.
I thought that they would havehim out there more.
Um I like Jackson Blake.

(30:51):
The only thing that frustratesme a little bit with him is that
you know, he is the guy who'swilling to drive the medal.
He is the guy who's willing toput the puck on net, but he
doesn't have a very good shot,and there's a lot of lack of
finishing.
So I feel like he needs toimprove some of that to be that
real threat on that second line,you know.
Um, but given that he's there,if they start using him as a

(31:13):
decoy a little bit more too toset Svechnikov up, because we
know what Svech can do with thepuck.
So I feel like, and I reallylike the to the one game, and I
know Katie did too, where theyplayed Svetch on his right wing.
I think that that would be agreat thing to do.
Play both of those guys on, youknow, on their off-wing, put
Blake on the left and Spech onthe right.
And then I think you'll have alot more of a possibility of

(31:36):
turning the line into a realthreat offensively, because
right now I feel like just likewith the first line, I look at
that line and I say, well,where's the threat coming from?
You know, and certainlyStenkoven's gonna be a big part
of that, but as he adjusts tothe defensive responsibilities,
I think it's it's realistic totone down our, you know, maybe
when we were putting out line,you know, projections of how
much they were all gonna getpoint-wise.

(31:57):
I don't know that you can keepStancoven's point projection as
high if he's playing the wholeyear at center and it's his
first year playing at center.
Now, certainly he'll pick it upon the power play.
That's not that's not a problem.
But I don't know that he's gonnaget as much at five on five if
he's the guy in the middletrying to fall back and help the
defense whenever they need it,which is a really big part of
how they do things in Carolina.

(32:19):
So we'll see.
I mean, it's gonna be aninteresting thing to see how
that line comes together andwhat they do with it, but I want
them to be like Katie has talkedabout with uh, you know, and
comparing them to the abs andthings like that.
We need one line that's aconsistent offensive threat.
We've ideally you need two.
And I want them to make thatline a threat.
So the my my conclusion onJackson Blake is just I want

(32:41):
them to do whatever it takes toget him to the areas where he
can score because he can.
He's certainly smart enough thathe sees the ice well, he's got
the high hockey IQ, he's um he'sdisruptive in terms of how he
plays, how he gets beyond youknow other players and and the
way he can you know deek aroundguys and so on.
You know, he's he's not a playeryou can keep your eye off of,

(33:01):
and that opens up all kinds oftime and space for the other
two.
But they need to they need tofigure out how to make that all
come together because I feltlike when we we did see that
line, I think, in in one of thegames, or not maybe not
Specznikov, I don't think he waswith them, but we saw Blake, um
we saw Blake with Stencoven, andI wanted to see more, I wanted
to see more between the two ofthem to get you know both of

(33:22):
them scoring, really.

unknown (33:24):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 (33:26):
Somebody, and I I do not remember who this was, um
they once said that thehurricanes play a system that's
like getting sworn by bees.
And that is what I envisionedthat line being.
Where you know, maybe they don'thave to come consistently get to
the like maybe they don't haveto consistently get to the

(33:50):
middle.
All it takes is one turnover.
Jackson Blake was one of thebest players the Kanes had at
creating turnovers last year.
And Logan Sankovin, despitebeing a generous five foot-9, is
one of the best players atgetting to the middle of the ice
consistently.
Yeah, his first goal with theKanes was a deflection on like a

(34:11):
6'4 defenseman.
And he just out-muscled the dudefor position, and that that's
what he does.
And so, you know, if it givesSvechnikov the option to get a
little bit more space becauseStankovin's gonna draw a little
bit of pressure, or Blake'sgonna draw another guy, and if
Svechnikov has room to work,then Gossene can do with the

(34:33):
puck.
So it's not like the bestversion of the Hurricane second
line for sure.
I mean, I a second line or evenfirst line center would probably
be preferred, but you know, forright now, I think it's the
King's best second line.

unknown (34:51):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 (34:51):
So I I think it it sounds to me like we're kind of
zeroing in on Stankhoven takingthat spot uh and and pushing uh
Kokanyami down to the fourthline.
You know, Kokaniami, I think,has looked very good in in the
preseason.
I think he's uh he looks sharp.
He looks a little bit differentto me this year.
I don't know what it is.

(35:12):
I said this in the last podcast,that he's he seems to have this
kind of air about him that uhyou know he's he looks like a
more of a veteran player thatkind of knows what he's supposed
to do out there, um, and is andis looking uh a lot a lot
crisper, and of course, hescored some goals as well.
Now, Andrey Speznikov, uh, he'salways the enigma.

(35:36):
He made a couple of tremendousplays with uh Bradley Nadeau.
Those guys seem to have it onchemistry, and and I thought,
boy, I'd love to see those guyson the line, and and we'll
figure out Jackson Blake later,but I guess that's not going to
be the case.
But in any case, uh I thought Ithought Speznikov, and you said
rightfully, Katie, that he washe seemed comfortable on that

(35:56):
right side and uh and he madesome nice plays.
What were your thoughts on onAndre so far?

SPEAKER_01 (36:04):
Yeah, I really like him on the right.
Um, you know, part of the reasonthat Miko Rantnon is such a
dangerous power forward isbecause he is a left shot who
plays on the right side, andI've always thought that Svetch
had that similar potential.
I mean, not to the level ofRantnon, but he has so many

(36:25):
skill sets that would suit him.
And his but his shot is strongerfrom that offside area,
especially around the face-offdot.
And it just doesn't get utilizedenough.
And I think some of that isAndre's fault because he sees
himself first and foremost as aplaymaker, not a sniper.

(36:45):
And but then some of that isalso the system and the coaching
fault, and that for some reasonthey seem bound and determined
that you have to have the leftshot guy playing left wing and
the right shot guy playing rightwing, and there's no imagination
or creativity in using your yourplayers and and putting them in

(37:06):
positions to best take advantageof their skill set.
And that also comes withcoaching, too.
It's just Andre, go out there,don't make a defensive mistake,
and you know, and don't take anypenalties.
Yeah, we'll take the back.
But um but he needs to be moreof a shooter.
He's got a good shot, and I donot understand for the life of

(37:28):
me why that's not being coachedinto him.
Because if Stenkoven and Blakeare his linemates, he has to be
the shooter.
It's like the top line.
Ajo needs to shoot more.
If Ealers and Jarvis are yourwingers, you need to shoot more.
Svetch, you need to shoot more.
We need to shoot to score, notjust shoot for low coursey

(37:49):
percentages that makes it looklike the Canes are producing a
lot when in in fact they're juststat patting the other
goaltenders' numbers.

SPEAKER_02 (37:58):
Yeah.
Making you know, uh careerbackup look like Mart Hember
there.
Yeah, yeah.
So to your point, Svetch playedright wing in junior.

SPEAKER_03 (38:09):
Oh, he did.
Okay.
He was drafted.
And that's common in Russia, asyou know.
That's uh very common.
That would have been in Barry.
Was that in Barry with BarryCoult?
I guess he would have playedright wing.

SPEAKER_02 (38:17):
Yeah, and um the year before in Muskegon as well.

SPEAKER_03 (38:21):
Yeah, yeah, he played in USHL as well.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, I think, you know, I thinkthat line, a lot of this is
gonna depend on Stank Hogan.
And, you know, we're we're earlydays on this.
Um he's a he's an interestingplayer at center.
He he seems to be solid in theface-off dot.
He's obviously very elusive,which is great for a small

(38:41):
player.
You know, I was thinking, I wishwe had Brent Burns back because
uh Stank Hogan is one of thebest deflectors in the game.
You know, well, you know, Brentjust fired like crazy, right?
And and Snakey could be in frontpulling those uh pulling those
deflections.
I'm I'm just kind of kidding.
But but he's a guy that,according to um uh certainly

(39:02):
Trip Tracy has some verypositive things about uh about
his ability as a you know kindof a Joe Pavelski uh you know
clone in some ways in terms ofhis ability to deflect bucks.
And he's shown that very quicklywith the Kings.
And I think that's something wehave struggled.
We've not had that.
Um, you know, we've had atdifferent times our defensive
corps has been firing likecrazy.

(39:23):
Uh and you know, they the goaliewould save them or whatever,
nobody could get their stick onit.
Get their stick on it, and soon.
He might he might add a newdimension, and that that could
be great if if he can do so.

SPEAKER_02 (39:33):
Um you know who was really good at that.

SPEAKER_03 (39:36):
Sorry, Matt, you got something on that?

SPEAKER_02 (39:38):
I said, you know who was really good at that was
Vincent Trochek.

SPEAKER_03 (39:41):
Oh, Vincent Trocek, Vinny.
Yeah, I've lamented the loss ofVinny for years, so that's okay.
Yeah, anyway.
Um, and you know, Jackson Blakeagain, I think he he's showing
that uh he's much moreconfident, of course, this year.
Last year he had to fight hisway onto the team against a lot
of odds, and and he's showingsome offensive capability with

(40:03):
his year last year.
He was he finished the year verystrong, as we know.
And um, and I expect he'll dowell again this year.
Trip Tracy said uh he wasthinking he was gonna get 50
points this year.
So um that's uh that's astretch.
But we'll see.
Um, so lots of fun there.
Uh the other person I wanted totalk to that's kind of lost in

(40:24):
all of this is Taylor Hall.
Um he's moving to the fourthline.
Uh not much to say about Taylor.

SPEAKER_00 (40:34):
Well, Adam Gold keeps calling that line the
third scoring line.
Okay.
And I think it's because ofHall's presence on that line
that that they don't want tolabel it a fourth line because
Taylor Hall, you know, mostpeople would say, why on earth
would you put Taylor Hall onyour fourth line?
You know?
So they're they're avoid- Imean, we all we have the we
don't number the lines, and nowwe're morphing into the our

(40:55):
lines just have this esotericreality.
They don't believe you don'tcompare them to other teams, you
know.
But really and truly, thatthat's not wrong if they use the
line that way.
I'm I'm gonna wait and seebecause I'm not, I'm always
skeptical about, you know,there's the perception and then
there's the reality.
If that line is getting nine orten minutes at five on five and

(41:15):
and that's basically it, exceptfor Taylor Hall, who isn't gonna
be on one of the power playunits, then it's a fourth line.
You can call it whatever youwant to, but it's still a fourth
line.
Now, is it the typical grindingheavy guys Giovanni Smith fourth
line?
No.
Sorry, Katie had to do that.
Um it's it's not it's not thatit's never gonna be that kind of

(41:35):
fourth line with those playerson it.
You've got one guy in EricRobinson who's really maybe
could be that kind of player,but the other two really aren't.
So it'll be interesting to seebecause the the joke for the
Canes fans all this time hasbeen that the Canes don't have
um anything.
They have a first line and thenthey have three third lines.
You know, that's that's whatthat's what we've always said.

(41:57):
So I think that they're tryingto get a second line going with
the Stancoven, etc.
And we'll see if that thatsticks or not.
Um it probably will, but youknow, it's early days to be 100%
certain.
But um but the question is gonnabe are we gonna now have two
third lines, you know, where weactually do have one that's job
is to go out there and score,and one that's job is to go out

(42:18):
there and defend.
And then how do you split theice between them?
Because we know left to his owndevices, Rod would be playing um
Jordan Stahl 20 minutes a night,but if that could still happen,
which we know, you know, evenJordan doesn't want that
anymore.
So but uh but yeah, it's it'sgonna be it's just gonna become
down to will they use that linelike an auxiliary scoring line

(42:41):
for Taylor Hall's sake, becausehe's obviously gonna be more
suited to that kind of thing.
So I guess we'll see.

SPEAKER_03 (42:48):
Yeah, and I mean Kokanami and and Robinson played
very well together last yearwith uh Arnie Natchez.
So they've got chemistry, and Ithink Robinson has looked sharp.
He's he's ready to go, and he'sgot that four-year deal under
his belt, so he's a happycamper.
Uh, and I think he's a guy thatuh has more to give as well.
Boy, if he ever if he ever got atouch, he'd be he'd be dangerous

(43:11):
because he gets so many greatchances.
It's hard to believe how many hegets.
Um, but yeah, I think it's agreat whatever line number you
want to call it.
And and I'd like to see thatstall line, I'd like to see
their minutes come down.
And I think this line allowsthem to do that.
And we talked a lot about thepotential of a guy like uh uh
Yasperi Kokanami actually beingthe error parent to Jordan.

(43:34):
And I think that's somethingthat he's killing penalties now,
he's getting more ice time andin defensive situations, and
he's being I mean, he's hisface-off work is excellent, and
he's being trusted in a lot ofthose cases.
So I think that's a realpotential.
And and I think uh, you know,assuming the Stankelin uh
opportunity continues as it hasat center, I think it would be

(43:56):
great for uh Burias PerryKokanemi as well.
And they're gonna get greatmatchups.
Goodness gracious, they're gonnabe up against uh you know the
fourth line and third pairings.
So it's uh they should have athey should feast on that.
So that could be an opportunityfor the Kings.
Um hey, wrapping up the forwardside, two things I wanted to
touch on.
Uh Bradley Nadeau, we talkedabout him in the prospect

(44:17):
showcase.
I think he he he did everythingbut make the team.

SPEAKER_02 (44:25):
Matt?
Yeah, he's I said today he's avictim of the numbers game.
Like, if Carolina wasn't as deepas they were, 100% he's making
the team.
If this were the 2013hurricanes, he would already
have a$7 million extension andhe would be crowned the savior

(44:48):
of the franchise.
But this is the 2025 CarolinaHurricanes where we have to put
Taylor Hall on our fourth block.

SPEAKER_04 (44:56):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 (44:56):
So, you know, if and I think Rod said it perfectly
today, like if we had a spotwhere he could be getting that
top six ice time, then he'd beup here.
But the way the Canes want theirbottom six to roll, and because
I mean the Kokanyami line to anextent is going to be a two-way

(45:19):
line.
It's not gonna just driveoffense, it's not going to just
be defensive, right?
So he's much better suitedgetting top six minutes until
the log jam clears up, hopefullyby a trade for a bona fide top
line forward.

SPEAKER_00 (45:43):
Um, I think that that that's pretty, you know,
pretty much covering it.
It's just I was thinking aboutit myself.
I kept, you know, Katie hadactually posted something
interesting on uh X about, youknow, how how would you stuff
how how would you arrange linesif we if you brought in Nadeau?
Who sits and what happens?
And people got kind of creativewith it, but it was frustrating
because you really couldn't makea good case for putting him
anywhere else.
I've had on my side, I've hadsome comments from people that

(46:05):
are saying things like, youknow, someone said uh that
Carrier is trash and they shouldjust, you know, get get rid of
him and put Nadeau there.
Like, like that would be a goodthing for Nadeau.
You don't want to put BradleyNadeau next to Jordan Stalin.

unknown (46:21):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (46:21):
That would be, I mean, we don't want that, right?
You want him to play 16, 17, 18minutes a game.
You want him to get to continueto grow that offensive
confidence, and you also wanthim to round out his defensive
game without the spotlight ofthe national team on you.
He's he's in a better positionwhere he's is in the with the
Wolves right now.
And even though you might say,well, you know, Jackson Blake

(46:44):
proved that he belonged on theteam and they made room for him,
so why can't they?
Well, it's a different team thisyear than last year, too.
People are forgetting just howin flux things were right up to
the last minute with thesignings and things last year,
as they were bringing players into replace the people they did
not re-sign.
So there were openings, therewere spots that they were that
the there were players that hadnever played a single game.

(47:06):
Well, now those players all havea year under their belt with the
canes, and the canes like whatthey have from them.
So they're not gonna sit them onthe bench and you know put them
in the press box just so thatBradley Nadeau can come and then
play like maybe 12 minutes,because that doesn't help
anybody.

SPEAKER_01 (47:24):
But there's still a part of me he had such good
chemistry with Spech Nikov.
Oh, I mean, it was phenomenal.
And if Spet if Svetch isn'tgonna be the shooter, he needs
someone who will be his shooter,and Nadeau profiles perfectly in
that position.
So absolutely that is a littlebit of the frustration.

(47:46):
And another thing that I postedtoday is and it was kind of
tongue in cheek, but I hadreason to do it is is Bradley
Nadeau the next Martin Natches?
In the sense that does he havejust not quite enough of the
defensive game that Rod demandsfrom his players, that he

(48:06):
doesn't completely get the iceopened up for him and the
opportunities that, say, JacksonBlake, who has a more
well-rounded 200-foot game, butnot the scoring talent that
Nadeau has.
Is that part of what might atleast slow Nadeau down in making
progress through the canessystem?
If not, I I just I don't want tosee him get frustrated and end

(48:29):
up with a similar outcome thatNatchez did where he moved he
had to move on from the teambecause he didn't get those uh
those opportunities to be ascorer first and then work on
the defensive game as it goesalong.
So you know, we'll see.
There's a little I understand, Iunderstand why he's in Chicago,

(48:50):
better for him to get the 19minutes there, but there really
is a potential for somethingspecial, and I hope it doesn't
go by the wayside because theyopted to go with the more
experienced hands first over hisum unique skill set that nobody
else on the Keynes has.

SPEAKER_03 (49:10):
Well, and I think um the reality is that I don't know
how much more he can, you know,I guess hone his craft in
Chicago.
Yes, he he he has a little bitof work to do defensively, but
he plays a heavy game now.
I I've really been impressedwith the way he's used his body
now.
He's getting in there, he'shitting people, he's doing a

(49:31):
lot, and he's just so darndangerous, and he he usually
gets the puck moving offensivelyfor them so much that you know
he's just he's an exceptionaloffensive talent.
There's no question about it.
And they have they're gonna haveto find a place for him.
I just and and maybe this is theunfortunate thing, is probably
gonna come when injury happens.

(49:53):
You know, one of those top sixguys is going down and he's
gonna come up.
And and boy, oh boy, he youknow, he's gonna stay because
he's just too darn good.
And uh I think he's he'sdemonstrated that in the
showcase, and he's demonstratedit with the Keynes.
You know, he's been one of theirbetter players almost every
night.
So I don't think there's anyquestion about Nadoa.

(50:13):
And I'm I'm disappointedbecause, like you, KD, I was
just thinking, man, having a guyon that right side that can wail
away and shoot the puck the wayhe does.
He scored the other night agoal.
It was just it was just in andout so fast that it was
ridiculous.
And and that's just the shothe's gotten and his offensive
kind of acumen.
It's just it's almost so lots offun there.

(50:34):
Um wild card that I talk a lotabout.
We'll finish with this on theforward side very quickly, is uh
is Skylar Brindemore.
Gosh, you know, he he um he hadthree solid gains for them.
He was uh, gosh, one game 64.7and in the face-off dot, he was
over 54 on the other two nights.

(50:55):
He was solid on the PK, he wasdefensively responsible and made
some offensive plays.
This guy to me is is becoming uhuh kind of a relevant player,
and I think he may get a call-upto the canes at some point if
they need that type of player, adefensive center that uh can
chip in a little filling in forother players.
I think he'd be a good call-up.

(51:17):
Thoughts?
Matt.

SPEAKER_02 (51:20):
Yeah, if he kind of fits the like, we need a guy
that can come in and not beexpected to put up a ton of
points, right?
I mean, that's not his game.
I think he his game is verysimilar to that of his dad's
where he's really good in theface-off circle, you know, he'll
provide some solid defensivework and then he'll crash the

(51:43):
middle of the ice and be ageneral pest in the offensive
zone.
And I think that's you know, forfor a guy that you're calling up
at a pinch, absolutely, youknow.
Um I think again, if there's aninjury in like the bottom six,
Carolina explores calling uplike a Skylar Brindamore as
opposed to a guy like BradleyNadeau.

SPEAKER_03 (52:04):
Yeah, for sure.
Oh, Aaron's got something.
Okay.

SPEAKER_00 (52:11):
Well, I was gonna say that, you know, we we were
you know we have to rememberthat Tyson Joseph Jost exists.
And I think that of thecall-ups, you know, if you're
gonna have a call-up for acenter that goes down, I think
Joast, because he has playedwith the team and he's been, you
know, pretty impactful in hisway, you know, he's again, he's
not a guy you're gonna look atto, you know, swoop in and save
the day, but to to come in andplay in either of the bottom six

(52:34):
center positions, you know, hecan certainly handle that role.
We've seen him do it.
So I would say if there's aninjury call-up for that kind of
a situation, you're probablylooking at Joe's before Skylar
Brunamore.
It would depend, of course, onif both of them are healthy,
because that's also a aconsideration.
But um, but the other thing withthe with the Skylar, this has
just made me laugh a little bitbecause you know, people talk

(52:56):
about being disappointed orwhatever about the some of how
the NHL players do in theshowcase.
I mean, in the sorry, in thetraining kit, the preseason
games.
Um, we all know that the NHLersare not going 100%.
We all know that the primaryreason they're in the games is
to shake off some rust and getgoing.
And that is why um in the gameuh the other night when uh um

(53:16):
Jordan Stahl's line came in andplayed, um, Jordan Stahl's line
played a little less than Ithink 14 minutes uh total ice
time, and that was including umon the PK.
And Skylar Rindemore played 19minutes and 40 seconds, he led
all forwards.
So that was a fun thing for himto get to be the ice time leader

(53:37):
for a preseason game.
But it's just a reminder too, Ithink that people get a little
bit um ahead of themselves andtrying to think, well, we should
be seeing more from this guy.
We should have seen more fromAho and Ealers, you know, we
should have seen more.
They're not going 100%, they'reshaking off Russ and getting
ready for the real deal.
And that's that's the kind ofthing you look at.
But it's also a greatopportunity for somebody like

(53:59):
Skylar to come in and get thoseminutes in a big game setting,
you know, because he's not gonnaget those all the time.
So and he did well.
He he handled himself well inthat game.

SPEAKER_03 (54:08):
I think he did.
And and again, he's there, hegives them more depth.
I don't think he hurts the team,I don't think he would hurt the
team at all.
Um, you know, he continues togrow his game, and of course,
under the tutelage of his dad,he's you know, defensively uh
he's he's right there.
Um let's round out the forwardsand somebody that I know Katie
doesn't want to talk about, butI'll have to mention him, and

(54:30):
that would be Giovanni Smith.
Let me tell you what it uh RodBrindamore said today about
Giovanni Smith.
He said he's a guy trying tomake a squad and showing what he
can do in the four games thathe's played.
He's done a pretty good job.
There's no reason not to keephim around and give him another
look.
So uh Giovanni Smith, uh hockeyforecaster said this about

(54:54):
Smith.
The big winger will stand up forhis teammates.
We knew that, but he is alsoimproving his skating and
ability to make plays.
And then that was something Isaid on X the other day.
I said I was really surprisedbecause he's he's actually
making some things happen outthere.
Uh he has not been a liability.
Um, gosh, he's led the team inhits, I think, three games.

(55:17):
He had seven hits twice, so he'sall over the ice.
So, Katie, are you a GiovanniSmith leaver?

SPEAKER_01 (55:25):
No, no, he has done nothing to change my opinion
because he is a good AHL caliberplayer, and that's who he's been
going against in this preseason,his other mostly AHL caliber
lineup.
He is just a touch too slow andit and just has a touch of not
enough skill that he getscaught.

(55:46):
I watched this guy play for theads for seven games.
He was part of the trade that umbrought them Mackenzie Blackwood
from San Jose and the sevengames that he was given, like
the ads were desperate forbodies at that point.
They were so injured.
They put Giovanni Smith in, andevery time he was on the ice, he

(56:08):
was like, oh no, what's hedoing?
Why is he there?
What's going on?
It was just it was a mess.
Every single time he was on theice, it was a mess.
And he was either taking anill-advised penalty or getting
caught behind the rush, notbeing able to get back on odd
man uh rushes the other way,just out of position, not right.

(56:29):
He's just he is not what theKings need, especially for the
type of defensive demands thatRod Brindamore has for his team.
There's no place we have so manywingers.
And I know people talk aboutWilfre facing off against the
Capitals and Wilson or theRangers and Rempe, and it's not

(56:51):
worth everything else that hegives up on a line to have him
in there to punch somebody.
He seems like a perfectly niceguy, but I I just had such a

(57:13):
problem with him on the abs, andit's gonna be even bigger at the
canes because of the way thatthe canes play.
So I just I know he if you wantto put him in Chicago, fine.
If you want to put him on atwo-way, fine, but the canes are
just so replete in talent onwing, I don't see where Smith

(57:34):
makes them any better.
I just don't.

SPEAKER_03 (57:38):
Okay, I think we've got the message.
Okay, so that's the forwardcrowd.
Um, I wanted to spend a cut justa couple of minutes on the D,
and I wanted to start with AlexNikeshin.
Matt, I know you've got somethoughts about Alex.
Why don't you kick it off?

SPEAKER_02 (57:56):
All right.
Um I I I want to say again,people have to remember this is
the first time he's playedagainst NHL competition.

SPEAKER_05 (58:07):
Right.

SPEAKER_02 (58:08):
Like he has not this was his first NHL training camp,
too.
Like, I I could tell him some ofthe practices, I'd see his face,
and I'd be like, he'd be like,whoa, like this is this is a
different beast.
And I was like, Yeah, you youkind of uh lost the coaching
lottery for like easy trainingcamps.
Like this is probably thehardest training camp around the

(58:31):
week.
Um now that John Tortarella'snot really doing his thing.
Um with Nikishan, the footspeed's always been a bit of an
issue, like it hasn't been aliability.
I think he's I think right nowthere's a lot going on in his
head because he's trying tolearn the language, he's trying

(58:54):
to understand what's being askedof him, and he's trying to do
all of that at an NHL pace.
So the skating's gonna be alittle wonky for a little while.
But as we saw last night againstFlorida, sometimes he just does
this thing where as a 6-4defenseman, he makes a forward

(59:17):
look foolish and dances aroundhim and wires a perfectly placed
shot.
And that's gonna kind of be theAlexander Nikitian experience
this year.
He'll lay a huge hit, he'll giveyou, I'd say for now, average
defensive play, and thenoccasionally he'll pop off
offensively.
But Rod put it perfectly likeit's gonna be a year or two

(59:39):
before we really see him takeoff.
I think this year's gonna be abig adjustment for him.
His English, from what peoplehave said that have reported
around the team, they say it'sgotten a lot better.
But you know, a lot bettercompared to maybe a handful of
words.
You know, like where does thatreally lie, you know?

SPEAKER_00 (01:00:02):
Keishin, because of the injuries to the blue, have
not has not been playingprimarily with an NHL level
partner in these preseasongames.
And that I think has a lot to dowith this hesitation and this,
you know, little tentativenesshere and there because he
doesn't want on the one hand,there's the communication and
the understanding, and then onthe other hand, he doesn't want

(01:00:23):
to drag a partner who is, youknow, a young prospect or an uh,
you know, guy on a PTO into asituation that that plays.
Player doesn't have the skill tocomplement.
So it's a lot different whenyou're playing with a partner
who's 100% qualified to bethere.
And I think that we're going tosee a different Alexander
Nikishan, maybe not the first 10games, maybe not the first 20

(01:00:45):
games, but you know, probablyaround the 30 game mark when
he's really comfortable settledin with a partner that he knows
even if they're not always onthe same page, he kind of knows
at least where the book is, youknow.
And uh and that I think that'sgonna look really different.

SPEAKER_01 (01:00:59):
Katie.
Yeah, I pretty much um agree.
I'm excited to see what hebrings.
I hope that it is a strong startso that he is given more
opportunities as he is able tosettle in to open up his game
because there has been a lot ofchatter, not just from Kane's

(01:01:20):
fans, about him being at leastin the conversation as far as
the Calder is concerned.
And I would while while I don'tknow that he's likely to win it
because of taking it easy tobegin with, I I would love to be
able to see him be successfulenough to at least remain in
that conversation as the seasonprogresses.
So for him to be able to dothat, he needs to be getting

(01:01:43):
more minutes um than just thirdpair eventually as he gets more
comfortable with the system.
Even even the pros that comeinto the canes defensive system
say it takes about 20 games toto truly acclimate to the
demands.
Um, and then eventually as wellsee him get more power play time

(01:02:04):
because that was one area I wasreally hoping he would be more
impactful was the power playopportunities that he had um in
these preseason games so far.
And it doesn't look like he he'she's there yet as far as that
timing is concerned.
So again, once once the otherpieces fall into place, maybe

(01:02:24):
that is something that then willgrow a little bit more naturally
into his role on the team.

SPEAKER_03 (01:02:30):
Yeah, I mean uh I was incredibly impressed with
the way he handles himself onthe power play, though.
He moves the puck smartly, hecan go cross ice, he's uh he's
very smart getting the puck inplay, like a some, you know,
stopping shots going out of theblue line and keeping the the
puck in play and so on.
Uh here's where I am.

(01:02:51):
I mean, there there have beenall kinds of things that folks
are talking about and saying,hey, did we overestimate uh you
know what this guy's gonna beand you know, all kind of you
know, falling on our sword typestuff.
Here's where I am with Nikisha.
The guy's coming over to a newcountry, he's got all new
players who don't speak hislanguage, virtually all.
There's a couple that do.

(01:03:11):
But you know, he's played, youknow, his hockey in Russia, he's
played in the KHL for the lastfour or five years.
Here's a guy that, you know, hewas comfortable with that, and
he was a star.
Uh and I think he, you know,it's gonna take him a short
period of time to get kind ofused to living in Raleigh, you
know, going to that rank, beingwith these players.

(01:03:32):
Uh, and you said it rightfullyso.
I think too K he hasn't beenplaying with, you know, the the
folks that he'll normally playwith.
Uh he's been playing with, youknow, oh, Charles Alexis Lego,
uh, Oliver Shillington.
I can go up and down the line.
And these aren't the guys thathe's going to be with.
And I think he's I think he'sgoing to come along faster than

(01:03:54):
a lot of folks think.
Uh, you know, everybody'ssitting back and Rod, you know,
he says things, you know, tonguein cheek sometimes.
It's gonna take him two years.
Forget it.
This guy's gonna be a factormidseason or or earlier in my
book, uh, because that's who heis.
That's the that's the individualhe is.
And and I know I was on manydiscussions with uh with Nick
Bass, and we looked at you knowthe things he was doing in

(01:04:15):
Russia and how he plays.
And and you know, we watched a33 minutes or something in a
playoff game, averaging 25minutes a game over there.
And yeah, it's the KHL, but hejust is a player that I think is
gonna make a difference.
So yeah, give him a little bitof time, put him with some
players that can play.
I'd love to see him with Slavin.
We talked about that a lot.

(01:04:36):
Um, and listen, as we've seen,but I think he's gonna be good.

SPEAKER_02 (01:04:41):
Okay, as we've seen, like Rod Brindemore's concept of
time is very different becauseyou know, with injuries, like
you know, day to day to Rodeither means like the player's
legally dead or he'll be backtonight.
So, you know, I think when whenhe says Nikisha will take a year
or two, I really think he'strying to protect the player.

(01:05:05):
Yeah, and not many coaches woulddo that.
Not many, so you know, I thinkthat's a real luxury, right?

SPEAKER_03 (01:05:14):
Because their defense is deep.
So they can actually put him onthe third pair, which is kind of
insane.
But yes, he's gonna go on thethird pair, likely with uh with
Shane Goss to Spirit appearsright now.
And it looks like your man, SeanWalker, is gonna move up with uh
with Jacob Slavin.
So that could be a lot of fun,too.
Um, finishing up the lineup,just before we have closing

(01:05:35):
remarks today, um Caden Primo,uh Aaron came from the Montreal
guys.
You know, I like Primo a lot.
Uh Trip Tracy had some reallypositive things to say about
Primo.
He thinks he's mechanically assound as it gets, and and uh and
he's shown it in the exhibitiongames.
He looked sharp.
He looked really sharp.
Um and again, uh Jason Mazzatti,interesting story from Trip the

(01:05:58):
other day saying that JasonMazzatti, three or four years
ago watching uh uh uh Caden inthe Montreal chain, just said
this guy can play.
And I suspect that's one of thereasons why the Kings have him
now.
But I think he's looked good.
Um, Aaron?

SPEAKER_00 (01:06:14):
Oh, I would agree.
I think I think that he's uh umhe has a I think we're gonna
need the call-up if if he endsup being the call-up to be
another calm goaltender.
I think that this is where youwant Primo to be the call-up.
You don't, you know, it's it'stoo soon for Kaziv and it's too
soon for some of these others,but we don't want to go from one

(01:06:37):
um to use the phrase that getsuh put around on on Twitter, the
goalie with a knife, to another,you know.
I know that's a big joke.
But uh yeah, that that is one ofthe nicknames that gets used for
um Piotr Kachekov from time totime, um, just from his uh
aggressive nature and and thefact that he will go on these
strolls and leave the net, youknow, far behind and all the

(01:06:58):
rest of it.
So um I liked his calmness.
I thought Promo is gonna be thatkind of guy.
He's gonna come in, he's notgonna wow you, he's not gonna, I
mean, he does make some reallynice saves, but he's not he's
not gonna be a star calibergoaltender, nobody expects that.
But he's also not gonna be umthe rotation of Spencer Martin
and Dustin Tekarski, who reallyshould be praised for doing as
much as they could.
But that was not the greatestthing for the Kanes when they

(01:07:21):
needed both of those guys in thelineup.
So it's nice to have someonelike that.
And I think he'll be good forthe wolves.
I'm interested to hear what youthink about that, Matt.
What do you if you think he howhe's gonna be for the wolves?

SPEAKER_02 (01:07:32):
Yeah, I mean, I think he'll be good.
I mean, his AHL numbers aresolid.
I mean, you also have toremember, like, with with Primo,
like he's never gottenconsistent NHL ice.
There was one season where hegot 23 starts, and that was the
23-24 season, and he had a 9-10.
That's a fashionable backup.

(01:07:54):
Like, especially, you know,given I don't believe Montreal
made the playoffs that year.
Um so, you know, that's a decentbackup, you know, performance.
A 304, or no, sorry, 299.
So, but slightly under threegoals against two.
Like, with him, you know, he'sgoing to be like an actual true

(01:08:16):
AHL stud goalie to, you know,carry the bulk of the starts.
Um, you know, because obviouslyAmir Miftikov is a giant
question mark.
Did not like him in thepreseason, and uh, you know, we
didn't see his I have, but youknow, um it's really Primo's

(01:08:36):
show down there.
But like, you know, just withhaving Frederick Anderson as
your goalie, you are going toneed a third goalie at some
point.
And given how Primo has looked,you know, in the preseason,
again, it's against mostly AHLcompetition, he's been good.
And I think it just givesCarolina somebody who they can
rely upon to give them at leastaverage goaltending, and we've

(01:09:02):
seen the Canes can win a gameeven when the goaltending is
average effects.

SPEAKER_03 (01:09:07):
Yep.
As we look at at the the rosteras we see it now, closing
thoughts.
How do we feel about uh you knowgenerally what we've seen and
what we might expect as theseason kicks off, Katie?

SPEAKER_01 (01:09:21):
I think they have a very strong roster.
All of it, of course, depends onhow the lines gel and the
chemistry goes and the patienceof Rod Brindemore to not become
Rod Blendemore too quickly.
And uh just that you know, theyneed they need time to work
together, they need time todevelop chemistry, and if they
can do that, it shouldn't be aproblem for the Canes to win the

(01:09:43):
Metro, and then we'll see uh howthat all shakes down in in the
playoffs.
But if they do come out of thegate slow, and that's very, very
possible as if things happen,they they might create a bit of
an uphill battle for themselvesand make things more interesting
than it needs to be.
But I mean sound sounds like thecanes of the past few seasons

(01:10:04):
anyway, so uh we're we're usedto it at this point.
But I'm I'm I am cautiouslyoptimistic for for this team and
what they'll be able to do.
Um and yeah, just see how seehow the big experiments go
moving forward.
Aaron?

SPEAKER_00 (01:10:22):
I think there's two storylines that we may that we
that we're gonna be payingattention to this season.
The first one is that as muchtime and attention as we play
pay to the forwards, you know, Istill can't get that remark of
Rod's out of my head that hecould put 13-year-olds up in
front, you know, as long as hisdefensive core is good enough in
his goaltending.
Um, you know, and and and thatcomes back to I think the

(01:10:43):
defense is really gonna be thekey to how the Kanes do this
year.
Last year it wasn't there.
And, you know, I know we we'veput pointed some fingers here
and there.
Um, but yeah, I'm not gonna dothat now.
But they need this defensivecore to come together.
And the most disappointingthing, I think, about the
preseason has been that theyhaven't been able to do that

(01:11:04):
because of the injuries.
But we want them to be healthycoming in.
It's more important for that.
So we're I'm excited to see howthey actually look when they get
to play.
I'm hoping it'll be Saturday,you know, in the final preseason
game.
I really do.
But um we'll see.
The other storyline, and this issomething that people are going
to talk about, regardless ofwhether we want them to or not,
really.

(01:11:24):
Um, the Kanes have a hugeopportunity if they position
themselves well enough to godeeper in the playoffs because
of the injury, the veryunfortunate injury to Alexander
Barkov.
This is a big thing for the forthe Florida Panthers.
And I know that that thePanthers are still an incredibly
solid team.
They're not going to just meltaway to nothing without Barkov.

(01:11:45):
But there's also the potentialthat a couple of these other
guys are very seriouslyoverplayed over these last few
years with the number of gamesthey've played, you know, and
the Olympics on top of that addsanother wrinkle to the whole new
picture.
Depending on how the Panthersare doing, um, the Canes, I
think, may have their bestchance to come out of the

(01:12:05):
Eastern Conference final andcompete for a Stanley Cup this
year.
It's gonna be a big fight allthe way.
We'll just have to see how itgoes.
But that is gonna be anarrative, I think, all season
that we're gonna be watching.

SPEAKER_03 (01:12:14):
Yeah, and to just to add to that, the um the Canes
have over$10 million in castface right now, which you know,
we've never been in thissituation going towards uh, you
know, a trade deadline this yearunless something happens before
then, which is going to allowthem to shore up in whatever
areas that the Canes think theyneed to do.
Matt, I want to thank you somuch for coming.

(01:12:35):
What do you got uh as closingcomments?

SPEAKER_02 (01:12:38):
Yeah, it's definitely a better roster than
last year.
Um, you know, any way you lookat it when you replace Jack
Roslovik with uh Nikolai Gieers,I think that's definitely an
upgrade how you looked at it.
Um you know, and then and thenyou made you made the upgrades
that you wanted to make.
You got younger on the blueline, which I think is really
important just given I think wesaw the blue line's age,

(01:13:01):
especially in the playoffs.
Um and you got quicker, you gottougher, and you have I mean,
I'm looking at Pacpedia rightnow, and it's almost 11 and a
half million dollars.
I don't know if that's fullyaccurate, but that is a chunk of
change to spend on a good playeror two, you know, if they see

(01:13:24):
fit.
So, you know, they're in areally good spot to not only be
a good team now, but potentiallybe an even better team later on
this year.

SPEAKER_03 (01:13:34):
For sure.
Um, hey Matt, where where canpeople find you?

SPEAKER_02 (01:13:38):
Uh well they can find me.
Uh, you know, best place to findme, I am on Twitter, X, whatever
you want to call it.
It's at Matt Soma12.
I have a Substack.
Uh I it's for now called Matt'sSubstack because you know I
write about hockey, notcreativity.
Um uh you can also check outDeveloping Hurricanes.

(01:13:59):
Uh Nick uh Kane's Prospects,obviously friend of this show.
Uh he and I do a little thingtogether just for fun.
Um where you know, definitely,you know, it's not the best
production.
We we like to ramble and haveour own stories, but it's a lot
of fun.
And um hopefully soon you cancheck out some of my work with
the Green Bay Gamblers as wellin the USHL.

(01:14:22):
Uh you know, haven't gotten aplayer there yet because I just
started there, but uh, you know,I've been working hard.

SPEAKER_03 (01:14:28):
Yeah, and I I was gonna mention that, of course,
you've been uh scouting juniorhockey uh on and off for years.
You did the Coquitland squad,and of course, now Green Bay.
So good on you.
And again, thanks so much forjoining us, Matt.
It's been great fun.
Um for those of you who've beenwatching or listening, we're
delighted to spend time with ustoday.
We we uh always enjoy the factthat uh you spend your time with

(01:14:50):
uh Stormcracker.
Um if you like this episode,please press the like button.
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(01:15:11):
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