stormTRacker Podcast
...stormTRacker Podcast is your home for in-depth analysis of the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Wolves & Canes' prospects around the globe. Host Tom Ray is joined by regular contributors, "hockey savants" Erin Manning & Katie Bartlett, as well as "Insiders", Nick Bass (Canes Prospects) & Andrew Rinaldi (Chicago Wolves), to cover all the top stories of your Carolina Hurricanes. In addition, from time-to-time, Tom welcomes special guests to the podcast.
Tom has also launched stormTRacker Website (www.stormtracker23.com), your home for all things stormTRacker including all video & audio Podcasts, a bloggers section (featuring Nick Bass, Erin Manning, Katie Bartlett & Anna) & stormTRacker Shoppe, your home for a variety of stormTRacker branded merchandise.
Tom is also active on "X" connecting with other Hurricanes' fans on a regular basis. (@stormTRacker24)
stormTRacker Podcast
Join the Celebration with stormTRacker: Unpacking Trades, Lineups, and Prospects!
When hockey goes quiet in the summer, the questions start flowing. stormTRacker celebrates our 2nd anniversary with a special mailbag episode answering fan questions about the Carolina Hurricanes' exciting draft picks, potential trades, roster outlook and what to expect in the upcoming season.
Highlights:
• The podcast achieved 25,000 new views & 2,000 subscribers this past year on youtube & exceeded 250 monthly audio downloads in July for the 1st time on sites such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pandora, Amazon Music & others.
• Metropolitan Division wildcard race predictions show Columbus, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh facing challenges
• Jason Robertson trade speculation centers on Carolina's unique position with Dallas' draft picks and over $10M in cap space
• The 2025 draft excitement focuses on Charlie Cerrato, Ivan Ryabkin, and Semyon Frolov
• Trade deadline targets for the 2C position include Elias Lindholm, Pavel Zacha, Bo Horvat and, potentially, Nazem Kadri
• Pyotr Kochetkov must demonstrate consistency to become the starter with Andersen's contract expiring or will Canes' be looking at the deadline
• Could Sebastian Aho eventually inherit Jordan Staal's shutdown role as the captain ages?
• Alexander Nikishin is projected for 30-45 points depending on deployment and power play time
• Top line combinations might see Svechnikov join Aho and Ehlers, shifting Jarvis to drive the second line
Thanks to everyone who has supported stormTRacker during our first two years. We appreciate your support greatly. Follow us for continued Carolina Hurricanes coverage and analysis all season long.
With the draft free agency and significant trade activity behind us, not much is happening in the Carolina Hurricanes camp these days, so we thought we'd take the opportunity to answer your questions in a special StormTracker podcast anniversary edition. But before we get started, I wanted to give you a quick review of the past year at Storm Tracker and what a year it's been. You know, in September 23, storm Tracker was launched as a new podcast covering the Carolina Hurricanes, but things took a while to get going. But around this time last year we expanded the channel to include a bunch of new team members. Last year we expanded the channel to include a bunch of new team members, including hockey savants Aaron and Katie and, of course, our insiders Nick Bass from Cane's Prospects and Andrew Rinaldi from the Calder Times. Over the last year we've achieved 25,000 views and added more than 2,000 subscribers. We've also seen a strong growth on our audio podcast site, exceeding 250 downloads for the first time in July Great stuff. Of course, none of this is possible without you, the viewers and the listeners. We can't thank you enough for taking the time to join us and support us during this journey, and I want to give a special shout out to the Storm Tracker team. Aaron and Katie you guys have been amazing and to Nick and Andrew for their awesome contributions, making Storm Tracker a preferred destination for Canes fans.
Speaker 1:Now let's move on to the mailbag segment. Thanks so much to all of you who have sent in questions and be sure to stick around to the end when we announce the three winners of Storm Tracker merchandise packs. As expected, there's lots of interest in lineup decisions, possible deals and what's it going to take for the Canes to go ahead and win the cup this year. Okay, so let's get started. Our first question comes from Tucker Blackenship and Tucker says is there a surprise wildcard race Metro team this year in line with the 24-25 Columbus Blue Jackets? Katie, katie.
Speaker 2:Well, the Blue Jackets definitely were a surprise last year when it came to the wild card and them missing it by, I think, just one game. It was a race down to the wire until Aaron's Montreal Canadiens stole that last spot and snuck into the playoffs. For this coming year, I definitely think the Blue Jackets will be in the race again in the talk, but they won't be a surprise anymore, because they were the surprise last year. The only teams that I would say would be a surprise if they make a playoff berth, would be Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and with where those teams are at right now, I'm just not seeing them really being in the conversation for very long this season.
Speaker 2:Pittsburgh has openly admitted that they are in a rebuild and that they are trying to do business with other teams. They seem like they're pretty intent on being in that race for a top seed in next year's draft a top seed in next year's draft and Philadelphia. While they have made some moves and they have some young, exciting, fun stars, I think the only thing that they are going to be providing next season is vibes as they try and rebuild their team with players like Michkov and Zgris leading the way. So you know, come back in a couple of seasons, and maybe Philly will be back in the conversation, but not this year. I think, though, they're just working on building that strong young core to make a push again for the near future.
Speaker 3:Well, I think that they're not really a surprise either, in the sense that you know the Islanders have made the playoffs a lot of years. But the Islanders are going through an interesting kind of retool. I think they could kind of be this year's version of the Washington Capitals, in that you know they are finally making some strides forward in their future. They have had an aging core for a long time Now. Some of those players have actually moved on. There may be more moves that they're going to be making during the course of the season. They're under new management.
Speaker 3:Everything is a little bit different for the New York Islanders this year. So I know that that's not going to. You know, the Canes fans out there that have seen the Canes take on the Islanders in the first round year after year after year are probably not excited by the prospect of that happening again. But I do think that the Islanders are going to make a solid push and I would not be at all surprised to see them be, if not one of the teams that's just going to make it in, but at least make that wildcard spot and get in there, even if they're not right at the top. So we'll see what happens.
Speaker 1:It's going to be an interesting year for them. Well, one of the interesting things we've discussed in the past is that most of these teams have done little to improve during the offseason. There hasn't been a lot of movement. The free agent class, as we know, was pretty skimpy, so trying to get to the next level and get into the playoffs or get into that wildcard berth is going to be really tough for the teams that were out. I just don't see them improve that much.
Speaker 1:And I know you mentioned Trevor Zegers with the Flyers. I don't have great expectations for Zegers, so I'm not sure that's going to help the Flyers a whole lot this year. And, of course, yeah, as you say, with the Islanders, they've got Matthew Dersh running the ship now, so he's got some work to do, I think, to get those guys back in too. But you're right, those are the teams that are on the bubble. They're the ones that folks talk about the most, and I certainly don't see Pittsburgh this year, and I fully expect we're going to see some more moves with the pens. Kyle Dubas will continue to try to build his opportunity for the future with prospects and draft picks. So, yeah, I think it's going to be status quo pretty well this year and we'll see how that plays out as well. Good stuff, okay. Second question was from Eric underscore K8. And Eric asked the question which top prospect are you most excited about from the 25 draft and who is someone you hope to see get a call up sometime this season? So what have we got, erin?
Speaker 3:Well, from this draft. I mean, let's be honest, this was not the most vibrant draft class in terms of, you know, having really great players all the way down into the second and third round draft class, in terms of, you know, having really great players all the way down into the second and third round and the Canes, as usual, traded their first round draft pick. So but, having said that, there are some really intriguing prospects, and I think I've probably mentioned this before, but I think the one that I'm the most intrigued by is the overager, charlie Serrato, who's playing in Maine this year. The intriguing thing for Serato is he's going to be playing with Gavin McKenna, who is widely expected to be the first overall draft pick next year, and then he's also probably going to be playing with Bradley Nadeau's brother, josh, who is in Maine as well. So that's going to give, I think, serato some opportunity to really, you know, put up some good numbers and, you know, kind of be involved in a lot of that offense that that team is going to create. And that kind of thing definitely helps players to not just to build that you know post-draft resume, so to speak, but also to gain the confidence that they need coming into. You know the professional ranks and so I think that's just going to help Serato's chances of, you know, maybe coming into the Wolves and then from there possibly even eventually making the Kings roster.
Speaker 3:We're talking, you know, down the line, but that's what I see. As far as call-ups for the season, I think we're all very hopeful that Bradley Nadeau will get a chance to come in and play. But leaving that aside because that's the obvious answer I really personally enjoyed seeing Juha Jaska play last year when he came in. He is so much of a Brenda Moore player. It's just work, work, work, every shift. He's an exciting and fun guy to watch in that sense, and even though he's not the biggest guy in the world, he doesn't back down, he's very physical. I would have absolutely no problems with a Yaska call-up if it happens, and I'm pretty sure it probably will at some point along the way. So that's me.
Speaker 2:Katie Of this year's draft class. I'm very intrigued by Ryabkin. It sounds like he has a lot of tools but he's still somewhat raw. But if you have the tools and you have a system that's willing to work with you and willing to help develop those tools, then being part of the Canes could be really beneficial for him, and the fact that he is already over in North America is helpful as well. So I think he's the one that I'm kind of intrigued by as far as how the Canes can work with him and help him get back on track with the areas where he's struggled a little bit and then develop those tools that he has and possibly find some offense and other contributions that he could make to the team. As far as the call-up for this season, there were a lot of call-ups last year at the end when we had, when we were arresting some players and we'd already established what our seating was going to be in the playoffs. But one guy that wasn't part of that that I would like to see is Legault.
Speaker 1:Ah, true, I'd like to see.
Speaker 2:Legault, yes, with his size and with his reach and with being more in the style of a defensive defenseman, that is something that perhaps other than Slavin and Chatfield they don't have so much. It'll be interesting to see how Miller develops and Nikitian develops and what kind of style they end up providing for the Canes. But having somebody like Legault, who would be most likely a third pairing defenseman, but someone who would be there to be a shutdown, to eat minutes, to take up space on the ice, I'd love to be able to see what he is able to do at the NHL level, even if it is those last couple of games at the end of the season where he's just munching some minutes so that somebody else can sit and relax and take a breather before the playoffs start.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, I mean you mentioned some great players. I mean Charlie Serrato was the top rookie scorer in the Big Ten last year, so he's a guy that can put up points, but he's no more for his 200-foot game, so he's a guy that I think would fit the Brendamore style Reapkin interesting thing on Reapkin he was rated so highly. It's incredible. Bob McKenzie had him at 19,. Mckean's had him at 26, dauber had him at 11, smotscouting had him at five. I mean he was at one point, was definitely a first rounder, and he kind of struggled the first half of the season and then he ended up going to Muskegon, as you mentioned. Kd went to the USHL and he tore it up. He had 19 goals in 27 games. The deal on Ryabkin is he's an incredible offensive talent, no question. But he's got to get his game rounded out. And he's got to get his game rounded out and he's got to get his attitude right. So he's got to come in and, as you said rightfully, he's got to get, uh, get some of that kind of hurricanes style and form and and uh, and you know the attention that he'll get north america is brilliant. I mean he's going to be right here where you know he can spend time with a lot of the folks that get out and and do that with the prospects. So I'm excited about reapkin. You know he can spend time with a lot of the folks that get out and do that with the prospects, so I'm excited about Ryabkin.
Speaker 1:You know, for me Semyon Prolov is another guy that I thought in the draft was a bit of a steal. He was rated second by Central Scouting, nhl Central Scouting for international goaltenders, and there were several good ones. But he's a guy again. He's 6'3", he's just about 200 pounds. He's a good-sized guy. He's got tremendous lateral movement. He's quick. He's a player that you know a lot of folks think very, very highly of him. I remember we talked about Corey Promen talking about him last time and he was extremely positive about the talent that this young man has and where he is in his career. So he's another guy that we want to keep an eye on and we know we've got Ruslan Kazeev in Chicago as well. That's going to be fun this year and he'll get some more playing time. So great young Russian goaltenders, certainly in the mix Players coming up hey for sure Bradleyley. You know I feel great about bradley nadeau. Uh, you know when you talk about uh.
Speaker 1:One thing I'll mention about charles alexis the goal he's a right shot defender and that is huge, because, again, you know that, uh, with the canes we're a little bit skimpy on the right side right now. So, uh, he's a guy that could definitely, you know, find a way into the lineup at some point and he brings, as you say, size and tough. So he's a guy that could definitely, you know, find a way into the lineup at some point and he brings, as you say, size and toughness, and he's rounding out his offensive game. But the other guy that I really like is Dominic Fensori. Okay, so I'm a big fan of Dom. He signed on again this year to play in Chicago. Not a big player, but boy, I thought when he was up with the Canes and you talked about this too, erin when he was up with the Canes he distinguished himself, he looked great, and so I hope Dom gets up this year because I'd like to see him again. He really moves the puck beautifully out of his zone and he sees the ice extremely well. So lots of good players to talk about, and I'm sure there's more Yaska. We love Yaska, and we'll even see Tyson Joseph from time to time as well if he's down in Chicago. So, yeah, lots, lots to be excited about with the prospect crew for sure.
Speaker 1:So now we move on to an area that a lot of folks really were interested in, which was talking about trade. You know we've this. We've had so many discussions going on, as you know. How do we, how do we spend the rest of our money? And you know what's happening on the 2C and are we getting a right shot defense? Well, we've actually talked about all these things in the past, but we did have a number of questions, and let's get started with one from Brian Ford. And Brian says realistically, if a trade happens, who is it, what are the pieces and best guess? Okay, and I'll bring in another one at the same time, and I think we can probably touch both of these, and it's from Canes and Dogs. He says with nearly 10 million in cap space, do you think there's another trade out there that folks are going to be talking about, like a larger scoring forward that can finish, or maybe a right-hand defenseman? Okay, so we've got some money We've got questions about are there more deals with Eric this summer? Who wants to kick it off?
Speaker 3:I will Okay, because I think that the answer to this question for right now is very different from the answer. If they hold on to that money and spend it later and to me there's probably about a 75 to 90 percent chance that they're going to hold on and spend it later and that they're not going to make another big trade this summer because that would require somebody to become available that's really worth going all in on. Yes, the one exception to this because it's been around and the conversations have been swirling. We've heard the discussions on X, we've heard the discussions from analysts about what this team is up against, and that is if the Dallas Stars decide that they absolutely cannot afford to re-sign Jason Robertson I believe it's next season when he's coming due and if they decide that they're going to go ahead and make that deal now, then I think that the Carolina Hurricanes are uniquely suited to obtain Robertson because we have Dallas' two draft picks for the next two drafts. We have their two first-round draft picks. If they want those firsts back and it's going to be a big draft class, even if they're low picks, sometimes that can be leveraged a couple of lower ones for a higher one. You might hang on to the lower ones because there's probably going to be value throughout that first round, the way that the draft class is shaping up. So, or they might want those picks in order to make a deal for a player that they really need in their lineup, because Dallas needs defense.
Speaker 3:So if they decide that they're going to trade Jason Robertson, I think the Canes would be their partner in that trade. I think that what they would be looking for would be primarily the draft capital. I think that they would perhaps expect a prospect to be thrown in along with that. I don't see them wanting a roster player, which is another reason right now why that trade would make sense for the Canes, because, even though the Canes would have then a few too many wingers and might have to make a subsequent move, the Canes are not looking to get rid of somebody who's slotted to start in the lineup right now.
Speaker 3:That's not something they have to do. We don't need to shed cap. We don't need to shed cap. We don't need to get rid of somebody. We don't need to move somebody. Other teams would be asking the Stars to take on a contract, and that's the whole reason they would want to move Robertson is because of their cap space situation. So to me, that's the no-brainer. That's the trade. If there was going to be a you know knock your socks off trade before opening night, it would be something involving Jason Roberts. If it doesn't happen, there's a lot of other stuff that could happen during the season yeah, and we'll talk about.
Speaker 1:We'll talk about that, yeah yep, I would agree.
Speaker 2:Um, I don't think the canes can send both picks back because with the deal with miller, it was whichever is the better of the two between.
Speaker 2:So that's tied up, yep but the thing that you have to keep in mind is dallas also made theirs top 10 protected and so their their top picks. They cannot trade for 2026, 2027, 2028, or 2029. All four of those picks are currently tied up because of that deal with Carolina. So I don't know if there's an agreement they can make with New York that says, yeah, we'll accept Carolina's pick regardless of what happens, so that Dallas can get their pick back, but they definitely have the 2028 pick that they could use. I'm also going I'm going to disagree with you a little bit. I think that, because of the cap situation and because of having too many wingers, carolina would send Jackson Blake back in the deal, because Blake is on and he is on an ELC.
Speaker 2:It's a low cap hit right now.
Speaker 2:And so it would not hurt their cap issues too much. So it opened up that roster space to slide Robertson in and it would send somebody back, which you know I know a lot of people don't like talking about Mika Rantanen these days, but if there was one player that Mika Rantanen got along with well and was about to get physical over when he was mistreated, it was Jackson Blake. And so there's. It just makes a lot of sense that blake would have some, some opportunities to be impactful for the stars not too impactful, because you know I don't need the stars to win but at the same time it makes sense that he could, he could work over there. So I agree. But I do agree with you and that the hurricanes are situated in a position to where they could really help out the stars with with the cap. If the stars decide to move robertson and of course the stars would want to send robert, just like the abs wanted to send miko away from them to the eastern conference the stars would want to do the same thing send robertson over to the eastern conference, get him out of the way, and the canes would be. He'd probably more be more agreeable to spending long term with the canes than miko was. So, um, that would definitely be there.
Speaker 2:As far as in the season, I do see if they don't get someone like robertson, they'll be waiting around to see which teams have fallen out of the playoff race early. Who has become available after that. The rumors are going to swirl over Patterson with Vancouver. Again. They're going to swirl all around five different players on the Sabres, because that's always what happens with the Sabres, we're going to pick this up in a minute because I think we have a couple of questions related specifically to the trade deadline as well, katie, so we can yeah.
Speaker 3:And I want to just jump in here really quick and thank you, katie, for correcting me on that I have in my notes that we would give them, that the Canes would give them one of their firsts plus Dallas firsts, because they have two firsts to work with. There is rumors about those two firsts being offered and I just forgot that it was not both Dallas's, it was one of ours and one of Dallas's. But yeah, very few teams could offer two first-round draft picks for Robertson right now or would be in a position that they would want to. And that's especially with the draft. A lot of the teams that would want Robertson would be some of your teams that are rebuilding. Well, those teams are going to have pretty high draft picks in the first round. They're not going to want to give those up. So the Canes can give up a 25th, 26th round, whatever pick, with no problem at all. So thanks for correcting me.
Speaker 1:Yeah and for sure, yeah, we'll definitely get into some interesting discussion about what happens towards the deadline. And you know I think you've set it up right too, aaron on that side, saying that it's unlikely they're going to spend much money now and they could be in a position to take advantage of that. A couple of quick points. I mean, robertson is a guy that the Canes have been rumored interested in for a long time, so it wouldn't be surprising if they're in the conversation. And one of the things we've learned is, in the last three years I mean, or two and a half years the Canes have really been involved in every significant deal and, in fact, have won a number of them. So it wouldn't be a shock if they went in and were able to put a deal together. And, having done a deal previously with Dallas, there's a comfort with the two teams as to you know what's going to happen, and I think both of them are comfortable with a win-win situation. I mean, dallas is happy because they've got Rantanen, and the Canes are pretty happy about what they ended up with as well. So I think they're definitely the kind of partners you want. And boy would Robertson be an incredible add. I mean, here's a guy that's had 240 goal season and a 35 goal season. Would you like to add that to your roster Along with Ehlers this year? It would be insane.
Speaker 1:So yeah, that's one. We'll just hang on and see how it goes. But I don't think much is going to happen before training camp. And you know a lot of folks have talked about this defensive side. You know, we've heard about Carlson, we've heard about Rasmus Andersen as two guys that are out there and boy, they'd be great right-hand shots and they could play with Slavin and he can help anybody perform. Well, I guess that's the word. I just don't see it. And I think that's another move that could happen later on. If it's going to happen mostly because of injury or because of, you know, maybe Nikitian needs a little bit longer to kind of find his way or whatever, and they want to get another veteran out there and so they could look at those guys.
Speaker 1:They could look at Adim and Severson, you know, who might be available at some point as well. So there's players out there that they could look at right-hand shot guys, that they could look at right-hand shot guys that they could bring in. But I don't like you guys. I don't see a lot happening right now and I think Eric's on vacation. He's probably I don't know where he is, but he's probably resting somewhere and thinking. The last thing I want to talk about is hockey and trades right now. So now to move on, katie, to your part, and I'll hand it over to you quickly because you're off on a good start with it.
Speaker 1:Um is a couple of questions. One from x cody. I think we see a healthy portion of teams finally abandon their attempts to get better and see a surge in players become available at the trade deadline. So he's kind of talking about where we were thinking there'll be some teams slipping out available and he says what players would the podcast like to see Tulsky go after, if any? Okay, and then let's add Canes and Dog's comment, and his question was who do you think will be the Canes 2C come trade deadline? If a new acquisition? Who would top candidates under and over 28, 29 years of age be of interest? So again, talking about the deadline, who might we go after? Would we fix the 2C? What might be on the agenda? And, katie, you can kick this one off.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm going to break a lot of Canes fans' hearts, even if they're terrible. Buffalo is not trading Tage Thompson. It's not happening. He is their their franchise player. He is the cornerstone to whatever plans they have moving forward. They might trade the other 19 players on the team, but they are not trading tage thompson.
Speaker 2:The one player there, though, that I would be interested in, perhaps, is whether or not he is having a good season. There have been reports that he's been less than happy with how the things not just generally have been run. He is big, he's physical, but not in a way that suits the Canes play style. He can score goals. He would make a lot of sense on the team for whatever package of picks or players or prospects that they put together. I guess he's the one that kind of comes to mind. I have my dream scenario, of course, of Dylan Larkin as the 2C, because I think he fits the canes, but, as Aaron has pointed out multiple times, and very correctly, they are celebrating their 100th anniversary, and so the last thing they are going to do is to trade their captain and star player in such a big and important year.
Speaker 2:So we might have to hold off on the Larkin wish casting for a while now, as I don't know about the over under on age for the 2C, but over for sure for a couple of years as a bridge. What can I say? I, like my former Avs players, I'm a big Cadre proponent. If he were to agree most of the reports say that he wants to stay in Canada, go to Montreal or Toronto or someplace like that but if he can be convinced of the vision of what we have going on in Carolina and the opportunities and how close we've gotten before and the way that he can help push the Canes over the finish line, as it were, I think he brings the right amount of grit, the right amount of leadership. He has enough defense in his game to make Rod happy. He's a veteran, which would also mean that Rod would be more likely to trust him over a young gun.
Speaker 2:So, kadri, it would be my choice for a trade target for 2C. We'll see how the Flames do. They were kind of like the Blue Jackets and they were in the hunt for a very long time in the Western Conference and so as long as they stay in the hunt, they're not going to be partying with any of their key players, like Kadri, but if they hit a run of bad luck and it looks like they're not going to be making it, they might move on from his contract and start focusing on their young guns. Agreed.
Speaker 1:Erin.
Speaker 3:I think that you know, like you said, we've discussed this plenty of times on the podcast as far as, like, who candidates would be if they're going to go after a 2C. Now one position that we haven't talked about, that they could be keeping their eye and I think they're going to be keeping their eye on all year, but especially if the trade deadline is goaltending if somebody was to come up.
Speaker 3:So you know that's a different discussion. We'll get into that right this minute. But looking at the 2Cs, I know that we've talked about some of these guys out there and I know that you've talked specifically about people like Zaka or Monahan Sean Monahan the question is the availability. Kadri is always an interesting one. We've talked about Kadri before a few times too. I don't know that he would waive his no trade clause to come to Carolina. It will expire after this year and after, you know, by, I guess, the July 1st date next year. So that is a time when Carolina might, if they're still looking for. But then, of course, he will be 35 years old by that point. So that's another question. Would they want to make a trade? Because he would still be under contract? They would have to be a trade.
Speaker 3:They're not going to be signing a free agent Because he would still be under contract, they would have to be a trade. They're not going to be signing a free agent. So I don't know if I see that being their move, given some of the other moves they've made in terms of players that are reaching that age level. Now, I know this is going to come out of left field and nowhere. But one team that I think is not necessarily on our radar because it's not an East Coast team and East Coast team, but a team that may be facing the realities of a rebuild sooner than they think they will, or sooner than many fans think they will, is the LA Kings.
Speaker 3:The Kings are in a position where they have an aging center core. They do have Quentin Byfield. He's their young guy and he's certainly very promising. But with that they have Kopitar, they have Deneau. You know, I could see an interesting kind of situation if the Canes decided that they wanted to do this. I could see them perhaps making an offer for Philippe Deneau because he fits the style of centerman that the Canes have had for so long in Jordan Stahl. It would be an unusual situation.
Speaker 3:I don't know, I have no idea if the Kings would be willing to move Deneau for a younger center, but it's possible that they would.
Speaker 3:So that's a weird out of left field. But I was trying to think of players that fit, because that's something Eric Tulsky has been very vocal about is they want players who fit Rod's style of play and who can play the right way. I can't think of a center in the league of that, in that age group, in the veteran center age group, who plays the right way, rod Brindamore's way more than Philippe Deneau does. So that's a target we haven't talked about. I don't know that they would consider him a target and, like I said, I have no idea if the Kings are at that point yet where they're willing to say, like I said, I have no idea if the Kings are at that point yet where they're willing to say you know what we're going to have to. But, depending on where they are, by Thanksgiving they may be looking at those realities. So it would be very interesting to see if any players from the Kings were to shake loose.
Speaker 1:Well, of course, when you talk about you know, veteran players being available. I mean, obviously you know I'm not so sure they're going to want to do that, but you might have players like Gino Malkin and Sidney Crosby coming out of Pittsburgh. I know that sounds insane, but what if that happened? Would the Canes get in the mix? For Sidney Crosby, that'd be something to really get excited about and certainly would be an unusual situation at the least and I know we keep hearing he wants to finish his career there. But who knows, as the season goes on, it might change.
Speaker 1:A couple of things I want to throw out. I've talked about them before Elias Lindholm and Pavel Zaka. If the Bruins are out of the playoffs, which I think they will be this year, I fully expect those guys will be available. We know what we're getting in. Lindholm, of course he had been here before. He struggled the last couple of years he's had a 47-44 point season. But he's a defensively responsible guy. He's outstanding in the faceoff. He's been greater than 55% the last three years. Here's a guy that right shot. He would fit like a glove, no question. So I think he's going to be on the radar. Zaka's a bigger player. He's a little bit younger. He's at 28. Lindholm was 30. Zaka's a. He's a solid player at 6'3 and 205, so he's a guy that's going to come in and he can play a solid, heavy game for you. And he's very solid in the face off dot as well and he's had some 50 point seasons. Both of these guys I think either one would be a nice addition to the Hurricanes. So let's keep an eye on the Bruins as, as those things come together.
Speaker 1:You mentioned Sean Monahan. You know he's struggled with injuries for a lot of his career but the last few seasons he's been really solid and he's again, a guy that's great in the face-off dot. He's a veteran that brings it all. He's great on the power play. I'd be happy to get Monahan. So he's a guy that again, depending on what happens with Columbus, he might be available for sure and rounding it out.
Speaker 1:And that's back to the Islanders. And rounding it out and that's back to the Islanders from my side is Bo Horvat. We haven't talked a lot about Bo, but you know, if the Islanders get in a situation where they really have to retool, he's a guy they can move out. He's a 30-year-old guy. Seven seasons over 50 points. He's great in the face-off dot. He's been over 56% the last four years. This is a heck of a player and boy, he'd fit the Canes well. So there's players out there for sure. We know they're out there and it's very likely that whoever Eric acquires is not going to be on the radar. So we might be wrong, unless it's to them, unless it's to them.
Speaker 2:There you go, so we might be wrong.
Speaker 1:And you know how Eric is with his moves and catching us off guard for sure, but yeah, but those are some names and I think we've covered some good ones that could certainly come in and would definitely strengthen the Canes at that center spot, because whatever move they make, if it's one of these players, they could move into that two or three C whatever you want to call it, and that would allow them to move Kokenyemi down to that four C spot. So, again, strengthening up the overall context of the hockey team. So good stuff. Okay Now you mentioned the goaltending side, which is nice. A good segue as well, aaron. You mentioned the goaltending side, which is nice. A good segue as well, aaron.
Speaker 1:Caleb Herrera had a question. He said what are the realistic expectations for Kochenkov this season, with Freddie's contract expiring after this year? Is this the season for Piotr to prove he can be the starter? And if not, what does the organization do if he isn't able to take the next step? So why don't you kick that one off, katie? You've got some thoughts on Kochenkov, I know, so I'll hand this one off to you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, technically, I think last season was the season that Kochenkov should have shown that he was ready to take the starter's role, and it just didn't quite happen. You felt like he'd have a couple of games and then it'd fall off, and then he'd have three more games and it wasn't quite there. He had another concussion that he had to battle through. So this season is going to be really big. It's going to be the season where he has to step up and show out. I think that Brendan Moore is going to start up the season like he has before with the platoon. It'll be Freddie for the first game and then Piotr, and then back and forth, back and forth, as long as they can both stay healthy. And then that's the big question is if they stay healthy and they're both playing well, do you change anything? If you don't change anything, he's not really going to have an opportunity to say yes, I'm the starter.
Speaker 2:But he does need to show that consistency. He does need to have a save percentage that is above 900. He needs to have a goals against's good on the high danger stuff. He's athletic, he has good reflexes, but he needs to have the positioning and the needs to be dialed in enough for those soft goals that he, unfortunately, has become known for, those medium danger shots that he should be stopping on a consistent basis. So I think it's there. I think he's there. I think he's going to have the opportunity. It all depends also on how long Freddie lasts. Can Freddie get through an entire season? If he can't, was Piotr going to be there to pick up the mantle of responsibility? I certainly hope that that doesn't happen with Freddie, but if it does, that Piotr's a little bit more prepared this time to take the burden on himself and run with it.
Speaker 3:I agree with you, katie, and I think that one of the things that is really going to help us to see Kochetkov at his best is the improvements that the Canes have made on defense. Just in, you know, I'm not the biggest for looking at defensive statistics but I do occasionally, you know, listen to people who do. Yeah, I don't think people realized how much of a detrimental effect some of the softness and weakness in the Canes team defense, and especially coming from the defensive core, had. Last season. It was not Canes defense, it was still better than the average because, you know, we have a great defensive coach and we have great players, you know.
Speaker 3:But there were a lot of weak spots and there were a lot of the situations where you know you've got, you're trying to get the puck out of the zone and somebody you know I'm not going to name names they've moved on. There's more than one. Let's just say Somebody would give up a really weak giveaway, you know, and those are. I think those are the kinds of shots that Piotr has had an unfortunate tendency to let go by, because when you're used to your defenseman being able to smother those opportunities all the time and then all of a sudden, they just don't. That's a different way that the game is suddenly being played in front of you. Now I'm not taking that responsibility away from Kuchekov. He still has to make those saves when they happen, when those turnovers happen within a few feet of the net, and you have to be on your toes and be able to get that. But I think that improving the defensive core is going to make it easier for Kuchetkov to rise to the occasion and shine and make those saves, because he's not going to be seeing them so frequently. Those kinds of opportunities given up so frequently. The Canes not going to be seeing them so frequently. Those kinds of opportunities given up so frequently. The Canes are going to be doing a better job this year. I really believe that of not allowing those chances to develop like that in the first place. So that, I think, is going to help.
Speaker 3:And then I think the other thing with Kachekov is just, you know, I love that he's putting a lot of things out there on Instagram about his gear and the stuff that he's doing. I don't know if you've seen some of that, katie, it's been really cute. But this is a player who is very much dialed into what he needs to do his job well and what he wants to improve on and how he's going to improve. So I think when you have that mindset and that attitude, you know good things are going to happen. He's going to, he's going to put in the work and he's going to.
Speaker 3:He's going to do it to, and and to me the bigger question is just, you know, because we all know that, uh, freddie is a great, great goalie when he's healthy. So the all the question is the same when it's been for the last several years is can he stay healthy for the season and especially, can he stay healthy for the playoffs, when he's most needed? So that will be where we'll hit the trade deadline and we may be going in for a goaltender more than we care about to see by that point. We don't know.
Speaker 1:So for sure. And don't forget, the Canes have two number three goalies under contract. We have Caden Cremo, who you know. Here's a guy that a lot of folks think he can be a player, so we're not sure what's going to happen with Caden. He could step up and be a factor. We've got Amir Miptakav. Maybe he's going to get a friendship with Piotr and that's going to help Piotr as well.
Speaker 1:In any case, you know there's options for the Canes, but I kind of agree with you on this too, aaron, that as they get to the deadline, and certainly heading into next year, they're going to have to bolster goaltending. I think they're going to have to pick up another guy, because Freddie's very likely going to move on in any case, and you know they've got to start looking at what's available. And you know, if you look at the unrestricted free agents, you've got some interesting ones. And you know, if you look at the unrestricted free agents, you've got some interesting ones. I mean Philip Gustafson with the Wild. He's a guy you could try to pick up. He's 29 years old. He's got a career 9-2-3 save percentage. He's a good goaltender. He would be a great one to acquire Ilya Sorokin. If the Islanders decide they're going to fall on their sword and change things up a little bit. Maybe we get Sorokin and Horvat, but Sorokin is another one.
Speaker 1:He's got an excellent 9, 17, 8% for his career and he's a guy that again just 29 years old. So if the Canes decide that they're going to shore up the goaltending, my feeling is it could very well happen at the deadline and again, depending on where Freddie is and what's happening with Piotr. But I don't see them going into the playoffs this year with concerns about goaltending. I'd be very, very surprised. So, yeah, a lot can happen there. Like both of you, I'm looking forward to Piotr kind of taking the mantle and running with it. He's shown Remember that period I think it was four or five games he was absolutely lights out like ridiculous numbers and he had a stretch where he was one of the top goaltenders in the National Hockey League. And I think what he needs to do now is he's got to find that consistency. But he's definitely got the talent. He's one of the best at making high-danger saves, so we know all that and sometimes he loses focus before he comes out and tries to make a play that he shouldn't be making at the blue line. But anyway, yeah, lots to consider with the goaltending and again, we'll follow and see how it plays out. Now, the interesting thing this year too. Of course, freddie will be at the Olympics with Nikolaj Ehlers, both representing Denmark, so we'll see how that plays out. We'll hope that, you know, if he goes over there he has a good run and comes back ready to run through the playoffs. So good stuff.
Speaker 1:Okay, let's move on to our next question, this one from X Cody again, and he sent in a number of questions which I think are great. An extremely concerning situation is looming soon, with stall about to age out. We all remember the horror of seeing Rod's body fail on them all within one season. So he's talking about Rod Brindamore. Well, I'm sure GMAT is giving it thought it would be the biggest, if not bigger, loss since Gensel by far. Are there any players out there that the pod could see semi-filling Jordan's role? Okay, who wants to take this one?
Speaker 3:I can. I can start if you want. I love this question actually, because one of the things I have continued to talk about on Twitter and with fans is the concept of age-related regression and how it impacts players. We discussed it a lot in terms of Brett Burns last year. We've discussed it in, you know, context of other players. Maybe that when we look at a player who's a target for the Canes, well, are they really? Because, after all, they're already reaching this age? But so I love that the thinking is there. They're thinking proactively about what do we do as players hit that point, because all players sooner or later will and you know it can happen anytime, as early as the age 32 season all the way up into guys like Stahl that keep going past, you know, 35, 36, 37.
Speaker 3:Jordan Stahl will be 38 at the beginning of this season. I think that there's a good chance that he has another good year. Burns certainly did and we have another guy that is just as committed to putting in the work and having that, you know, especially in the gym. I don't think there's any major concerns about Stahl having an issue this season. Anything can happen, but I don't think it would. But down the line age 39 season, age 40 season. Somewhere in there you're going to see a Jordan Stahl who cannot continue to play as heavy a style in the number of minutes that he plays, and his minutes have actually already been reduced over the last three seasons. He went from 18 minutes four seasons ago to 16 three seasons ago and then these last two seasons have been around 15 and a half. So they're aware that this is happening. This is not something that's going to catch them by surprise. So they're aware that this is happening. This is not something that's going to catch them by surprise. For me, I think that the most likely candidate to step into Jordan Stahl's role if not his shoes, because a member of the Carolina Hurricanes If they trade Kokuniemi, they will be bringing in a 2C, but then they will also have that looming hole at 3C that they will know that they will have to deal with. So there's going to have to be more than one move made if they decide to do that. So to me, there's no question that Kokuniemi can play a 3C role. He may not do it the exact same way that Jordan Stahl does.
Speaker 3:I think that, like Tom said earlier you said this that the pure shutdown centers are becoming a rare bird in the NHL. You don't have them as much, just as you don't have as many pure shutdown defensemen in top four roles. You have pure shutdown defensemen in top four roles. You have pure shutdown defensemen down there in the bottom pairing, but you don't see very many Jacob Slavins coming along who are just so good at shutting down the opponents but not necessarily also generating a lot of offense. So I think that that's going to be the way they're going to go. I don't see a reason why they would change that now. In fact, I think the whole point of signing Cook-Kaniemi as early as they did was to begin to groom him for that role with the hope that maybe he could also play Toosey instead. But if it didn't work out, this was plan B and I think it'll be plan B. So that's my thought.
Speaker 2:In a straightforward way. I agree with you, but I'm going to take a slightly less straightforward path and say that I also think that the heir apparent to jordan stall is going to be an in-house heir apparent, because, if we all recall, when jordan stall joined the hurricanes, what role did he play? What role did he play? He was the first he play, he was the first line center.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he was the top center.
Speaker 2:He was the number one and, as Brindamore likes to say many a time and that we have to repeat, he does not number his lines. He has certain roles for people as they come through, and so it's more about filling Stahl's role as who is going to be the center that he puts out and trusts to take those top matchups To go against other teams' best players. And just as Jordan Stahl was the 1C and evolved into his current role, I wouldn't be surprised if Brindamore would look to Sebastian Ajo To do something similar. It would be a little bit of a adjustment, for sure, because you're asking for your top offensive producer to take a more defensive role, but we know that rod's already comfortable with ajo doing that.
Speaker 2:There are a lot of times when we're playing the maple leafs that it's ajo's line that's out against Matthews, not Stahl's line. So when we're playing the Devils, it's Ajo's line out there against Hugh's line in order to negate the speed and the quick transitions. So I think the heir apparent to Jordan Stahl in role perhaps not in title as far as 3C, but in role will be Sebastian Ajo, and that would also translate into, once Jordan Stahl retires, the captaincy also most likely transferring to Ajo as well. So exactly how the lines are numbered one, two, three, that's anybody's guess. Two, three, four seasons from now, whenever Stahl retires. But I do believe that it'll be Ajo that takes over that responsibility and that role, because he's already a penalty killer, he already does shut down work, he already has a 200-foot game. So it will be Ajo that takes over for Stahl.
Speaker 1:Well, that's interesting. Of course, he would have likely Seth Jarvis, who was one of the guys with the dads on that tough checking line, so he's a guy that definitely can, can get it done for you.
Speaker 1:It's very possible. I think the challenge the Canes are going to have if they want to do that, I think that's going to affect the offensive output from that line for sure. But the bigger challenge is can they find some centers to fill those other spots, to kind of pick up the offense and kind of you know, if that's going to be your heavy lifting line, what lines are going to do the serious scoring for you? So I think it all depends on can they craft a deal to get some of these players we talked about? Look, if they bring in a jason robertson and and they can bring in one of these centers we've talked about. Look, if they bring in a Jason Robertson and they can bring in one of these centers we've talked about, sure they can definitely make that work. And an interesting thought I've had and I know I've talked to you about this before and had some queries about it is what about Skyler Brindamore in all of this? Is he a guy that could come in and play the fourth line for you and play some tough minutes and do some heavy lifting defensively as well, as he's very strong in the faceoff dots. So you know he's got his dad's pedigree and Rod knows what he's going to get when he throws Skyler over the boards. Is he a guy that might have a future with the Canes? So there's a lot of moving parts here, obviously, as Jordan goes out, I mean, he's clearly the number two seed right now and he's playing big and hard and heavy minutes. Somebody's got to pick that up. And you know, as you said, rightfully too, katie Ajo plays equally as much in that tough zone and he's you know he's throwing out against the other top lines. So those two guys get all the tough work in terms of defensive work and for sure they're going to need to come up with a top centerman somewhere in the mix to either support Ajo or to take another role. But yeah, going to be exciting to see that. I'm absolutely pleased with the way that Jordan's been playing, but he can't, he's not going to continue to do this.
Speaker 1:Okay, we're going to move on to some more generic questions and have a little bit of fun with these. Now, for a minute, mark Pugia says how does Rod Brendamore and his coaching staff get measured for the 25-26 season? There's two paths that I'd like you all to take. Okay. So here's the first one, measured against Tom Dundon's business strategy. Okay, or measured against cup competitiveness. To date, rod Brindamore is 0-3 in the Eastern Conference Final Series and 1-12 with a total win-loss record. So, yeah, what are we thinking with this? Is it about Dundon's business or is it about competitiveness? Who's got this one?
Speaker 2:Okay, I'll take a stab at it. As far as Dundon's concerned, I think as long as the Canes are putting out a competitive roster that is working hard, he understands that there's only so much you can control. It's not like if he spends X number of dollars that's going to guarantee them a cup. It just gives them higher probabilities and opportunities to win a cup. Does he want one Absolutely? Would he like more than one? Most assuredly it makes the business model work even better if that's the case. But I do think that he is enough of a realist that he's not just going to throw his hands up and say I give up on this hockey thing if the canes keep going deep in the playoffs but never win the cup. Um, as far as brendamore and his record again, it it really kind of depends.
Speaker 2:Each one of those losses in the Eastern Conference Finals was a different set of circumstances that both he and the Canes were looking at, especially that first one. They just made it into the playoffs recently and so going that deep was considered a huge success. The first time against the Panthers, they were missing Svetch. They were beat up in other ways. All of those games were really close. And then this last year. We all know what happened this last year, so they're individual circumstances.
Speaker 2:I do think that brindamore does need to find another level in his coaching, especially as far as it comes to offense, that you can't just earn a stanley cup by throwing it in and hoping to forecheck and get the rebound and create offense that way that there does need to be a higher skill aspect to the Canes approach to offense and I hope that his partnership with Tulsky is starting to craft that, with the acquisition of Ehlers and Miller being the starting point this season for that particular philosophy and move forward.
Speaker 2:But again, circumstances are what they are. What if we get to the Eastern conference final and a major player gets hurt? Again, you don't put that on Rod, but if they get there and they're still trying to do this, they try to play the same way against whoever they're facing off against as they would against, you know, the, the sharks or the ducks. Then you got to kind of wonder what's going on there. So are there some circumstances in which it would be a concern or a move forward? Yes, but uh, those would have to be some pretty exceptional circumstances for anything to change.
Speaker 3:And I think that most GMs and most business owners would be thrilled to have had a coach like Rod Brindamore. Get them not just into the playoffs but going at least two rounds in just about every one of their playoff appearances. Having three um conference final appearances over this what is it? Seven, eight year stretch, you know it's an incredible accomplishment because all of that is, you know, ticket sales and revenue. That goes pretty far. You're not just talking about they've made the playoffs once in this time period. There are teams right now that would die to have had the playoff success that the Canes have had, even if we're at the level now where we're saying, well, it's not success until they win the cup and that's natural for fans to make that adjustment. So, from the business model, I think it's doing great.
Speaker 3:I would agree with Katie that I'd like to see some evolution for the next step. I do think that, yeah, the circumstances, players getting injured, the defense core I mean we had two rookies in on defense this year. There was just a lot but then you also have to look at Florida and how they're managing to win and what they do. I think that the biggest change or the biggest advancement I'd like to see from Rod Rindemore is I really do believe that the Panthers in general, and Paul Maurice in particular, just kind of has his number a little bit, you know, and that he needs to find the ability to stay calm and consistent and not start scrambling lines and throwing different pairings out there just randomly because they're losing against the Panthers again.
Speaker 3:I think we saw a little bit of that panic in the third round this year, and I think it was one of the TV analysts pointed out that in the in game five, when the Panthers started out down two to nothing, the players and the coach were all completely relaxed on the bench, laughing, chatting with each other, and the Canes were the ones gripping their sticks and looking, you know, panic stricken, even though they were ahead, and that really tells you kind of the mindset that where they're at with this particular rivalry.
Speaker 3:So they need to find a way to come out from underneath the weight of that mental game and just play their game and we'll help. If everybody's healthy, though, I mean, there's no question. So I think that we're ready for them to take the next step. I think we all want to see more aggression in the offensive zone, like Katie was saying. I think we're going to see that because they acquired Nick Ehlers, who is very, very good at transition offense, and they acquired Keiondre Miller, who, honestly, is extremely good at exiting the zone with possession which is something the Canes are surprisingly bad at doing, so I'm really looking forward to seeing the difference that those two are going to make.
Speaker 1:No for sure. And a couple of quick thoughts. Look, the Carolina Hurricanes value has increased exponentially under Tom Dundon, so he's a pretty happy camper right now. He's seen his investment grow substantially and that's an understatement. He's making a massive investment around the, you know, the Lenovo Center and you know with this new project he's got going. So he's going to want to cut. There's no question. At some point he's going to say, hey, something's going to have to change here, and I'm of the opinion that it's probably not that far out. I think.
Speaker 1:If Rod comes up short again this year, I think there's going to be some very hard discussions going on in the Canes management group, because he's giving them the money, he's giving them the opportunity to go do it and these guys have got to step up and they got to make it happen. So I think that's the other side of this whole discussion is, at some point Mr Dundon is going to say I think, I think we need to do something here, so, so let's see how that plays out. Okay, let's do another one. Whaler Kane says if a line of Ehlers-Aho Jarvis has success during the regular season, do you see Rod keeping them together once the playoffs start? In the past he's been reluctant to have three smaller forwards together in the playoffs. And then there's Florida and, with a similar question, x Cody says we saw chemistry between Sveshnikov and Ajo building steadily towards the end of the season and playoffs. Does the podcast think we will see him with Ajo and Ehlers instead of Jarvis? So what do we think about that, erin?
Speaker 3:I think that it's a good point, because, yes, ehlers-aho and Jarvis is not a big line, right? I think that you can say you know. You can look at the Tampa Bay Lightning's line with Point, though, and say, you know, there was a line there that was not too much bigger, and they were involved in a couple of cup wins. So it's all going to depend on how they gel and what kind of chemistry they have, and whether or not, you know, we see just a huge leap forward in scoring, and you know, without giving up too much, going the other way, or if maybe there's some defensive stuff that needs to be dealt with and addressed, or some physicality issues. You know, If they're struggling in the regular season against heavier teams, that's going to be the kind of thing that they're going to look at for the playoffs.
Speaker 3:But I did like Svec with Ajo during the playoffs this last time around. I thought that he did very well. I think that the key to Andrei Svechnikov is simply allowing him to play the power forward game wherever line he's on is simply allowing him to play the power forward game wherever line he's on, and you know, if he does that and he becomes comfortable in that role, then that gives them a great option to move him up there when he's needed.
Speaker 2:I would agree with that and I would just piggyback on that. If Rob thinks at any point that he will need to have Svetch on the top, I hope he gives him some opportunities to play with Ajo and Ehlers in the regular season.
Speaker 2:So it's not a brand new arrangement come playoffs, because I think that's been part of the problem is that, if I recall correctly, when Gensel came over, I don't think Svetch hardly played with him at all during the regular season. It wasn't until the postseason that that swap was made. So I would like to see sfetch have that opportunity. The other thing, while while the initial reaction to who should play on the other wing with ehlers and ajo is jarvis because jarvis has been the most consistently successful winger that the Canes have had Since Ehlers is a left winger. That means if Svetch were to play on that line, svetch would play as a right winger and he would have three lefties all on that same line.
Speaker 2:But to Aaron's point with allowing Svetch to play that power forward again, I know Canes fans don't like hearing his name, but I will bring up Miko Rantanen again. Miko Rantanen is a natural lefty who plays right wing and part of what makes his game so effective is the fact that when he gets down into the faceoff circle he is able to open up and get that shot off or find a seam and get a pass across. I think Svec has very similar types of skills, albeit not to Rantanen's level, but similar types of skills to what Rantanen is able to offer, because he would have those opportunities for bringing his big heavy shot or using his passing skills and his vision in a way that he's just a little more handcuffed when he's playing on the left side. So that's what I would like to see. Oh, erin, you have something that you want to?
Speaker 3:I want to jump in on this because a lot of people say, well gosh, you don't want a winger to play on their off wing because you know. But that's not necessarily the case. Like you're saying, a winger can play on their off wing. It's not the same as defensive pairs, and every single time that Andrei Svechnikov has played on the dad line with Martinuk- and Stahl.
Speaker 1:He's played on the right.
Speaker 3:Stahl and Martinuk both went from around a 30-point pace to getting to finishing the season with 36 points, because Andrei Sveshnikov was directly involved in at least five, if not all six of those extra points when he played with them. If he can produce like that on his right with Jordan Stahl and Jordan Martin, there is no question in my mind that he could produce well with Ehlers and Ajo on that line. So that could be a really intriguing thing to see.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm glad you brought that up, because I was going to mention just that that he played some of his best hockey on the right side with the Devs, and it was really effective and actually turned the season around at that time. One other thing, though the interesting other side of this is that I think it would be great if Seth Jarvis could be the trigger man on the second line. Ok, so again you've got two guys who aren't scorers, who are probably going to be manning those spots. You know Taylor Hall and and and Kokaniemi, and it'd be great to have you know Jarvis, who can really score. He's a guy that should be putting up 35-40 goals. Get him out there and give him the chance to really shine offensively. I think that's going to be key for him.
Speaker 2:You know, kk and Jarvis are best friends, so the antics and the fun would exist if they were actually up on the ice together would be fantastic. We would have content for days if the two of them were on the same line together. So I highly approve of that idea.
Speaker 1:And the other and the other part of it, as we know, is that Svetch is a great setup guy as well, and we know that what we're expecting from healers is to be a trigger man. So you know, I think again there's some interesting, there's some interesting opportunities here. I'm one of those rare birds that really wants Svetch on the top line, absolutely want him there, and I want, you know, seth Jarvis on the line. What would be the second scoring line, whatever number that is.
Speaker 2:Or he could do what all the Canes fans want and play center.
Speaker 1:He's definitely not going to be playing center.
Speaker 2:No, but everybody is claiming for it. It's not going to happen, but it's out there.
Speaker 1:He is not playing center and Logan Stankhoven is not playing center this year, so please take that off the docket. We aren't going to talk about that again.
Speaker 3:Okay, one last question.
Speaker 1:One last question. One last question, and this is from Don Miles, and it's an easy one what is your realistic expectation for points for Alexander Nikitian this year?
Speaker 2:That's such a hard one because we don't know yet how Rod is planning on deploying him. We don't know yet how Rod is planning on deploying him Because depending on who is playing with Slavin will kind of domino effect. The rest of the pairings A lot of I mean this has been everywhere, from next to slaven, because he's had so much experience playing his offside in the khl, down to the second pair, down to suggestions of him being with ghost on the third pair, so the minutes that he gets is really going to depend. So on the low end, if he's paired with ghost he's probably in the 20 to 25 point range and the more minutes he gets and the farther up he goes in the ladder. You're looking at more and more points For a rookie year. To be realistic I would say he caps out at somewhere between 30 and 40 points, Again depending on his usage and also does he get any power play time we know we have Ghost as the power play one for right now, but Walker's done some power play time.
Speaker 2:Is Miller going to get some power play time? There's no guarantee that Nikitian is going to get significant minutes on the power play, especially initially, and that would limit his ability to get a lot of points as well. Ability to get a lot of points as well.
Speaker 3:Well, I would agree with you, katie. I actually had him. You know, with optimal deployment I think I would see him being in the 40 to 45 point range. So kind of very similar to what you're saying. But I did see.
Speaker 3:You know, I got to watch Lane Hudson last year with the Habs. Hudson had 66 points in his rookie season. That was when he won the Calder. He was able to do that because of absolutely prime deployment. He got first pair minutes, he got first power play unit. He was involved in every offensive situation, including three-on-three overtime. Those are the kinds of things that we will see.
Speaker 3:If Nikitian is given those opportunities, if he earns those opportunities, he could boost it above even my optimistic expectations. But you're going to have to see where he fits first of all, and I think that we know that Brindamore is more conservative and the team is in a different position than the Habs are in, so he's going to be more conservative about where Alexander Nikitian is deployed at first at least, because he's not going to take either. He's just not going to put a rookie into those situations right off the bat, even though to me Nikitian is an unusual rookie given his age and his level of pro experience. We're not talking about a kid coming out of college. We're talking about somebody who can really play the game. So it's going to be really exciting to see actually where he ends up, especially through training camp. I think training camp is going to be the real eye opener for us as far as how Rod is seeing these guys and where he wants them to be. So can't wait.
Speaker 1:And I think I mean I'm feeling very strongly that he's going to be the number two power play point guy. Let's face it, he's an offensive juggernaut. He was a 50, 60 point guy in the KHL and, yeah, it's a different league. But he's a guy that can put up points and if you watch the highlights you see just the kind of moves he can make. He's very slick out there, he's very smart with the puck. So I think he's going to drive some points on the two power play unit, I think too, with Nikitian. Back to your point, aaron, I think, as the season goes on, if he starts to really find his game and you know it's going to take him a little while, but he's a guy with a high ceiling he's a guy that once he really starts to get it, he's going to want more minutes and deserve more minutes. So you know, then Timmy Gleason is going to have some challenges saying you know, what do I do here and where do I play? So it's going to be exciting. As you say, it's going to be a lot of fun and you know we're really anxious to see, once he's got a chance to kind of spend some time here, get a little bit better with the language, you know, get more comfortable with all the barbecue spots around the arena and so on, that we're going to see some great stuff out of Sasha, as he's called, alex, you know, and Akishan. So lots of fun there and, again, exciting stuff this year. There's so many cool things, so many stories, undercurrents that we're going to have fun with through the year, and that's definitely one of them.
Speaker 1:So that wraps up the mailbag segment. And, boy, lots of very, very excellent questions. And, to the folks who sent those in, thank you so much. We've had a great amount of fun answering them and I hope that some of them the answers, were kind of what you're looking for. So, katie, we've got a chance to announce some winners for some Storm Tracker merchandise kits We've got. They'll be receiving a Storm Tracker T-shirt, as well as a Storm Tracker mug and some other stuff, and become part of the Storm Tracker army as we go forward, and we really look forward to that.
Speaker 1:So let's see who our winners are going to be Number one, and there goes the wheel. It's spinning and the winner is going to be. It's going to hey, we were Wow, nice, that's great. Okay. So we've got the first winner. We've got two more to go. Let's spin that bad boy. Well, there you go, tucker, blinkenship Tucker, thanks for your question and congr, congrats.
Speaker 1:We'll get this out to you shortly. And the final winner, well, it's going to be Cody. And that's great because, cody, thanks for your questions and congratulations to all the folks who have won today. And that's great because, totally, thanks for your questions and congratulations To all the folks who have won today. Please text me directly, or either Katie or Aaron, if you've been communicating with them, and we'll get your address and some information where we can ship that out to you right away. But again, congrats to everybody and I hope you'll enjoy the Storm storm tracker kit and wear it with pride. So, ok, as we wrap up, I thought in our closing comments today we'd maybe look back at the last year and and maybe what we thought about it, what we liked, what, what we learned and what we might look forward to in the coming year. And I thought I'd give you, ladies, a chance to wax lyrical on this. And why don't you kick it off?
Speaker 3:Well, you know, for me the funny thing looking back on last year is just how much you had to twist my arm to get me to do this. I was not sure at all that I would do be able. I mean, people had asked me a couple of times before if I would, you know, come up, come on as a guest on a podcast, and I just I had a less than great experience with trying to do some broadcast stuff in college, way back when I was not at all good at it, so I was really shy about trying this and not sure that I would enjoy it or that anybody would want to watch it, you know, if I was on it. So it's been really great to be able to get over that and to enjoy this process with you guys and get to be comfortable talking not just to you but to our fans and, just you know, finding this to be just as satisfying a form of communication as written communication, because written is always my go-to. So it's been a great experience.
Speaker 3:I think I've learned a lot from it and I've learned just how connected Canes fans really are, how much they want these kinds of things.
Speaker 3:They want to learn more about what's going on. They're interested in these topics of conversation. You know it's an unusual fan base for a small market because, you know, in a big market you have a lot of these kinds of things, you have a lot of media outreach, you have a lot of small podcasts and big ones. You have, you know, plenty of opportunities to engage and interact and I think in the smaller markets there's not that many that have this much going. So it's been great to see, it's been great to connect with fans and with other podcasts and just to see all the different options that are out there for Canes fans to connect and to learn more about the team and get beyond the you know, like Tom likes to say, peel back the onion, you know, to find out what's going on in the world of Canes and Canes fandom. So I've enjoyed it a lot. I've loved being with you two and it's been just so much fun.
Speaker 1:And just to finish up, what are your wishes for the coming year with StormTracker?
Speaker 3:I just want us to keep being able to engage fans in conversation. I hope that some fans will. You know, don't be shy, you know. Come out there in the comment boxes, challenge us, tell us, you know, you want to see more of this or less of that, or you don't agree with something? We're happy to discuss it with you, and so I hope that we can organically grow a little bit more that way and just have, you know, some good ideas coming from the fan base about what they'd like to see from us, because we're happy to I mean, as this mailbag episode shows, we're really happy to engage with you guys and find out what you're interested in and talk about what you want to hear. So that would be my hope, great Katie talk about what you want to hear.
Speaker 2:So that would be my hope, great Katie. Yeah, I still kind of have to pinch myself sometimes that this is real. I've been a hockey fan in the you know, on the sidelines for the most part for my entire life, and just getting into and starting to engage on Twitter led to this and it's been so much fun to be able to talk, especially with the more that I learn. I love being able to share it and get other people's opinions and feedback and that sort of thing. The stats have really been a lot of fun to grow my interest in that sort of thing and this platform has given me motivation to dig into that some more, whereas before it was easy to say I don't know what's the point, why do I do this? Well, now I have somebody to share it with and be interested in it with me, and that's been what's been so amazing about this past year.
Speaker 2:The second thing I would say that's been amazing has been that this digital world has come into the real world for me.
Speaker 2:On multiple occasions I have gotten to meet a bunch of the people that watch the podcast and have interacted with us on Twitter in person at a couple of the Canes games, and that has been really really cool and special to put faces and voices and names to the online persona, even if it's just been for a couple of minutes.
Speaker 2:And, of course, on my summer road trip I actually got to meet Tom and Aaron in person on two separate different occasions and have dinner and get to talk hockey live with them outside of the podcast, and that has been particularly cool. So, as far as moving forward for the next year, I hope I'm able to bring stats in in a way that is perhaps a little bit more stats forward and really help tell the story of the Canes and what's going on with them, with more than just a chart here there, but come up with something a little bit deeper, more meaningful, more, um, more, I guess, special to understanding who the you know what the players are doing, what the team is doing as a whole and understanding where they're at through numbers. I also hope that I will be able to make it to more games and be able to meet more people and make those connections and just kind of grow the Storm Tracker family in that way.
Speaker 1:That's fantastic and, again, I think you know, for all of us who have been kind of working behind the scenes and trying to create product that Canes fans and others can enjoy and learn from, I think it's been great and certainly the response that we've had has certainly again said that very clearly. So, thanks to both of you and you're both different in your uh, in your thoughts and approaches and and the way you view the game, which I think is fantastic and gives us something that that uh is really unique for our podcast and and I think that's one of the reasons that we're having so much success but it's been a great year. It's just been sensational uh. For me, of course, being able to talk hockey anytime is a thrill. So, as you know, I don't usually give up too quickly. I'm usually continuing on and continuing to talk hockey well, after you're getting off, but that's okay. It's a passion for me, as it is for you. So thanks again to both of you for what I think has been just an incredible year and when I look ahead to the next year, I think we're just going to continue to push the envelope. We're going to have some fun with some different things. We're going to do some live shows this coming year. That will be kind of fun, a little bit interesting.
Speaker 1:I'm sure we're going to do, as you mentioned, more connection with our fans. We definitely want to communicate with folks directly, and thanks, we definitely want to communicate with folks directly and thanks, aaron, for suggesting that. I think we'd love to hear from everybody. Just say hi or, if you have questions, comments, thoughts, anything, just fire away and we'll get right back with you. We'll make sure that we communicate with you directly and we love that because that's what we're really here for. And again, the other thing we'll try to do this year is we'll add some more interesting guests. We were fortunate to have some folks on last year Shane Willis joined us and some other folks and we definitely want to continue that process and continue to bring some different voices as well to the mix.
Speaker 1:So, great year. Yeah, now we're ready for the next one and we look forward to it. As always. For those of you who've been watching or listening, we really appreciate it and we look forward to continuing to tell you the story about the hurricanes in the coming days. If you like this episode, please press the like button. That's always great news for us because it shows that you appreciate what we're saying. Of course, if you have comments, as I mentioned, or anything you want to say, just do that in the comment section down below. And finally, if you want to be alerted of future episodes of Storm Tracker, please press the subscribe button and the bell and you'll be made aware just as soon as those are available, as always. Aaron Katie and I thank you so much for joining us and we look forward to getting together with you real soon on the next edition of StormTrack.
