The incredibly short modern NHL training camp for the Carolina Hurricanes has launched and is already in full swing. The Canes played a Red-White scrimmage on Sunday that was a full 60-minute contest (plus some 3-on-3) with refs and had the feel of a real game. Then Monday the team played in Washington DC before flying to Pittsburgh for a game tonight.
With the compressed schedule these days, players who are off the depth chart have a very limited amount of time to settle into camp, make an impression and win a spot.
The Canes entered camp clearly with some openings to be won.
At forward, I count 12 nearly sure things roster-wise in EStaal, JStaal, Versteeg, Skinner, Lindholm, Rask, Gerbe, Nash, Nestrasil, McClement, Malone, Terry (not in any order).
I think that leaves the forwards battling for 1 spot assuming injuries do not open up another slot or 2. (I think Malone or another vet could move to #13 if 1 of the kids rises up.)
Here is a quick list of players rising or falling for winning the open forward slot (or more):
Rising:
--Tolchinsky. He started as a longshot as an undersized player trying to make the jump straight from juniors but he continues to look good offensively, willing to play in traffic/take contact and decent all-around. I still think he is a dark horse for October, but I think his chances are better not worse than a week ago.
--Derek Ryan. He might be the player who has moved up the most. He entered as a wild card as a 28-year old rookie who has been playing in Europe. He had a goal in the Sunday scrimmage and has just played a heady game with and without the puck especially in the offensive zone.
--Phil Di Giuseppe. He has a nice mix of playmaking and goal scoring ability and looked decent on Sunday (bang in goal in front of net) and also on Monday despite not scoring.
--Brock McGinn. Treading water. To be clear, McGinn has not been bad, but he just did not rise up and seize a frontrunner spot in Sunday's scrimmage that was almost completely the 18-21 year old non-roster group. I think Tuesday night in Pittsburgh is a big game for him.
--Zach Boychuk. Treading water. I put him sort of in the same category as McGinn. He has demonstrated the desire to do whatever it takes to make the roster laying down in front of a point shot, drawing a penalty by parking in front of the crease to create a net presence and engaging in puck battles whenever possible. But in 2 tries (scrimmage and Monday game) he has yet to crack the score sheet. It could be that he times an offensive outburst just right after laying a foundation of playing the right way early, but in a short training camp it is important to lay it all out early.
--Brendan Woods. Potentially rising. If the Canes want to carry 1 bigger player who can play regular shifts but also a little bit of policeman if/when necessary, Woods fits the bill and competes with Brad Malone. Woods gets his chance tonight to show that he can be big and physical but to push ahead he probably needs to show that he is just a better hockey player in all 3 zones. With Malone playing about how one would expect but not blowing the doors off it offensively, Woods gets a chance tonight.
--Joakim Nordstrom. Enters contest tonight. After trade from Blackhawks he was a late entry into the fray. Bill Peters made comments about liking his speed which is obviously a positive starting point. He draws into the contest in earnest in the Pittsburgh preseason game tonight.
Matt Karash is a long-time passionate Hurricanes hockey fan, season ticket holder and also the founder of the Canes and Coffee web site.
Twitter=@CanesandCoffee
Go Canes!