Charlotte coach Jeff Daniels thinks that Zach Boychuk is ready for the next level

Zach Boychuk has attended Carolina Hurricanes training camps before, but things seem a bit different this time around.

Boychuk is coming off a season where he led the entire American Hockey League in goals scored.  He finished with career best numbers,  (69 games, 36 goals, 38 assists) and his coach, Jeff Daniels, said that last year was the winger's most consistent season as a pro.

When Daniels was asked at prospect conditioning camp whether he thought his star winger was ready to take the next step, he replied "without a doubt", then went on.

"Maturity wise, he is definitely there.  From being consistent?  I think the big thing with him was being consistent.  But I think he showed that all year last year.  Obviously, he led the league in scoring.   He's a guy who is an exciting player to watch, he has some speed.  He's not afraid to go to the net and he has that touch around the net.  When he gets the puck around the net, he knows what to do with it.   But again, his thing was being consistent all season long.   There was not a stretch for a couple of weeks when he would drop off,  he was strong all season.  For me,  he's been close for several years now, but this will be the closest he has ever been and he should be ready to go."

Even if he has improved, making the Canes will not be easy for the Checkers star.  He has plenty of competition.

Carolina's top 11 forwards are pretty much penciled in.  Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Alexander Semin, Jeff Skinner, Elias Lindholm, Jiri Tlusty, Riley Nash, Nathan Gerbe, Patrick Dwyer,  Brad Malone, and Jay McClement probably have jobs unless they do something lose them.

That leaves one spot open for someone to fit in the top 12, and another spot as an extra.

Boychuk will be up against former Checkers teammate Chris Terry as well as up-and-coming youngsters, Brock McGinn, Patrick Brown, Phillip Di Giuseppe, and others.

Chad LaRose will also be in camp and while currently signed to an AHL contract, he could be upgraded to the NHL if he shows better than anyone else, much like Manny Malhotra last year.

Boychuk should be one of the favorites to make it though, as his experience and hard work over the past few seasons should pay dividends.

His career numbers:

NHL - 96 Games 9 goals 15 assists, 24 points.

AHL  - 296 Games 117 goals 146 assists 263 points.

___

In case you missed it, Section 328 interviewed Boychuk in a recent podcast.  You can check that out here.

Carolina "Brain Trust" says all the right things in 90 minute virtual town hall meeting

Early Wednesday afternoon, "99.9 The Fan" put on what they called a Fan Town Hall Meeting, in which Hurricanes fans could send tweets with questions to ask of Don Waddell, Ron Francis, and Bill Peters.  Mike Maniscalco hosted the event and also put forth many questions of his own.

The session lasted 90 minutes and you can watch it all here:  Canes Town Hall Meeting.

For those of you who missed it and don't have the time to watch the entire clip right now, I will review some of what was said and chip in with a few comments as well.

Maniscalco started right off with the Dan Patrick rumor about the team possibly moving to Las Vegas and of course that was shot down quickly.  "This franchise isn't going anywhere", said Waddell.  (Hopefully, he didn't say the same thing about the Thrashers...just joking).  Enough said about that.

There was some talk about NHL expansion.  The entrance fees would go to the owners and is not to be a part of the 50/50 pool to be split with players.

The next question was "what makes this team a playoff team considering it is similar to others that have not made it in the past?"

Ron Francis again brought up the injuries that plagued the team last season and expects the players who had a bad season to be better, as well as the youngsters to improve.   Every player will start on a clean slate as far as coach Peters is concerned.

Speaking of Peters, he was asked about the goaltending situation and he emphasized that both Cam Ward and Anton Khudobin would be fighting for the number one spot.  He also stated that he would prefer not to rotate the goalies, he wants a number one guy. "We need a stud", were his exact words.

Khudobin had the 5th best save percentage in the NHL last season but it sounded to me like they wanted Ward to start and have Khudobin "push him".

Francis also spoke about Ward and it seems the Canes still expect him to be able to turn his past two seasons around and be the goalie he once was.

The next topic was concerning scouting and development.  Francis would love to have the team be bigger, but it won't happen over night.  They must draft better and develop better.  They have discussed the importance of this internally.

Depth was also brought up and here is a key quote from Peters.

"When we bring a guy up from Charlotte, we're going to play him in a role he deserves to be played in.  It makes no sense to bring up a skill guy and play him on the fourth line.  It's counter-productive."

Huzzah!

This is easier said than done, but at least they realize what should be done.

Peters also said that he feels the powerplay is close.  Rod Brind'Amour is in charge of the powerplay and looks forward to the challenge.  The coach wants the focus to be on puck possession, retrieving the puck, and not having to continually go down and chase it.

Francis also mentioned that Brind'Amour has spent a lot of time in his office over the summer reviewing tape on powerplay goals and he is anxious to improve it.

Again, it was mentioned that the Canes have made minor changes to a losing line up, how can they expect to improve?  Francis went on to say that if it is proven they are wrong about some of these players, changes will be made.  But he also made it clear that he would not make changes just for a short term fix.  He wants to make moves that will eventually make the Canes contenders, year after year.  He does not want to give up draft picks to move a contract, or just to make the playoffs for one year.

Peters stated that the team was "hungry."

The coach was asked about Jeff Skinner being on the third line and he responded that he wants three scoring lines and a "responsible" fourth line.  With Jay McClement in the middle, they will be able to play with anyone.  He will fiddle with chemistry to see who fits where.  He will play Eric Staal at left wing sometimes.  He has lots of flexibility and will experiment all preseason.

Peters wants his leaders to put the team first, over themselves.

Waddell was asked about season ticket holder benefits.  The organization has decided to hold monthly meetings and hold a forum with some key season seat holders and ask them for feedback and suggestions.   There was also talk of the in-game experience becoming stale.  Apparently, some Canes Vision people were let go and other changes have been made.  The entire in-game experience will be new.

There was a lot of discussion about an outdoor game, but there is nothing on the immediate horizon for Carolina.

They discussed the league standard of injury status reports - upper body or lower body.  Francis gave the example that he played his first playoff series with two broken ribs and only had an assist in the series.  He was dubbed afterward of being a guy who could not play in the playoffs, because no one knew he had broken ribs.  But the purpose of the vague nature of the reports is to protect players.

Francis mentioned that they want players who will represent well in the community.  The players do what they can and a lot goes unnoticed.  They did not bring up the Kids and Community Foundation which is helped a lot by the players and that organization gives tons of money to local charities.

It was asked if the team might add someone yet, perhaps invite a veteran player to camp on a PTO.  Francis wants to give a younger player a chance and take time to develop them.  Don't count on any PTO's this season.

When asked about fighting, Peters was classic Peters.  After saying he did not believe in staged fights, he followed up with this gem.

"When someone takes advantage of a teammate or takes advantage of you, you can't let that happen."

The next question was about analytics  and Ron Francis said that they don't talk about that openly.  They do use advanced stats, but do not want to reveal how they use them.

Peters was asked about the shootout and he said that he would like to see them look at different ways to do the overtime, including three-on-three.  But the extra points are important and if the shootout is part of it, your team needs to be good at it.

There was more talk about the league in general and even the CBA, including playing in the Olympics.  Needless to say, all players want to participate in the Olympics.

Peters was asked again about leadership.  The coach said that he can only speak to the team so much and that really, the locker room is the player's sanctuary.  He needs the team's leadership to buy into his message and reinforce it after he leaves.  He followed up with another gem.

"The meeting after the meeting is more important than my meeting."

They spoke about the challenge of the early schedule and then finished things up.

All in all, it was an excellent session and very informative for fans.  Hopefully, this can be an annual event, if not held more often.

I will be attending the media event at the PNC on Thursday and will report on that later in the day.  Training camp is starting soon and the blog is going to be more active with something fresh every day, starting with player projections coming up next.

Players look forward to "clean slate" with new coach

The Carolina Hurricanes held their annual media day on Thursday and more local press than ever attended.  The media relations staff started off the festivities with player interviews, then put on a strategy session with coach Bill Peters, and finally held their first ever Canes Media Cup floor hockey game, which many were looking forward to.

Several players were available including, Tim Gleason, Cam Ward, Jay Harrison, Justin Faulk, Zach Boychuk, Brett Bellemore, Patrick Dwyer, Brad Malone, Chris Terry,  and others.  I believe the Staal brothers and Jeff Skinner had previous engagements.

Each of the players I spoke to, or listened to, seemed sincere in their desire to turn things around here and they look forward to working with new coach Bill Peters.

I have some video of interviews below and will have more details of some one-on-one interviews with Harrison, Boychuk, and Malone in a day or two.  Each of them had interesting things to say.

After the interviews, we went into the locker room for a video/white board session with coach Peters who spoke to us about some of his strategy that he plans to use this season.  We were not allowed to record the session, but without getting into too much detail I will share a bit of what he had to say, (from memory).

First of all, expect to see an exciting, aggressive forecheck.  He wants one forward on the puck and another supporting him.  The third forward is expected to try to make a play, get open, or keep the puck in the zone if it is reversed to the other side of the ice.

If we gain possession he wants one defenseman skating in at the blueline, looking for an open shot.  He wants four players joining the play, always.

The coach said that none of this is secret stuff, most teams try to do it.  The ones that do it the best, or most often, are playoff teams.  He called it, playing "heavy" in the offensive zone, and it's not easy.

Peters reviewed a ton of video from last season and one of the things he wants to eliminate that he saw way too often was the cross ice dump-in.  He prefers that a player chip it to himself or send it along the wall.

"Self chips are good plays," he said.

Coach also said that he would "puke on his shoes" if he kept seeing cross ice dump-ins after preseason.  Peters also wants balanced positioning on the ice, not two or three players in the same area.   This means that someone should be in the middle of the ice, almost always.

"You have to make goalies move, that's how you score in this league," he said.

Later on, the coach was asked what separates a playoff team from a non-playoff one.

"Mental toughness", he said.  "You can blame the schedule, injuries, whatever you want, but bottom line it comes down to mental toughness".

After the locker room session, the coach took the media out to the rink area and actually walked us through the formations he mentioned earlier.  A couple of guys got yelled at, but then he stated, "We're laughing with you, not at you" and carried on.

Next up, it was time for the game.

Mike Maniscalco and David Glenn were in goal for their respective teams and both made a few very good saves, but "Team Scalco" started to mount constant pressure and eventually jumped out to a 5-0 lead.

Then some guy wearing a suit decided to jump into the play.

Let me tell you something, Ron Francis looked pretty good out there and it brought back memories of his ability to use his quick wrists and his stick work.

Eventually, the game evened out and was tied 9-9 before Maniscalco's team pulled ahead and won it, 11-9.

All in all, it was another positive event put on by Canes's staff which makes everyone look forward to the new season.  I will have more interviews posted as I can transcribe them.

_____

Apologies, the video and audio below is not as good as usual. It was very crowded and there was a lot of background noise.  But some of it is good stuff.

Malone looking forward to bringing energy to PNC Arena

Brad Malone was one of the few acquisitions the Carolina Hurricanes made over the long offseason.  The physical forward is keenly aware of why the Canes signed him to two-year contract this summer and it's not necessarily to light the lamp.

Malone played 32 regular season and six playoff games for the Colorado Avalanche last season.  While he only averaged 6:46 a game of ice time in the regular season, he finished with three goals, two assists, and 79 hits.

The newcomer was sitting alone as the rest of the media was crowded around Justin Faulk and other Canes during the beginning of "Media Day" on Thursday, but I was looking forward to see how he was fitting in so far and walked over to speak to him.

Malone just recently arrived to Raleigh, but has already been working out with his new teammates and has participated in the preseason skate sessions.

"I have just been here for a week and a half now, but it's been a very easy transition.  Guys in the locker room have been great and so far everyone has been putting in a good word that I have spoken to.  It's been great so far and I really love the area.  The skates have been good.  The guys have been putting us through some good pace to get us prepared for training camp."

I asked him about his offseason training.

"The summer has been very good.  I think I was a little ahead of the game, training wise, the way the season ended last year, (Avs), and the transition from postseason to offseason was seamless.  I spent most of my time in northern Minnesota at the Minnesota Hockey Camp.  It's been a good fit for me for a number of years there and helps me to prepare for this time of year."

What should fans expect to see from him this season?

"I'm obviously a physical type of player, I would say a hit first over puck first, type of player.  I'm definitely not afraid to go to the corner and make a mess.  It's not like I'm going to come in here and score 50, although that's always the goal, but let's be honest.  (laughs)  No, I just want to come here and be good defensively, be responsible with the puck, and try to pump up the guys on the bench.  You know, especially at home ice I like to get the fans into it, get them standing with a big hit."

While Malone has not played with any of his new teammates before, he said that it was a small hockey world and he was familiar with many of these guys.  He repeated that everyone has been very welcoming and helpful and the transition has been an easy one.

"I really am excited to be here", he said.

If he can deliver on some of the big hits he spoke of, fans will be excited for him as well.

One of the newer additions to the Metro / "Patrick" party is another team that's not quite a rival yet. But intradivisional hate should come in due time...

Players are skating, and NHL training camps are within sniffing distance. So we are warming up our emotional engines to conjure all the irrational excitement, hatred and other strongly worded feelings that accompany an eight-month devotion to watching men making billions playing a game.

Our question:Which players from this year's opponents do you hate and love, er envy, most?

We're taking the division rival Metro teams first, although some newcomers don't feel quite like "rivals" yet. For example, the Carolina Hurricanes

Love Envy and Hate: The Canes

Hate: I suspect a subset of our readers and converted Whalers fans will hate the Hurricanes as a collective thanks to who they once were, or rather the history their owner stole, rather than any specific player.

For me, the Hurricanes roster is extensive and fairly benign. But I do have fan loathing available for Jeff Skinner and his general diving, pouting ways. Skilled players really don't need to go down that road.

Envy: I envied Carolina's signing of Anton Khudobin much of last season, and I will always envy Alexander Semin's laser wrist shot -- whatever his other flaws. And Justin Faulk is a pretty sweet right-shooting defenseman. If we got to pick over the Hurricanes roster the way Peter Karmanos picked over Whalers fans' hearts, then those are the two I'd stuff into my loot sack.

Reader Picks

And you? Which (current) Cane do you hate most, and which one to you kinda, you know, privately, think is an alright guy? (You can base this on talent, admiration for a certain skillset, traditional passion-fueled fan hate and jealousy, or, I don't know, facial expressions.)

Previous Love Envy/Hate:

• The Capitals
• The Cuddly CBJ
• The Igloo [sic] Dwellers
• The Flyers!!1
• The Smurfs

Physicals are next week Thursday and on-ice sessions will begin on September 19

The Carolina Hurricanes released their training camp schedule today.  They will have physicals next week on September 18 and begin their on-ice sessions the following day, (next week Friday).

The team's first exhibition game will be at the PNC on Sunday, September 21.

All practice sessions are open to the public except for two times when NC State football games make parking a problem, on September 20 and September 27.

The annual Caniac Carnival will be held on Friday, September 26 and will include a red-white scrimmage starting at 7 p.m.

Check out the schedule at the following link.

2014 Training Camp Schedule

The team's presser follows:

‘CANES ANNOUNCE 2014 TRAINING CAMP SCHEDULE

First on-ice sessions take place on Friday, Sept. 19

RALEIGH, NC – Ron Francis, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced the team’s 2014-15 training camp schedule. The team will begin on-ice workouts in two groups on Friday, Sept. 19, with a short team scrimmage in between the sessions at PNC Arena. All training camp practices are open to the public and media, with the exception of Sept. 20 and Sept. 27, which are closed to the public due to N.C. State football.

Following two days of practice, the Hurricanes will open their exhibition schedule on Sunday, Sept. 21, at 1:30 p.m. against the Columbus Blue Jackets at PNC Arena. The team will hold its annual Kids ‘N Community Foundation Golf Tournament the next day, before heading on a two-game road trip to play exhibition games against the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders.

The Hurricanes will host the annual Caniac Carnival at PNC Arena on Friday, Sept. 26, including a Red-White scrimmage at 7 p.m. Carolina visits St. Louis and Columbus for back-to-back road exhibition games on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, before returning home to play its second and final home preseason game on Friday, Oct. 3, vs. Buffalo. The Hurricanes conclude their exhibition schedule with a road game against the Washington Capitals on Sunday, Oct. 5.

The team wraps up training camp with three consecutive 11 a.m. practices at PNC Arena from Oct. 7-9, before opening its 2014-15 regular season in Raleigh on Friday, Oct. 10 against the Islanders. A complete training camp practice schedule is attached to this release.

All 82 games will be televised this season, 79 by Fox Family and three by NBC Sports Network

The Hurricanes just announced that Fox Sports Carolinas and Fox Sports South will televise 79 games this coming season and will bring back mainstays, John Forlsund and Tripp Tracy, along with last year's rookie, Chantel McCabe.

The 79 games by Fox and three games previously scheduled by NBC Sports Network mean that all 82 games will be televised.

More about this soon.  See the schedule at the following link:

2014-15 Hurricanes TV Schedule

The team's presser follows:

HURRICANES, FOX SPORTS CAROLINAS ANNOUNCE

2014-15 TELEVISION SCHEDULE

FOX Sports Carolinas and SportSouth to televise 79 Hurricanes games

RALEIGH, NC – FOX Sports Carolinas and the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes today announced that 79 of the team’s 82 regular-season games during the 2014-15 season will be televised by the regional sports network. Of the 79 televised games, 67 will be carried on FOX Sports Carolinas, while 12 will be carried on FOX Sports Carolinas’ sister network, SportSouth. In addition to the 79 games televised regionally by FOX Sports Carolinas and SportSouth, three of Carolina’s games will be televised nationally.

John Forslund will handle the Hurricanes’ play-by-play duties for the 20^th consecutive season, and former professional goaltender Tripp Tracy, who is entering his 16^th season in the broadcast booth, will provide analysis. Chantel McCabe returns for her third season with Forslund and Tracy as sideline reporter. McCabe also will host the network’s 30-minute pregame show, Hurricanes LIVE, which will include appearances for Forslund and Tracy.

The complete Carolina Hurricanes television schedule is attached to this release. Overflow channel information for carriers that do not carry SportSouth on their regular lineups will be widely distributed via CarolinaHurricanes.com, social media and during Hurricanes telecasts prior to each SportSouth game.

The FOX Sports regional networks serving the Southeast – FOX Sports South, FOX Sports Tennessee, FOX Sports Carolinas and SportSouth – collectively reach more than 13 million cable and satellite households in seven states across the Southeast.  They are the television home of the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Dream, Atlanta Hawks, Carolina Hurricanes, Charlotte Hornets, Charlotte Hounds, Memphis Grizzlies, Nashville Predators, Cincinnati Reds, Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Pelicans, and St. Louis Cardinals, as well as the Atlantic Coast Conference, Conference USA, Southeastern Conference, and Big 12 Conference.  Combined, the four networks produce more than 750 live local events and televise more than 1400 live local events each year. For more information, please visit FOXSportsSouth.com, FOXSportsTennessee.com, and FOXSportsCarolinas.com. 

The Carolina Hurricanes open their 2014 exhibition schedule at PNC Arena on Sept. 21 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and will kick off the 2014-15 regular-season campaign on Oct. 10 against the New York Islanders. For information about 2014-15 Hurricanes ticket packages, please call 1-866-NHL-CANES (1-866-645-2263) or visit www.CarolinaHurricanes.com/tickets.

Born and raised in the Triangle area, Logan Halladay makes a push for the NHL with stops in the USHL and Division I college hockey.

Logan Halladay's hockey career began in the suburban North Carolina town of Cary - not exactly a well-known hockey hotbed, but Halladay, an NHL goaltender prospect, still got plenty of practice honing his craft between the posts.

It was something he didn't have much choice in, as he often served as the goalie during his older brother's target practice.

"We were playing street hockey and Kyle needed somebody to shoot on, so he kind of just threw me in the net, "Halladay said.

However, his older brother's sessions gave Halladay some experience as well.

Before making the transition to ice hockey, both brothers started out playing inline hockey at a local facility in a neighboring town of Apex. Kyle soon made the full transition to ice while Logan was still playing inline. A nearby ice rink in Cary offered open rink sessions for players and goalies to attend to work on skills and do individual practice.

"I actually went to a Stick-and-Puck for the first time and I put on goalie gear to have somebody for him to shoot on," Halladay said. "A travel coach saw me in net and asked me to play on his team for the year."

After a discussion with his parents, they told him he should give it a try. If he didn't like it, he didn't have to do it anymore.

"I got thrown into it by my brother and just stuck with it," Halladay said

Soon enough, Halladay began playing goalie for the Triple-A Jr. Hurricanes.  After his 2011-2012 season with the U16 Triple-A team he was selected to play for the USA Youth Olympic team. He was invited to the USHL draft combine in 2011 and 2012, appearing in his first one at age 14. After his second showing at the draft combine, Halladay was the first selected goalie in the third round, 37^th overall by the Waterloo Blackhawks. Past Waterloo draft picks include NHLers such as Andrew Alberts, Jason Blake, J.T. Brown, and Joe Pavelski.

Halladay spent last season in the North American Hockey League junior program with the Janesville Jets, but began living away from home at age 15, something Halladay admitted "makes you grow up really fast." Having to worry about the things parents typically do on a regular basis is another characteristic the lifestyle entails. "You get that experience of living on your own earlier, but you have to worry about stuff like putting meals down, and knowing when you have to eat."

Along with living away from home at a young age, the commitment to junior hockey includes a rigorous schedule. "It's a lot of adjusting to," he claimed. "You only go to school about three days a week with all the traveling." In a single season the team typically makes road trips to about 15-20 different rinks via bus and averages about nine hours of travel a week.In the past four years, he has attended three different high schools.

Halladay returns home to Cary every summer, however. Off-Season training includes a variation of workouts, but this summer included a closer step to the NHL for the then-17-year-old. During the summer the Carolina Hurricanes host a developmental camp for young players including prospects and recent draft picks.

"About two and a half, three weeks before camp I got a call from a member of the organization and they said ‘We'd love to have you out for camp," he said. "I thought it would be the right step for me in my path for development."

"I was a little bit surprised," he mentioned. "I was hoping to get a call to a development camp." This year's NHL draft didn't go as well, as Halladay went undrafted, but he is still at a young age with plenty of time to grow his game. "I knew the chance of getting called to a development camp was a reality." On the fence about whether an invite would come or not, Halladay was unquestionably grateful it was his hometown team on the other line.

The experience as a whole is something Halladay will take back to Bloomington. "It was cool being able to measure yourself up against other players and get that elite league competition and exposure," he emphasized. Reading plays and being more aware of your surroundings on the ice was an adaption he made and plans to include in his play going forward. Also attending the camp were recent Hurricanes draft picks including Haydn Fleury, Josh Wesley, and Brock McGinn.

Within the short week that the players were given, Halladay feels confident that he was able to learn and develop throughout the brief camp.

Along with adapting to the speed of the game, positioning plays an important role in a goaltenders performance. Halladay said he focused on positioning more aggressively to take away shot angles and paying close attention to fundamentals and the ‘little things' while getting a feel for the level he will be playing at in the USHL next season.

Halladay plays a more aggressive style anyway, tending to challenge players at the top of the crease. Even he finds it a bit unorthodox. "You see a lot of goalies that are 6-3, 6-4 and I'm only 6-1 or 2, so I think I do have to play more aggressive to take away those angles," he said, "but that's where I like to use my athleticism. "I think I'm an athletic goalie and I like to use it to my advantage." Using his athleticism to compliment his aggressiveness rather than having shooters play him into in the back of the net is something he stuck with from a young age.

Back in June, USA Today Columnist Kyle Woodlief ranked Halladay as seventh out of ten goalies he thought would be selected in the 2014 NHL Draft. Specifically Woodlief mentioned Halladay's work ethic and called him a "puck-handling wizard." After this was brought to his attention, Halladay didn't spend too much time thinking about it.

"I try not to put too much thought into it because obviously they have no control over your future and I'm the only one who controls that," he said. "For me, it's cool to see that but I just have to stay focused and just focus on what I have to do to keep going and keep getting better."

For Halladay, statistics are in the same pool as a columnist's opinion. However, he does get something out of them. "At the beginning of the year I set goals for myself for what I want to get and the level I want to play at." "I understand every game isn't going to go as well as you want but at the same time, the way I look at it, is you have to learn something new every day." Taking what you learn from one day to the next is what Halladay likes to emphasize and if you can do that he says it's a "successful day." "I try and go out there and learn something new and have fun."

Though hard work is something that has been impressed in him since a young age, it's the most valuable thing he's learned from his experience. "The two things you can always control are your attitude and your effort so if you give 150 percent every time you're out on the ice or every time you're training and you have a good attitude about it, the rest will take care of itself."

The Minnesota Golden Gophers also noticed his style of play. Halladay will be a part of their Division I hockey club in the fall of 2015 after he finishes up his senior year of high school.

Halladay spoke highly of the Gophers accolades including 35 NCAA tournament appearances, 21 appearances in the Frozen Four, and five NCAA Tournament Championships. However, what stuck out the most was the duality of academics and athletics. "They have the full package as far as academics and athletics go," he said.

Last season Halladay received the NAHL Academic Achievement award.

After his visit to the Twin Cities he said "it felt like the right place for me." While the full package is included, the fit for him on the team was what set the University of Minnesota aside from his other offers. "They recruited me because they think I fit in with their system so I just need to keep playing the way I have been playing and keep doing the things I do well," he said. "Ultimately it was a really easy decision."

With a bright future at hand Halladay keeps his sights set on what is in front of him.

"Obviously I think about [getting drafted] but I just need to stay focused on what's in front of me in Bloomington and Minnesota and I think the rest will take care of itself," He said. "You can't really plan for the future."

Nevertheless if the opportunity were to arise it would be a "dream come true" to play for the Carolina Hurricanes - or any NHL team for that matter. He would also be happy to add a gold medal with Team USA and a Stanley Cup to those aspirations - though both of those things would be quite far in his future, and Halladay is focused on the now.

"I just need to continue to work hard, and the rest will take care of itself."

What type of production can we expect from Alexander Semin this season?

Carolina Hurricanes forward Alexander Semin supposedly had a down year last season.  He ended up missing 17 games due to injuries, including a nagging wrist injury which at the minimum, aggravated the sniper throughout most of the season.

But if you look at the averages over the Russian's past four seasons, was he really that far off?  (We will just use four seasons because it is more likely he will do again, what he has accomplished recently).

Semin's goal per game average of .34 last season was actually higher than his total goal per game average over the past four years, (.33).  The assist total is where he dropped off.

"Sasha" proved that he was an excellent set-up man in his first stint with Carolina as he had 31 assists in just 44 games, good for a .70 assist per game average.  Last season's average was less than half that.  But are the assist totals Semin's fault or his linemates?

One big reason Semin's assist numbers went down were because Jiri Tlusty and Eric Staal's numbers were also down.  (We will examine their point totals and averages soon).

The winger was getting a lot of criticism last year because the team wanted him to shoot more and score more, but he has a lot of skill and ability to set up his teammates and should be allowed to keep that option open as well.

Also, that criticism seems unfair, seeing that he was scoring goals at or above his previous four year average.

What can we expect next season?

First, we need to estimate how many games he will play and go from there.  He has missed a lot of games the past four seasons, but did play all of the 44 games two years ago during the shortened season, so we will give him credit for a full, 82 game equivalent that year.

Taking that into consideration, he has averaged playing an equivalent of 72 games over the past four years.

Also, using his four year average for goals scored and assists earned, then it is reasonable to assume he will score 24 goals along with 32 assists for a total of 56 points.  That gives him a points per game average of .77, right on his four year average.

Will he do better or worse than that?  A total of 56 points is actually higher than he has gotten in any of the past four years, (except the 2012 pace), but since he was at a point a game pace two years ago, that is what pushed his average up.

Projection for Semin: 72 Games, 24 goals, 32 assists, 56 points.

Agree or disagree?  Let me know in the comments.

Coming up, we will do the same for each of the Canes and see if we can project the team's scoring for the coming season.  Patrick Dwyer is on deck.

The Carolina Hurricanes recently announced the single game ticket prices for the upcoming season. This years pricing includes a new set of Marquee games that will have higher prices and no advanced pricing.

The Carolina Hurricanes have recently announced the pricing for single game tickets.  The information can be found on their website.  As with previous seasons single game tickets, they will be cheaper if they are purchased a week in advance.  That discount for these Advanced Game Purchase tickets ranges between just over 6% for Mezzanine seats to almost 30% for Second Row seats.  The average discount is just over 14%.

In a change to previous seasons, the Hurricanes have created two new classes of games.  These new classes of games, Marquee and Marquee Gold, cover 8 home games with four games in each category.  The games in these new classes are on either Friday night, Saturday, or Sunday and are against the opponents that tend to attract higher crowds.  There are two games each against Detroit, Philadelphia, and the New York Rangers as well as one each against the Penguins and Capitals.

Games in the Marquee and Marquee Gold category will have higher prices than other games.  Further, these games will not be eligible for any Advanced Game Pricing.  A typical Marquee ticket will cost a little less than 15% more than the Standard Game price.  A typical Marquee Gold ticket will cost over 25% more than a Standard Game price.  The table below has a complete break down of all ticket prices for the upcoming season, including the per game price for the various season ticket packages.  All data is taken from the Carolina Hurricanes website.

There is no doubt that this season pricing represents a deviation from years past.  While a Marquee plan is nothing new in the sports world it is new to the Carolina Hurricanes.  For a team that sells so many single game and walk up tickets it will be interesting to see how this impacts the bottom line.  The eight games that make up the Marquee and Marquee Gold nights represents nearly 20% of the regular season home games.  Further, these are games that in years past would draw a large crowd.  Will the Hurricanes realize money they have been leaving on the table in seasons past or will they cost themselves revenue?

Also of interest this year is the extent to which season ticket packages, even the 12 game package, are incentivized compared to single game purchases.  Season ticket package holders have always received a discount on ticket prices.  What is new this year is the amount of that discount.  When compared to buying all game week tickets, Marquee, or Marquee Gold the full season ticket package is on average a savings of over 40% with some areas, such as First Row, Second Row, and Fan Zone having savings of over 50%.  Even when compared to buying Advanced Price tickets to the 33 games for which they are available and the Marquee or Marquee Gold for the remaining 8 games a season ticket packages is a savings of approximately 35% on average.  Lesser packages have less, but still significant, savings.

With these changes one thing is clear: even more so than in years past the Hurricanes are trying to persuade fans to buy ticket packages through the use of pricing of individual games.  What would be curious to know would be what impact the hiring of Don Waddell had on this, versus what impact Peter Karmanos taking on more responsibility had on this, versus how much this is natural growth of the SAS analytics that began a few seasons back.  Unfortunately, we will likely never know the answer to that question.

Three area schools are ready to kick off the 2014-15 ACHA season.

Not many people (even among those attending the schools) realize that South Florida, and the entire state in general has a growing number of college hockey programs that have been established over the course of the last decade. From Tallahassee to Miami, the impact that major professional hockey has had on Sunshine State, particularly the Miami metropolitan area and the cities surrounding Tampa Bay, has established a generation of young men who want to lace up the skates for their respective schools across the peninsula. The teams also boast plenty of transplants on their rosters, making these schools a haven for the Northerners who weren't able to make the cut at the NCAA level, but can now find a spot and compete at the ACHA level and put on great games under the Floridian sun.

The distinction between the NCAA and the ACHA is that the NCAA are official teams that go out and recruit their players for the most part and offer them scholarships. The ACHA, on the other hand, is an organization that has provided a structure for the hundreds of club teams (involving both men's and women's categories) across the country and tiers them by strength among three divisions. The clubs in South Florida are all in Division 3, the lowest tier.

There have been fourteen Florida college hockey squads, from well known schools like Florida State University and the University of Florida, to more obscure schools like Embry-Riddle and Florida Tech. Depending on if they can scrounge up enough players, have the time, and have the money, some teams may not play in consecutive years. From what I have deduced there are ten teams set to play in 2014-15 across the state, meaning there is plenty of hockey to go around for fans.

Let's take a brief look at the three schools in the area offering ACHA hockey: The University of Miami Hurricanes, the Florida Atlantic University Owls, and the Palm Beach State College Panthers.

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MIAMI

The Miami Hurricanes are the most well-known of the three area schools. They make their home out of the Kendall Ice Arena in Miami-Dade County. They are set to open their season against the University of Tampa Spartans at the Tampa Bay Lightning's practice facility in Brandon on Friday, September 12th at 7:45 pm. Their home opener is Friday, September 19th against the FAU Owls in Kendall. The U's schedule can be found here.

FLORIDA ATLANTIC

The Florida Atlantic Owls have the distinction of having the closest relationship among the three schools with the Florida Panthers, as they were previously coached by former player Peter Worrell. This relationship is made stronger by the fact that the Owls host their home games at the NHL team's training facility, the Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs.

The Owls kick off their season with a home-and-home series versus their cross-regional rivals, the Miami Hurricanes. The first game is on Friday, September 19th at 8:15 pm in Kendall. The second, their home opener, is on Saturday, September 20th at 8 pm in Coral Springs. More information about the Owls can be found on their Facebook page.

PALM BEACH STATE

The new kids on the block are the only one of the three area teams that is from a junior college. The Palm Beach State Panthers were the most recently established of the trio and play their home games at the only international-sized rink in South Florida, Palm Beach Ice Works in West Palm Beach.

The College Panthers host their home opener on Friday, September 19th at 9:30 pm. Their opponent is the University of Tampa Spartans. For more information on the PB State Panthers check out their website.

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It is really important for hockey fans in South Florida to give these young men some support as many of them play this game simply for the enjoyment; and all of these teams are looking for more sponsors to help them fund their equipment, uniforms, rink time for practice, hosting fees and travel expenses. After attending a few games, I can assure you it is a real good time and fun for the whole family. So if you have that itch for live hockey when the local NHL team is not in action, then why not head on over to watch some hometown kids playing genuine South Florida college hockey.

The Dallas Stars overcame a third period deficit, and defeated the Rangers in both team's first game of the Traverse City Tournament. Here are New York's goals.

Unfortunately, it seemed virtually impossible to watch the Rangers open up the Traverse City Tournament against the Stars last night. For that reason, it's difficult to really opine or provide any commentary, while there's no use in making any definitive judgements from these games.

However, it is still nice to somewhat know what went on. The Rangers fell in their opening contest to the Stars, 4-3. After building up a 3-1 lead, the Rangers conceded twice in the third, including the game-tying goal with two minutes remaining, and then lost to Dallas in overtime.

Again, no reason to beat your head against a wall over the result. From what I gathered from what I saw from some beat writers on Twitter, Ryan Haggerty and Anthony Duclair both looked very good offensively, while Kevin Hayes seemed to be getting his feet wet (while he still managed to tally a very pretty assist). Hayes also played in all three phases of the game, and played center, while I expect the team to also give him a look on the wing. Mat Bodie seemed to have a strong game from the blue line, and Brandon Halverson, despite giving up four, seemed to have played steady in net.

Wanted to add this morsel on Hayes, from someone on the beat who does a very good job. Maybe "getting his feet wet" wasn't quite how it actually looked:

And then Kevin Hayes, playing his natural center position, really stood out for Rangers. As one scout noted: "dominant"

— Katie Strang (@KatieStrangESPN) September 13, 2014

Here are three Rangers goals (in GIF form!) while a full highlight video of the action is at the bottom.

Haggerty's goal:

Michael Kantor's goal:

Richard Nejezchleb's goal (assists Bodie, Hayes):

And here are the full highlights. The Rangers will be back in action tonight at 7 p.m. against the Sabres, who lost their opener 6-1 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Tambo wins it in OT!

Highlights are better than nothin'.

The baby Rangers bounced back from their overtime lost against the Dallas Stars and came away from Sam Reinhart, Joel Armia and the rest of the Buffalo Sabres with a 2-1 overtime victory last night.

- By all accounts, Mackenzie Skapski was the star of the game last night. He had 36 saves on 37 shots and held the line despite being peppered early on.From the radio broadcast it sounded like he was under assault for the first half of the game and the Rangers only got back into the game when they got a ridiculous shorthanded center ice goal from Sam Noreau.

#NYR goalie @Skaps29 set a new #NYRTCT record with his 36 saves in tonight's win!

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) September 14, 2014

- Ryan Haggerty had 5 shots and 2 PIM and big center Kevin Hayes had 4 shots. There is some talk among hockey writers that Hayes has to start showing some kind of dominance if he is to be considered NHL ready. Perhaps there is a chemistry issue or something else going on but I see little cause for concern. The great news is that he reportedly does look comfortable playing center which is a fantastic for the Rangers' organizational depth at that position.

- The Rangers' next game is Monday, the 16th against the Carolina Hurricanes at 7pm. The Hurricanes destroyed the Buffalo Sabres 6-1 in their first game of the tournament so it should be pretty stiff competition for the Rangers' prospects.The ull schedule can be found here.

- Mat Bodie has been eating up ice time and appears to be a guy used in all situations. Last night when I was listening to the game on the radio, the broadcasters couldn't help but notice that he always seemed to be on the ice. I always take that as a good sign when it comes to blueliners.

- Finally, it doesn't get much sweeter than this, especially when it is has been so long since we saw the Blueshirts on the ice. Adam Tambellini finishes the 2-on-1 to give the Rangers three points against the Buffalo Sabres, their record is now 1-0-1 in the Traverse City Tournament. An interview with Adam Tambellini about his game-winning goal can be watched below.

- Did you guys know that Brandon Halversonwas born in Traverse City? Well, now you do.

Enjoy your Sunday. Let's go New York football teams! Is it October yet?

Charlotte coach Jeff Daniels thinks that Zach Boychuk is ready for the next level

Zach Boychuk has attended Carolina Hurricanes training camps before, but things seem a bit different this time around.

Boychuk is coming off a season where he led the entire American Hockey League in goals scored.  He finished with career best numbers,  (69 games, 36 goals, 38 assists) and his coach, Jeff Daniels, said that last year was the winger's most consistent season as a pro.

When Daniels was asked at prospect conditioning camp whether he thought his star winger was ready to take the next step, he replied "without a doubt", then went on.

"Maturity wise, he is definitely there.  From being consistent?  I think the big thing with him was being consistent.  But I think he showed that all year last year.  Obviously, he led the league in scoring.   He's a guy who is an exciting player to watch, he has some speed.  He's not afraid to go to the net and he has that touch around the net.  When he gets the puck around the net, he knows what to do with it.   But again, his thing was being consistent all season long.   There was not a stretch for a couple of weeks when he would drop off,  he was strong all season.  For me,  he's been close for several years now, but this will be the closest he has ever been and he should be ready to go."

Even if he has improved, making the Canes will not be easy for the Checkers star.  He has plenty of competition.

Carolina's top 11 forwards are pretty much penciled in.  Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Alexander Semin, Jeff Skinner, Elias Lindholm, Jiri Tlusty, Riley Nash, Nathan Gerbe, Patrick Dwyer,  Brad Malone, and Jay McClement probably have jobs unless they do something lose them.

That leaves one spot open for someone to fit in the top 12, and another spot as an extra.

Boychuk will be up against former Checkers teammate Chris Terry as well as up-and-coming youngsters, Brock McGinn, Patrick Brown, Phillip Di Giuseppe, and others.

Chad LaRose will also be in camp and while currently signed to an AHL contract, he could be upgraded to the NHL if he shows better than anyone else, much like Manny Malhotra last year.

Boychuk should be one of the favorites to make it though, as his experience and hard work over the past few seasons should pay dividends.

His career numbers:

NHL - 96 Games 9 goals 15 assists, 24 points.

AHL  - 296 Games 117 goals 146 assists 263 points.

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In case you missed it, Section 328 interviewed Boychuk in a recent podcast.  You can check that out here.

We reached out to the SBNation blogs for the other clubs in the Metropolitan Division, posing five questions. First up -- the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Carolina Hurricanes are an enigma.  On paper, they are an intimidating lot, with Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Jeff Skinner and Alexander Semin up front.  Those four combined for 91 goals and 106 assists last season, but also managed only a cumulative minus-24.  Ouch.  They got little help on the scoring front, as the club ranked 22nd in scoring, with just 205 goals. 

The mediocre showing spurred significant change in the front office and behind the bench. In April, Ron Francis assumed the General Manager position, replacing Jim Rutherford, who assumed temporary advisory duties for the club before being named the new GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins in June.  Also in June, Bill Peters was named the new head coach, replacing Kirk Muller, who later signed on as an assistant to Ken Hitchcock in St. Louis. 

We reached out to Bob Wage, the Managing Editor of Canes Country, the SBNation blog for the Carolina Hurricanes, posing five questions concerning the club's fortunes for the upcoming season.  Here's what he had to say:

Q:  What changes do you expect Bill Peters to bring, both on the ice and in the room?

Peters will bring a fresh attitude and energy to the room which is badly needed. He seems to be an excellent communicator and hopefully his message will get through to the team. In his latest press conference he summarized his system which seems to be an aggressive forecheck. If nothing else, the Canes should be skating hard and forechecking this season, but the most important on ice improvement will have to be the powerplay. Time will tell on that.

Q:  For the Canes to make the playoffs, _____________ needs to step up and be a key contributor.  Fill in the blank.  Why?

Eric Staal.  Ever since he has been on the team, the Hurricanes depend upon Eric Staal to get them going. If he does well, the Canes usually do as well. As team captain, he will need to lead by example and put the team on his back if necessary. Can he get back to be a clutch player? I don't know.

Q:  Last year, the club had 42 points at home and 41 on the road.  Why so relatively good away, and poor at home?  How does this change?

Why do they have such a poor record at home? Do they try harder to please the home crowd and mess up? Are they too comfortable and that is why they start out slow? Time after time when playing at home, this team would come out of the gate lethargic and would be losing in the first period. That is a recipe for disaster in the NHL. How does this change? First of all they need to recognize the problem and it seems Coach Peters is well aware of this and vows to make them start out games better this season. How does he accomplish this? He says its preparation.

Q: Andrej Sekera and Justin Faulk averaged almost 24 minutes of TOI per game last year.  Can they be effective at that level for a full sesaon?  Who provides relief on the Blue Line?

Sekera had a career season last year. Can he repeat again this season? I believe he can and will. He and Faulk make a decent pairing and should do well in that role again. Who provides the relief is the bigger question. The Canes will be counting on Ron Hainsey and Tim Gleason to most likely play the next biggest role on the blueline. A lot of pundits are not optimistic about the rest of the club's defensemen.

Q:  The reunion of the Staals in Carolina resonates in a mnner similar to the Sedins in Vancouver.  One has the "C", the other an "A".  Asset or distraction for the club?

So far, it's been more of a distraction in my opinion. The Staal Brothers get a lot of publicity and attention. But last year, both Eric and Jordan had sub-par seasons compared to their normal stats. The team needs that to change this coming season in order to make it to the post season.

________________

The Hurricanes have talent, but are relying on an older crop of blue liners, with Gleason, Hainsey and Liles, though first round pick Haydn Fleury provides promised relief -- but not likely this year.    That will put pressure on Anton Khudobin, who posted nifty numbers of 2.30 GAA and a .926 save percentage in 36 games last year.  Can he do it over a full season?  If not, can Cam Ward regain his form?   Lots of potential, but lots of questions in Carolina this year.  If Bill Peters can get everyone on the same page, the Hurricanes could contend. However, the Metro Division is a tough place to find your identity.  If the Staals do not meet expectations, new management may not be as patient as the previous regime.

Our thanks to Bob Wage for his candid answers.  Be sure to check out Canes Country for all things Hurricanes.  More to com -- stay tuned.

If time travel were possible, here are the moments in Sabres history that we'd go back and change.

We're weeks away from the beginning of the season, and while we have a pretty good idea how the year will go, today we'll give you a chance to indulge yourself with some nostalgia. Pretty straightforward question - "What one move in Buffalo Sabres' history would you go back and undo, and what would you do instead at that moment?"

There is plenty of scope to let your mind wander, so we'll limit these to moves made by the Sabres' ownership/front office/management group. These could be roster decisions, coaching choices, free agency signings (and not-signings!), gameday selections, draft day pickups, trades made, stadium-related issues, and even team uniform decisions. For the purposes of this exercise, we can't change plays on the ice, but any decision made by a person in charge is fair game.

Andy

As a younger guy, my undo moments both come from the last decade -  the two obvious choices here are Drury/Briere and the third jersey debacle. I'll take Drury/Briere here.

During the summer of 2007, the Buffalo Sabres were coming off of two amazing seasons filled with deep playoff runs, President's Trophies, and game after game of exciting hockey. It was a style we hadn't seen in Buffalo since the days of LaFontaine-Mogilny, and it re-energized a fan base that had drifted away during the 2004 lockout. It was, as we would come to know it in modern times, the Glory Days of Sabres hockey.

All of that came crashing down, however, on July 1, 2007. During that free agency period, Chris Drury and Daniel Briere left the Sabres for bigger paydays elsewhere, and the Sabres would never be the same. Drury and Briere were the heart and soul of those teams, not to mention two of the biggest point producers that helped to push youngsters such as Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek into more manageable third line roles.

The obvious thing to do would be to re-sign them both, but we know thanks to hindsight that the re-signing option wasn't really possible under Tom Golisano's budgetary restrictions. With that in mind, I wish the team had gone after Briere rather than Drury, and earlier to boot. Keeping one of those players could have extended Buffalo's playoff run for another two or three years, and given the Sabres a chance to compete for a Cup through 2010. However, Buffalo lost too many players to free agency or retirement to keep their juggernaut status, and the rest, as they say, is history.

As for the third jersey, just burn them. Burn them all.

Calvin

I'll take you back to the same era too. It was the playoffs of 2005-06, the first one after the lockout. The Sabres were one of the teams that benefited greatly from the rule changes that eliminated the defensive clutching and grabbing that had bogged the game down. In the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, Buffalo had come up against a strong Ottawa Senators team and had blown them away, with Jason Pominville scoring one of the most memorable Sabres playoff goals of all time, shorthanded and in overtime no less.

Another unsung hero in that series was defenseman Jay McKee, who was seemingly indestructible, blocking shot after shot in front of goalie Ryan Miller. In that game in Ottawa, one of the shots that McKee blocked caught him right on the shin, causing a small cut. Right after that game is where I choose my 'undo' moment. Just a couple of dabs of some antiseptic and a Band-Aid over the cut. A fix that would cost only a couple of dollars, but would have the butterfly effect of changing the face of a franchise to the tune of millions of dollars.

With that simple remedy, McKee would have played even better than he continued to do in the Conference Finals against the Carolina Hurricanes, where he led the team in checks and blocked shots. Even if Carolina had taken Buffalo to Game Seven, McKee would not have missed the game with a severe infection of that cut. Nathan Paetsch would not have made his Sabres debut in that pivotal game. The injury-ravaged Sabres would have had one more veteran on the ice in the third quarter when they let a lead slip, to lose the series. A mediocre Edmonton Oilers team would have been swept aside in the Stanley Cup Finals and Buffalo would celebrate it's first Cup win.

As the saying goes, the monkey would have been flung off the franchise's back. Success would have bred more success as Lindy Ruff would have been able to attract more talent to Buffalo. A stronger squad would have then not succumbed to Ottawa in the 2006-07 Conference Finals, and possibly a second successive Cup would have been paraded through the streets of Buffalo. Who knows, right?

Chime in with your thoughts in the comments section below on where in Sabres history you'd have liked to hit Ctrl-Z to undo and make a different decision for the front office.

On ice sessions start on Friday at PNC - First peek at possible lines is offered

The Carolina Hurricanes released their training camp roster last night and a total of 51 players were selected to participate.  Michael Smith, who works for the club, reported on Twitter that the team will not have any PTO's this preseason, confirming that Ron Francis has not changed his mind from his earlier stance.

Of the players named, 17 of them participated in the Traverse City Tournament just completed.  The club's prospects finished with a 2-2 record and were led by Victor Rask with nine points (4G 5A) in four games and Brock McGinn with five points, (3G 2A) in three games.  Sergey Tolchinsky also had five points in four games.  (McGinn missed a game with a lower body injury).

The team also released the training camp groupings, which may offer a glimpse at what coach Peters is looking at regarding lines.

In Group A, the first line is listed as Jeff Skinner, Eric Staal, and Elias Lindholm.  Next is Brad Malone, Jay McClement, and Patrick Dwyer.

In Group B, the first line is Jiri Tlusty, Jordan Staal, and Alexander Semin.  Then we have Nathan Gerbe, Riley Nash, and Zach Boychuk.  We will see how these lines do, or if they even stay together.

On defense we have Andrej Sekera and Ryan Murphy in the first defensive pair on Group A with Jay Harrison and Brett Bellemore next.

In Group B, Ron Hainsey and Justin Faulk are the first pairing with John-Michael Liles and Tim Gleason the second.

Anton Khudobin, Daniel Altshuller, and Alex Nedeljkovic are the goalies in Group A while Cam Ward and Drew MacIntyre will back stop Group B.

Group A will hit the ice at 8:55 a.m. on Friday.  Group B will follow that up at 11 a.m.

Check out the following attachments for more information.

2014 Training Camp Groups

2014 Training Camp Roster

2014 Training Camp Schedule

Today’s Number To Know, the first in our new daily tradition, looks back at the Traverse City Prospect Tournament.

Number To Know

18— The combined point total for Carolina’s frequent top line at the Traverse City Prospect Tournament. Center Victor Rask led all players in the tournament with eight nine points (four goals, five assists), while wingers Brock McGinn and Sergey Tolchinsky each finished with two goals and three assists apiece.

It is the second year in a row the Hurricanes have had a player lead the tournament in scoring — Tolchinsky finished with eight points (five goals, three assists) last season. McGinn (3-1-4) and Rask (2-0-2) were also among Carolina’s top scoring forwards.

All three will be battling for a spot on Carolina’s roster. While McGinn and Rask can both be optioned to Charlotte if needed, Tolchinsky will either need to stick with the Hurricanes or return to the Soo Greyhounds of the OHL for the 2014-15 season.

Today’s number looks at Carolina’s captain and time unwisely spent.

Number To Know

2 — Consecutive seasons captain Eric Staal has led the team in penalty minutes. Staal had a career-high 74 PIMs in 79 and 54 PIMs in 48 games in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign. Twelve of his minor penalties last season were for tripping, and most of his infractions have been obstruction calls, not physical penalties often revered in a power forward. The Hurricanes need Staal on the ice and not in the box to be successful in 2014-15.

First day of training camp under Peters is high energy, up tempo, and organized

Jeff Skinner got knocked down hard by Ron Hainsey.  Carter Sandlak and Dennis Robertson got tangled up and almost came to blows.  Yes, training camp has finally started for the Carolina Hurricanes.

All 51 players participated in a scrimmage on the first day of camp and that meant that the ice was pretty crowded during the warmups.  The five-on-five hockey was intense, even if some players were a bit rusty.

"I liked the intensity but I thought they looked sloppy", said head coach Bill Peters when asked about the scrimmage.

The scrimmage ended in a 1-1 tie.  Alexander Semin had the goal for Group B on a breakaway and Jeff Skinner will take credit for the goal for Group A, even though there was some discussion whether or not the puck hit Jared Staal before it went into the net.  Skinner said he was trying to pass the puck.

Semin scored on Anton Khudobin and hit the post on a perfectly placed shot.  I thought I noticed the Russian shaking his right wrist a bit later during practice but perhaps it was just from habit.  His shot looked very good.

Peters said he liked what he saw from Victor Rask and that Brock McGinn also played well in the scrimmage.  The coach said not to read too much into his current lines or defensive pairings.  He plans to experiment with many different things.

Group A will be playing in Sunday's game against the Blue Jackets while Group B will travel to Buffalo for Tuesday's game.

All in all, Peters was happy with today's practice sessions.

"I thought we got some work done, I liked our day," said the coach.

Both groups spent time working on the powerplay, specifically breaking the puck out of their zone and entering it into the offensive zone.  Peters had mentioned in a previous interview that after reviewing tape, he felt the team needed work on that.

Rod Brind'Amour was barking out most of the orders during this segment.

After practice I asked Ryan Murphy if they also spoke of the powerplay in the room before practice.

"Oh yes," he said.  "We were not happy with our powerplay last season and it is important in this league to be able to take advantage of them when you have the chance.  We have committed ourselves to improving it."

The Canes will be back at it tomorrow but the practice will not be open to the public because of the NC State football game.