For an off day, here is something different – a “yesterday and today” comparing players on the current Canes squad with players who were in a similar spot in years back. I guess part of the hope is to stir some good memories from years past.

1-Victor Rask/Josef Vasicek. In the fall of 2000, Josef Vasicek came from nowhere close to the depth chart to win the 3rd line center slot in training camp. He did it primarily on the basis of being surprisingly mature in terms of defensive responsibility and safety. At the time the Canes had a decent amount of offense on the top 2 lines and an above average power play led by Ron Francis feeding Jeff O’Neill. Vasicek was surrounded by another defensively sound rookie in Jaroslav Svoboda and a hard-working, also defensively sound, veteran in Martin Gelinas. In 2000-01, Vasicek put up a very modest 21 points in 76 games but filled the role asked of him as s defensively sound 3rd-line center and therefore played a role in the Canes making the playoffs that year. So if you fast forward to 2014-15, Victor Rask looks very similar. He was not as far down the depth chart as Vasicek, but he was by no means a sure thing to make opening night roster. And the reason is also very similar. In training camp and continuing into the season, Rask does not look like he is in over his head in terms of thinking the game, being defensively sound and generally making good decisions and avoiding bad mistakes. The issue with Rask is that he is generating virtually nothing offensively. He has nothing on the score sheet, and I think I could count the real good scoring chances for him and regular line mate Elias Lindholm on 1 hand. Between them, they have a lone assist registered to Lindholm for their total of scoring points. A key difference is that whereas the 2000-01 Canes had scoring from the top half of the roster, the 2014-15 Canes are largely missing the top half of the roster to injury which makes it important to get balanced scoring across all of the forwards.

2-Alexander Semin/Jeff O’Neill. When O’Neill was not scoring and the team was struggling, he was often labeled as lazy and it was not uncommon to hear Canes fans talk about how he just floated around the offensive zone while his line mates did all the hard work. But when he was scoring in bunches, the same floating around was seen as being a heady offensive player who had a knack for finding open spots on the ice and finishing when the puck showed up. Alexander Semin’s style of play is quite different, but I think the hot/cold rating on his play is a bit similar. When his dangling and looping around creates a passing lane, a scoring chance and a goal it is deemed “offensive creativity and skill” or similar. When it just is not working, fans and media alike are all over him for not just shooting the puck, making simple plays, “playing north-south hockey”, etc. At any point it time, it seems like Semin is a 3-game scoring binge away from being a creative offensive hockey genius or a 3-4 games slump away from being verbally beaten for not playing a simpler game.

3-Elias Lindholm/Brandon Sutter. Brandon Sutter was a mid-round pick projected to be a pretty good 2-way center someday but maybe a little bit light in terms of scoring. And after 1 season to take a few lumps, he rose up to that level very quickly getting most of the way there in his 2nd NHL season at a young age and looking like every bit of a decent checking line center by his 3rd season. The thing that stood out in Sutter’s game early was his uncanny ability to always make the right decision or play situationally, positionally and defensively. More directly, he was a heady hockey player beyond his years very early in his career. Elias Lindholm very much reminds me of Sutter in his ability to think the game at the NHL level at a very young age. Based on his hands alone, I think he has upside relative to Brandon Sutter scoring-wise, but I am not sure I see him as a 70-point top line scorer even after he matures. Time will tell where his offensive ceiling is, but regardless I think he projects along the same path as Brandon Sutter except hopefully with a little more offense.

I actually have a couple more of these and will write them up if I find time between games.

Your turn...

Eric Staal (I have a 2-way analogy here)?

Ryan Murphy (similar smooth skater from way back when)?

Who else has a situation that reminds you of a Cane from years past?

Twitter=@CarolinaMatt63

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