The Carolina Hurricanes start the season with 2 games in Finland vs. Minnesota. Both are at Noon on VS on Thurs. & Fri.
The final exhibition was a 5-3 loss to SKA St Pete in Russia.
http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2010020008&navid=DL|NHL|home
Canes won 2 in Helsinki in the Finland Bowl.
GO CANES!!!
Everyone in the press seems to think the Hurricanes are rebuilding because they’re so young and under the cap. However, considering how well they’ve done scouting players and developing prospects, I think most of the young players on the Canes are seriously underrated and misjudged based on their youth. Brandon Sutter scored 2 in the first game and Skinner, the 18 year old rookie 1st round (7th overall) pick, scored the only goal in the shootout to lead the Canes to victory. The Canes, overall, are a very young team, but they have a solid defensive corps built of veterans of the system in Corvo, Pitkanen and Gleason as well as an excellent young nucleus on D in McBain, Harrison, Babchuk, Carson and Sanguinetti.
The Canes also have a plethora of (skilled) youth with the forwards. Staal, LaRose, Cole, Ruutu, and Jokinen are leading the way with the experience with the team but young players like Sutter, Skinner, fellow rookie Zac Dalpe (who got his first assist/point in the first game in only 6 minutes of play), and other youngsters that got valuable playing experience last season after it was too late to attempt a run at the playoffs (although they came pretty close with this young nucleus…within 4 games after starting 2-18-3). Drayson Bowman, Pat Dwyer are all young players who gained the experience last year and helped the team to finish with the best record in the NHL in 2010.
Sergei Samsonov is another veteran scorer on the team that didn’t even travel with the team to Finland because of an injury, but he will likely play next Thursday. With the leadership of Staal and Ward who are very young but also have the same valuable experience as anyone in the league, I think this team is reloading…not rebuilding. The youthful lineup provides energy, and although they’ll probably lose games due to inexperience, I think this team is growing up fast. I think they make the playoffs this year, and I think they will be a force within the next coming years. Looking forward to what I’m hoping is a great season and watching all these skilled young players grow up quick. Very promising to see the team led, especially this early, but 18-22 year olds, some of which hadn’t touched an NHL game 2 days ago. Go Canes!
[quote=“ninerball49, post:4, topic:24021”]Everyone in the press seems to think the Hurricanes are rebuilding because they’re so young and under the cap. However, considering how well they’ve done scouting players and developing prospects, I think most of the young players on the Canes are seriously underrated and misjudged based on their youth. Brandon Sutter scored 2 in the first game and Skinner, the 18 year old rookie 1st round (7th overall) pick, scored the only goal in the shootout to lead the Canes to victory. The Canes, overall, are a very young team, but they have a solid defensive corps built of veterans of the system in Corvo, Pitkanen and Gleason as well as an excellent young nucleus on D in McBain, Harrison, Babchuk, Carson and Sanguinetti.
The Canes also have a plethora of (skilled) youth with the forwards. Staal, LaRose, Cole, Ruutu, and Jokinen are leading the way with the experience with the team but young players like Sutter, Skinner, fellow rookie Zac Dalpe (who got his first assist/point in the first game in only 6 minutes of play), and other youngsters that got valuable playing experience last season after it was too late to attempt a run at the playoffs (although they came pretty close with this young nucleus…within 4 games after starting 2-18-3). Drayson Bowman, Pat Dwyer are all young players who gained the experience last year and helped the team to finish with the best record in the NHL in 2010.
Sergei Samsonov is another veteran scorer on the team that didn’t even travel with the team to Finland because of an injury, but he will likely play next Thursday. With the leadership of Staal and Ward who are very young but also have the same valuable experience as anyone in the league, I think this team is reloading…not rebuilding. The youthful lineup provides energy, and although they’ll probably lose games due to inexperience, I think this team is growing up fast. I think they make the playoffs this year, and I think they will be a force within the next coming years. Looking forward to what I’m hoping is a great season and watching all these skilled young players grow up quick. Very promising to see the team led, especially this early, but 18-22 year olds, some of which hadn’t touched an NHL game 2 days ago. Go Canes![/quote]
Well said. :thumbs up: