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
Carolina Hurricanes DOMINATE Despite Injury Chaos
The standings say second in the East; the roster says “held together with duct tape.” Erin, Katie & I welcome in Rachel Barkley (Queen of the Puck) as we dig into how the Hurricanes keep winning through a bruising injury wave and a power play that can’t buy a bounce, and why five-on-five structure is carrying the weight right now. The heartbeat begins on the blue line: Sean Walker embraces tough matchups and minutes, Alexander Nikishin jumps a full step with poise and bite, and Joel Nystrom brings calm reads that don’t show up loud but matter every shift. Together they stabilize exits and feed the rush, even as the depth chart churns.
Up front, the switch that changed everything: moving Nikolaj Ehlers beside Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake. That line flies through the neutral zone, enters with control, and sustains pressure with retrievals and quick touches. Stankoven’s shoot-first mentality and net-front courage, Blake’s speed and touch, and Ehlers’ playmaking give Carolina the balanced second line it has craved. Meanwhile, Andrei Svechnikov’s spark back with Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis restores a familiar rhythm, and the fourth line of Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Eric Robinson, and Taylor Hall offers real punch against depth matchups.
We don’t sugarcoat special teams. The power play lags with weak entries, lost draws, and limited screens. Our fixes are simple and urgent: put Stankoven in the blue paint, enforce shot-first sequences, consider a five-forward unit, and split creators to inject urgency. The penalty kill sits below its usual elite standard, but context matters—minutes load, injuries, and rotating pairs have taken a toll. With healthier personnel, the kill should normalize.
Why the wins keep stacking: controlled entries over dump-and-chase, pace layered with support, and goaltending that holds the line—Brandon Bussi’s calm debut stretch, Pyotr Kochetkov’s statement nights, and Frederik Andersen’s game-saving stops. We also weigh the trade rumor mill—centers, veteran fits, blue line depth—against development curves and role clarity. The near-term priority is clear: keep the rush attack humming, simplify on the road, and overhaul the power play from the crease out. If special teams even climb to average, this group’s ceiling rises fast.
Enjoyed the breakdown? Follow, share with a Canes fan, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. What’s your must-make change to fix the power play?
Highlights:
• Walker eating heavy minutes and adding offense
• Nikishin’s leap in usage, confidence, and chemistry with Svechnikov
• Nystrom’s positioning, exits, and quiet reliability
• Ehlers-Stankoven-Blake unlocking controlled entries and finishing
• Top line recalibration with Svechnikov back beside Aho and Jarvis
• Fourth line impact from Kotkaniemi, Robinson, and Hall
• Power play problems with entries, faceoffs, and net-front presence
• Practical PP fixes including Stankoven net front and five-forward looks
• Goaltending trio delivering high-leverage saves
• Trade chatter vs development and role fit
• Road stretch priorities and winning the games we should win
#canes #hockey #erictulsky #raiseup #stormtracker23 #rodbrindamour #lockedonhurricanes #Canescast #thestormsurge #AlexanderNikishin #carolinahurricanes #JaccobSlavin
Well, the Carolina Hurricanes continue to impress this season, currently sitting at second overall in the East, and doing so under a great deal of early adversity. They've been on a roll, winning five of their last seven, while outscoring the competition 26-18. The Canes defensive core has been decimated with injuries. The forward lines have been in flux, special teams have been struggling, and yet the Kanes just keep on winning. How are they getting it done? What have we liked in recent games? And what areas could use improvement? Joining us to talk about that and more. Now, Rachel shares her insightful Kane's commentary both on X, and you might have seen her substack, Queen of the Five. So it's great. Ladies, how are we doing tonight?
SPEAKER_00:Doing great.
SPEAKER_01:Alright, we're ready to talk hockey. That's great. Okay, so uh Rachel, before we do that, why don't you tell us a little bit about your hockey experience? How did you get into it? Why the Canes? Share some of that with us, please.
SPEAKER_02:Well, uh, I got into it when I was uh a kid. I got into it actually through video games. Um it was the Mario and Sonic Olympic video games that Nintendo put out like 10 years ago. So I started playing it, and the hockey mini game was my absolute favorite, and that really piqued my interest in the sport. Fast forward a couple years, sit in the living room, nothing on TV, flip it over to a Canes game and uh fell in love. Absolute favorite sport from that moment on, basically. And my dad walked in, he was like, You like hockey? And I was like, I love hockey. This is great. Turned out he loved hockey when he was a kid and he was obsessed with it, but then he ended up you know not really being able to follow along as he got older, and so I got into hockey and dragged the whole family with me.
SPEAKER_01:Well, that's a that's a great story. You know, it's interesting you mentioned the video games. I'm a retro gamer, and I've got uh hockey games going back to the originals that they started to do on video games. So sometimes I pull those out and play those as well. So it's great fun. Anyway, that's uh that's great, Rachel. And we are really delighted to have you with us tonight, and uh we're looking forward to uh to all the great conversation we're gonna have together. So uh Canes have been uh they've been doing great considering, and I talked about at the start, I mean the defensive course has been decimated. We've hardly even seen Jacob Slavin. We saw him in the uh broadcast booth the other day, but we don't see much of him on the ice these days. Um and of course, uh host of other injuries, uh Gossespare, Chatfield, Miller, and now Charles Alexis Lego is gone probably for the season. So this is uh this is hard to believe. What are we thinking about this defense? How could they work through this and still win games? Rachel, thoughts?
SPEAKER_02:Um sheer determination and uh probably a lot of prayer. So, you know, they got it rough, but they are they they got it they got it going though. And that's that's really incredible. I think it really kind of speaks to not just you know the the system and everything, the the playing style, but I think it also probably speaks to things beyond the stats, you know, the the locker room, how they they bring in these these rookies and everything. And I mean those rookies, a lot of them are playing like professional, you know, you know, like they've been a veteran of who knows how many years, but it's their first few games really in the league. It's incredible.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and you know, you talk about the rookies, and we're gonna spend a few minutes on some of them in a minute, too, because I mean it's just astounding uh how they've come in. Some of them have just come in from nowhere, literally, and and uh stepped in and been playing some big minutes. And we'll talk a little bit about some of those players shortly. But I wanted to kick it off with um Sean Walker. Uh, you know, we love Walker. We talked about him a lot in other podcasts. We uh we always uh look forward to see what Sean's gonna do, but he has just really stepped up his game. And Katie, I know you're a big fan of Sean. Why don't you kick it off on Sean Walker?
SPEAKER_00:I'm thrilled with how well Walker has done. Um he really is the only one at the moment who was with the Canes last year, at least you know, during the regular season, that is still manning the blue line with um with Bern Norlov signing elsewhere, and then the injuries. It's been up to Walker. And this is only his second year. So what a challenge for him because we know just how demanding the canes system is, and he's really stepped up in a big way. He's played with lots of different D partners, some out of experimentation, but most of it out of necessity. And he's really held his own and been strong. You look at the stats, and perhaps they're not as shiny as we would want them to be, but he's already outpacing his production by far offensively. And you know, we know that he's getting the really tough matchups, and so he is logging a lot of minutes and he's going against the best players for other teams. And so that is going to definitely present a challenge. But he has taken it all in stride. His work ethic is off the chart, and it's been really great to see him come into the in into his own in the cane system because it was something that Tolski and and the front office staff obviously believed in, or they never would have given him that five-year contract. So it's been it's been really good to see to see him uh anchor that particular defensive core. And I do think it also goes to show that the canes missed him last postseason more than perhaps we realize when he was the one who was injured, because you know, maybe maybe the story would have turned out different against Florida if he had been there instead of Morrow as the right-hander who stepped up in to help replace him. So um he's he's been huge, and I I think he has even more to give. So I look forward to seeing how that that works out.
SPEAKER_01:Well, that's interesting. When you talk about Scott Morrow, Scott Morrow's in the American Hockey League right now, and uh, you know, Sean Walker's playing upwards of 24 minutes a game. I think that I think that's clear that he would have made a big difference last year. Um, you know, Walker, uh, we talked a lot about his offense last year. It's interesting. We kept saying he can he can give more. He's a guy that uh he skates well, he carries the puck extremely well, sees the ice well, and we just, you know, we're looking for him to do more. Of course, he was playing alongside uh Shane Gosses, and and he uh he kind of deferred more to the defensive side, I think, last year. Uh whereas this year he's been playing power play, he's been getting a chance to really uh show what he can do offensively. I I think if we didn't have Sean Walker, I'm not quite sure where we'd be right now, but uh he's definitely been doing the job for them. Um another person who's been doing the job, and we talk about him a lot, and he just keeps on rolling and keep doing it, is Alexander Nikishan. And you know that I'm a massive uh Nikkeishan fan, of course. I followed him closely with SKA St. Petersburg last year and was uh talking with Nick Bass repeatedly about when he gets here, he's gonna be great. And uh, you know, we had a bit of a cup of coffee uh in the playoffs last year, and it was a tough situation for him, but boy, he's showing it now. Aaron, what are your thoughts on Alex Nikkeishan?
SPEAKER_03:I've loved watching him take on these really heavy minutes that he's had to take on. And you know, um we did see a little bit of a step back from that in the last game. Um, the the loss that they had, you know, um the other night. And but but you know, because he was once again paired with uh uh Shane Gostaspear who came back, so that's good and good news on that front. But um giving him all that extra time while there haven't been other players to take that those minutes um has helped him, I think, to solidify the learning process. The development curve has gone quicker than expected. Um I think uh, you know, uh you were pointing out his his uh plus minus of 14 is uh tied for third best in the league right now. So I mean that's pretty impressive given the tough matchups he's had to take on and the heavy minutes he's had to play. Um you know, I know that we all know that there's room for more, but it's just incredible how quickly he's improved from what we saw in the playoffs last year, just knowing where to be, knowing what to do, you know, that communication coming along. And I think a lot of people have noticed that he's developed uh quite a natural but very good chemistry with Andre Svetnikov. The two of them on the list together um can literally communicate, which is very helpful. But the uh the kind the kind of combinations that they've, you know, the the working together on some of the plays that that have gotten Svech kind of back in our um, you know, good good books. Um I think Nikishan's been a big part of that because it's uh you know that's a lot of responsibility on the one hand for Svechnikov to be the main um source of uh any translations needed, but on the other hand, the two of them being able to communicate quickly on the ice is helping, I think, to make some of those moments even smoother. So um I can't wait to see how he's gonna look by the halfway point of the season. I think it's gonna be incredible. And I think that unfortunately, um Calder conversations usually end up revolving around points, and that they they really shouldn't, you know, the how many points a player has, it shouldn't be the biggest uh factor. But even without that, I think that um Nikkeishan should be in those conversations and should be, and you know, I wouldn't be surprised to see him uh as one of the finalists if he continues to play the way he's playing now.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's interesting you mentioned that, Aaron, because uh I did hear on another broadcast the other night somebody saying exactly that that uh you know, the way Nikishan's playing, he may be in the conversation. Um, you know, he's I think he's fourth right now in rookie defenseman scoring. And, you know, again, uh just why a couple things that I've noticed that really have been, I think, exciting for me is that he's communicating a lot more now. If you watch him, he seems like he's talking to people all the time. I don't, I'm not sure what he's saying to them, but it seems like he's having conversations with them and he's talking on the bench, he's talking, you know, on the ice, he's doing all kinds of stuff. And the other thing that I really like about him is when they score a goal and he's out there, he is excited. Man, he's excited. You notice he runs right up to the group like crazy, right? I mean, I love that. And you know, it it's it just his his joy for the game. You can just see it. He loves the game, he loves playing the game, and he's I think the road trip was a great thing for him, too. Uh you know, where they get a chance to get away for a couple of weeks, bond together. You know, he starts to become one of the one of the guys, right? And and and you can see it. He's starting to really feel and obviously getting the playing time he's getting. And and you know, uh Tim Gleason, uh, you know he trusts him. He puts him out with a minute left, two minutes left, he puts him on the PK, he puts him out there against the top lines. He doesn't care. Get over the bars, you know, like like let's go. So, you know, I'm thrilled. We're all excited. Um, I think you know, the early concerns that folks had, you know, is he going to be the player we thought he was? I I think the answer is starting to come pretty clear. He's gonna be that and maybe more. So lots of excitement with Alex Nikeshin. Now, talking about folks coming in from nowhere, literally, and uh and getting it done. How about Joel Nistro? Um, this guy, again, coming over from Sweden, um, coming to play with Chicago, he's been playing over there in the professional league for about five years now. So he's a little older. He's 23. So he's been playing with men like Nikitian. He comes in, he's given the keys, and away he goes. Rachel, what have you seen with Joel Nistro?
SPEAKER_02:I have absolutely loved his game. He has done very well, except a lot better than I had anticipated, because uh his game has been just kind of quiet, and that's what you want from a defense though, because in my opinion. Because uh you know, whenever whenever you have uh rookies and stuff and people playing their first games in the NHL, usually it's a little more noisy, you know, they're trying to force things, they're trying to make that big first impression, but he he does not have to impress anyone because he's already impressed everyone despite being who he is and going out there and getting it done. I mean, he is dug in and I've loved watching it.
SPEAKER_01:And Katie, what have you seen with UL?
SPEAKER_00:I definitely agree with Rachel. He's earned the trust, even when um Lego was in the lineup. It was Nestrom who was slotted higher and given more minutes. So you can see that uh the coaching staff really trusts him. And whatever time he um spent with Chicago before he got called up obviously helped because they run the same systems there, and so it was just translating it to a little bit faster game, but not a whole lot of new concepts or new expectations as far as that was concerned. And um that that I think has made a a huge de difference um in the game. And he's he's really helped to kind of stem the stem the bleeding, so to speak, when it comes to all of the injuries and and given the the canes a good option of someone to help fill in behind that the top D pairing, whatever that top D pairing happens to be that night.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, for sure. And I mean there have been some games and we've had a number of games it seems where we have end up with five defensemen and players like uh Nestrom and of course Nikishan have been logging some big, big minutes. Hey, Aaron, when you look at a guy like Nstrom, and and I particularly am interested in this, is when you see him playing, why do you think he's able to come in and be as effective as he is?
SPEAKER_03:To me, and I I'm not the most uh versed in in what you watch for in defenseman, um, but to me, what I noticed, in fact, I just was paying attention to this uh in the last game, his positioning is really good. He seems to know where to be and where to get how to get there. Um his vision for the developing plays and getting himself, you know, maybe this is when you pinch, maybe this is when you fall back. I think he's had like one bad pinch since he's been here, and that was, you know, just an unfortunate breakdown in communications. But other than that, you know, if if he's pinching, it's usually very solid because he knows the coverage is back there. And if he's uh falling back, it's because he can tell that it isn't. So it just I you never seem to see him out of place. You never see to see him, seem to see him rushing back to get into position. So that's the thing that I found the most impressive so far because that is the kind of thing that usually in in Rod Brindemore's system takes players a little time to figure that out because of the complication of the man-to-man defensive system and you know some of the other things that they do that are different from the average NHL team. We have seen many defensemen, even uh veteran defensemen, I would say Orlov would be one of them, who really struggled at the beginning to figure that out, you know, and and and you know, eventually they get it, but it takes time. But for Nistrom, like you said, he's playing that system in Chicago, so the familiarity is there. But to be able to do it with the pace and the and the speed needed to execute at the NHL level is really impressive from someone who's you know only played a handful of NHL games. So that's what I've noticed myself.
SPEAKER_01:No, and I think that's great. And you know you know, he's a very smart player, you can tell just the way he thinks the game. And I mean, a couple of things that really stood out to me is he made some plays on the PK. Like he shot down the ice, he got two or three times. He did it and fired down the ice. It was amazing. It's like he's been around forever. What's he think? Is Jacob Slavin? So that was kind of cool. And uh and uh and you're right on the in the offensive zone, he kept the puck in and it was in play numerous times, and he fired the puck a lot. Like they kept saying he's gonna get a goal, you know, like he's gonna get a goal. And uh and the guy that ends up getting, of course, is uh Charles Alexis Lego. And speaking of that, um I think Lego is well. Uh shout out to Charles Alexis Legault. Um, and we all like him. We talked a lot about we know Katie, you really like Charles Alexis Legaux, and rightfully so. He's come in and he's uh he's certainly done well, I think. Um so unfortunate to see him go out. Uh and and most because it's affecting his career. I mean, he was in a great place. He was going to go back to Chicago, he would have been one of the anchors down in Chicago as well. Um it's just sad that he's gonna miss uh several months of hockey. So um, yeah, but he's also been another one of those guys that has just been thrown in the breach. And in fact, I think his last game, he might have played 18 minutes and was, you know, he ends up getting a goal and assist than anyone else, right? Uh so that's great stuff. So yeah, uh defensive core uh rookies, I don't think you could have written a better script. And Rob Brindemore has said this numerous times in his post-game quotes and uh and other uh other situations where he's been talking about them and rightfully so. So now the other part of this uh situation right now, as we go into some of the you know the success areas through this uh through this run for the canes, uh they finally put Nikolai Ehlers with uh uh Logan Stankhoven and Jackson Blake, right? And I know Katie, you are looking forward to that. So I'm gonna hand off to say, what do you what do you see with this line now that's got uh Blake and Stancoven and Nick Ealers?
SPEAKER_00:Well, I think it was pretty obvious for a while there. The Ealers on that top line, there were just too many distributors and not enough finishers. And putting Ealers on that second line means that there's still that veteran presence there with the young guys and Blake and Stankhoven, but somebody also who is going to drive the play, who's gonna distribute the puck, whose creativity really feeds into the wheelhouse of who Stankhoven and Blake are as players. Um he got the loan goal in the Capitals game, and a lot of that had to do with the playmaking that was set up to Blake, and Blake drove the net, and then Ehlers was there to finish it off. So it's and that's it's not like that's the only goal that that particular triho has um produced. If you look at um hockey viz and you see the line mates Ehlers has, there's a very distinct delineation between when he switched from the Aho line to the Stankoven line. And all of a sudden, once that switch happens, though, whoop, the production goes way up. And so he's creating more chances. It's not just the goals, he is creating more chances, there's more expected goals. And that line's defensive numbers have also gotten better because they're trolling, controlling puck possession, but because he's gaining the zone, they're creating those rush opportunities. If there's second chances, they're recovering the pucks in the corner, they're digging them out, they're cycling them back up high to the D and starting over again and just hitting the opposing team with chance after chance after chance. And it's looked so good. And they've only been together a few games. And so as they get more and more accustomed to each other, I think we can only expect that their um their reads and their finishing on these sorts of plays will improve and their accuracy will get better as time goes along. So I'm really, really encouraged with this new second line.
SPEAKER_01:Well, what do you think? I mean, if we look at uh you know the contribution of Nick Ehlers, um I mean, struggle to get anything going, all of a sudden it seems like it's easy for them. Aaron?
SPEAKER_03:Well, there again, you could just have the usual uh situation where you know players take some time to to get comfortable playing the system, playing, oh, you know, especially when you look at someone who has played his entire career in one city, it does take time to just you know figure out how things are and and just all those little things that add up, you know, even just in the locker room and and the the game day processes, everything's just a little bit different. So I think that you know, expecting him to come out and you know immediately make an impact was maybe a little bit unrealistic for fans, you know, to to be thinking that that was going to be the case. But again, like Katie said, I think that also um when you look at Ealers, he's a player who has typically not played on the top line. Right. And that can be a that can be a lot of pressure, you know, to to start making things happen and and to start, you know. I think that the people feeling that pressure were probably Aho and Jarvis because we saw them trying again and again and again to set Ealers up for that all-important first goal, and that was just not happening. And the more they tried to force it, the less it was gonna happen. So honestly, seeing him um succeeding so well with Stankovin and Blake, I think a lot of it has to do with what Katie said about the fit just being there for those three. Um, but I wouldn't rule out if there's line scrambling, as we know with Rod Brindamore, there will be, you know, it's not he that this is not a set it and forget it kind of situation. We know that there will be more Twitter line controversies as the season goes on. But if he was to go back up to the top line and play beside Aho, I think that just being as comfortable as he is now in the system and with the line he's on, that's only gonna help. So, I mean, I would like to see him stay on that second line for as long as as possible. I think they're they're doing a great job, and I think that that's something the Keynes really need because especially that five on five offense has been hard to come by. And right now with the power play, and we're gonna get to that in the in a minute, but with the power play being in such a dry spell, you have to have production at five on five. And and when the top line isn't able to get it done, you don't want that to be the case of, well, you know, then the game's over because we we don't have anything coming from the ahoe line. So you never want to be in that situation with your top line. So I like Ealer's on the second line. I hope he gets to stay there for at least a good stretch of games.
SPEAKER_01:Well, you know, you it you made an interesting comment. Remember last year when Miko Rantan came, uh, we had a very similar situation. They were trying to set up Miko, and the line was not effective, uh, particularly Aho. So I think you know, you've hit you hit a point where you know they bring in these uh prize players and all of a sudden things kind of go south on them. And, you know, coincidentally, of course, uh, and we'll talk about in a minute, is that Andre Svechnikov has really been playing very, very well. So it kind of helps the whole system of putting uh you know Ealers back on that second line quite a bit. Now, just to wrap up the second line, um, hey Rachel, what are you thinking about with Jackson Blake these days?
SPEAKER_02:Oh he's been incredible, and it's like he he he was great last season, and this season he's even better. He's more uh responsible with the hook, and he has more guts with the hook, too. He's really shooting a lot, he's he's getting he's getting a lot of really good chances and some good goals as we've seen. Uh really good fantastic, yes.
SPEAKER_01:Well, you know, Jackson Blake, uh one thing I've noticed he is quicker, in my view. You notice he's going down the ice incredibly fast. Like it it's incredible. And of course, he's got this thing where he's got a magnet with a puck. Like he just hangs on to it. Um I am surprised that he's kind of playing as well as he is. I didn't expect him to be kind of as significant, uh, you know, because last year he was on the fourth line for a while, he was kind of moving around, he he played well for a while, and then, you know, kind of typical first year, I guess. But boy, he's he looks like a different player to me. Um like he's kind of frightening when he gets on the ice. And this is exciting for the Canes. And I think, again, the Canes have been trying so hard to come up with a second line that can deliver offense. You know, we've talked a lot about the concerns with you know putting all the pressure on Aho's line. And, you know, we see Aho, he's he's you know, he's a guy that uh is being asked to do so much. And you know, he fits better in a 1B than a 1A. We've talked about that, but he's being asked to do 1A and more. So, you know, if you can get a second line that can take some of that pressure off, it's great. Now, the other member of that line has been uh kind of a fun guy. And I know uh I know Rachel, you had something that you were probably looking at with his little scuffle that he got into and uh and uh some battles that uh Stancoven got into. What are you seeing with Stancoven? Rachel, what are you seeing with him as well?
SPEAKER_02:He's been incredible as well. Um, last season when we got him, he was able to basically fit in in no time, and he's continued just to kind of grow. And I've loved how he's played as a centerman. Uh he was great as a winger, but I think that him as a centerman it really kind of fits him, it's where he's at. And um yeah, he he's he's he's got the guts uh to handle a centerman is because he's only five foot eight, you know. He's he's pretty small, but that that doesn't seem to bother him a bit. So he's good. Yeah, I like it.
SPEAKER_01:Aaron, what are you thinking about with uh Stancovern?
SPEAKER_03:Oh I'm pretty much agreeing with what uh with what Rachel just said there. Um I think that it was fun uh watching him do uh that little uh fight last night to drop the gloves. He said he really enjoyed it, you know. Um you want to see that kind of spirit. Um, but I know that behind the scenes they're telling him we loved that, don't ever do it again. Because we've had enough injuries, and there are guys that, you know, um, I mean, I I I think it was uh last night that Max Domey went up against uh uh Nikita Zodorov, which was not a wise decision by any means. So we don't want him to become, you know, the scrappy guy that's out there trying to fight everybody. But in under the circumstances, it was a great thing to see. So I like that. Um I I like his um I like how intelligent he is with the puck. I like that he's um good at figuring out which of his line mates are in good position. Um, but he's also not at all hesitant to shoot. And that's something that I think um we need from all of our centers, honestly, because um we well, maybe at least some of them. I mean, I I like when Jordan Stahl shoots a puck. I just wish it would happen when he can actually get it into the net. But but I mean, in general, though, our centers are not the guys who too, even Jordan Stahl, they're not the guys who take the first shot, even if they're open. They're they're they're they're sit standing in front of the net with the puck and they're like, okay, who's open? I mean, who can I get it to, you know, instead of having that shoot first mentality. So I like that Logan Stankoven has that shoot first mentality. He will certainly give the puck to Blake. He will certainly give the puck to Ehlers. He will even drop it back for a pinching defenseman if that's the right play. But if if he's got it and he's got a lane, he's gonna shoot it. And it doesn't matter how far back he is because again, his size does not impede that in any way, shape, or form. So that's been nice to see. I would like that to rub off on particularly on Aho. I would really like um Sankhoven's willingness to shoot the puck to rub off on Sebastian Aho, and you know, maybe kind of get that to the point where Aho is also the scoring threat that we know he can be, because you know, certainly he can be.
SPEAKER_01:Well, yeah, exactly. And you know, we look at at his development um for sure, and there are some things that that you know Logan's gonna have to work on. Katie, are you seeing anything uh that that you think he might need to work on?
SPEAKER_00:Oh, perhaps just this little issue of face-offs. Yeah. Um Katie is uh I don't think struggling even properly defines what's going on with the face-offs. It's been a huge learning curve for him, and his face-off production is very, very low right now. Um, I think a game or two ago there was even an entire first period when he went O for on the face-offs. So um he he continues to work with Brindamore, though. We've seen uh various clips of Brindamore working with him and tutoring him and uh giving him some pointers as far as that's concerned. So I think, you know, it might not come in the way that we're used to with the Kanes, as far as that is concerned, but perhaps it will improve enough that it will allow all of the other good parts of his game to show up. The other thing that has been really good with this line, and I would say this is particularly because of Blake, is even if Stankoven doesn't win the face off, if he can just not lose it clean, Blake has been taught how to jump into. the area so even if it's lost or it's a bit it's still in the skates or whatever, he's the one that often comes out with it. And that will really help the situation with it with that particular line as far as either gaining or regaining control of the puck and being able to set up and create all of the opportunities that they um that they have been creating. So I there's there's room for improvement there, but I think it will come. It'll just be a lot slower than we're used to seeing on a Rod Brindamore team.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah and you know there's there's so much to be excited about with that line uh because you know we see Jackson Blake taking the next step. He's starting to look like a real serious player. We've got Nikolai Ehlers is now feeling comfortable and we heard a lot about that this week he had to go to three grocery stores I guess to get the whatever he wanted to to cook dinner. So that was kind of fun when he was talking about living in the Raleigh area. A little bit different than Winnipeg I suppose uh for certain it's going to be a lot warmer this winter so he's going to enjoy that but he's going to really feel comfortable as well. And I think you know it's back to we had talked a lot about you know this you know getting to a new team and becoming a part of it and feeling comfortable and some of the challenges and we talked a lot about that with uh Alexander Nikishan and you know we didn't really think much about it with Nick Ehlers but it's the case. As you say he was in uh Winnipeg for 11 years I think and and all of a sudden here he is sitting in Raleigh with a bunch of folks he doesn't know and uh going to a different you know dressing room and trying to find the grocery store. I mean it's funny when you think about it but it's true. He's trying to get uh get his cadence with all of this stuff. So he's starting to feel comfortable you can see the difference and uh and he's been starting to pot the goals.
SPEAKER_03:I think he's got uh he's got three goals in his last uh what five games I guess so he's really starting to come along um okay so great stuff on that line what are we seeing with the other lines we've got uh of course uh Jordan Stahl's line is always the Jordan Stahl line uh and what do we see maybe with uh Sebastian Alho and his crew any quick comments on those guys Aaron you want to kick it off sure um I think that it's great to see uh Carrier back with uh Stahl and Martinook I think that that's an important development for that line it's it's it always feels like some of the worst line scrambling happens when somebody can't play on Stahl's line who is supposed to be playing on Stahl's line because who do you put in? You know that that line always works so well as a unit that you don't want to you know you just throw up any winger that you have on on hand and put them up there. So um having carry A back's been really important. They have had some struggles these last few games I think that um someone um mentioned that Stahl has been a minus in his last four so you know he is not uh in the plus he's not been in the plus column at the end of the game. He's been going up he always goes up against the hardest competition. You can't necessarily read too much into that that's why that stat is not a stat that you should rely on for everything. But um the way that Jordan Stahl usually plays we don't see him stay in the minus column for long. So I think that we'll see that you know once they've gotten just even just this couple of days break that they've had they're having right now because it's been a lot of games um very close together and a lot of those little short travel trips where you know you're on a plane you play you come back I mean it's it's not any any better than a long road trip you know um other than getting to sleep in your own bed. So hopefully that will will uh will improve and then with the with ahoe and um the trio of Set Aho and Jarvis um I think we all like Spetch up there. He's been playing really well I think Aho and needs to get a little bit of more so a little bit more going. We we've talked about that with him I think in general. But against the Capitals that line really struggled and and they were at the bottom of the hockey stat card chart and and everything else you know so it wasn't just the eye test it was everything. So um but although interestingly enough the possession numbers for the Kings against the Caps were ridiculously high. So they they had possession of the puck more often than they didn't except in the first period. So it's just one of those games. But you look at that and you say again fatigue could very well be a factor given how many minutes that line plays how many games they've had in a row you know over a short stretch of time. So I I I think that we'll see that line bounce back pretty quickly.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah I mean that's one of the challenges this year is this this schedule is so condensed and at certain points that like they just played four and six days. I mean it's no wonder they you know were a little bit tired playing up against the Cats last night. I've been concerned with Jordan simply because we've talked about this a lot you know as he's aging these uh these tough schedules are going to weigh on him and uh and so you know not surprising that he he's not firing in all cylinders all the time but hopefully as you say with an extra day of rest he might be uh might be ready to go again. Um any thoughts on this Katie?
SPEAKER_00:Um I do think that uh it was good to move Spetch back up to the top line. He spent some time for a while there down on the fourth line and the third line and he is just the type of player the way that he processes the game and operates in the game whether he's g going well or not he really struggles to play kind of that grinder mentality of hockey he is a creative force in a big body and he needs to be playing with other um with other linemates that bring that out in him they don't he doesn't need to be with Stahl and Martinook teaching him how to be a a grinder someone who fights for pucks in the corner he knows how to go after pucks in the corner but he needs to play with other guys that can finish the opportunities that he's creating and he has been creating them. There have been a couple of assists that he has had that have just been beautiful um yeah and you know and like mentioned before with Nikishan that he seems to find that particular combo uh really uh really electric as well the the two of them have fed off of each other so if you could have that going he I think it's gonna be very important for Brenda Moore not to take him off of that top line. He needs to be up there with that talent and those those three know each other they have played with each other over multiple seasons together off and on here and there and if he's going it will really help the rest of the line to get going and I think it'll help Aho perhaps just kind of not grip that stick quite so tight and let him find his scoring touch once more. He doesn't need to feel the pressure of trying to set up ELES. He's got Svetch there he knows what Svetch is about he's got Jarvey there he knows what Jarve's about and they can really start getting into a groove together and being more successful as a top line because they need to they need to produce more they need to produce more as as the top line they it's it's great to have balance scoring but the top guys need to be the ones leading the way there not bringing up the um bringing up the end there.
SPEAKER_01:Well and and you're right and and I mean one thing about Svetch uh you know against the Cavs he he had several great opportunities like he was getting in he had some breaks where he got in and got clear shots he was firing the puck hard you know Logan uh Thompson was tremendous in goal and uh and it was hard to beat him so you know they did have some chances and I thought Svetch played a particularly good game. So he's definitely continuing with his confidence and I've said this a number of times is when he's when he's feeling good about himself he can play.
SPEAKER_02:And he showed this last year in the playoffs but he gets in this uh sometimes in these funks where he's kind of all concerned about what he's doing and and he loses his confidence and when he's playing a heavy game as we know that makes a big difference and speaking of that a guy that's been playing a heavy game lately is I think has been uh Yesperi Kokaniami and uh so with that Rachel what are you thinking about the the other line that we have with Kokaniami Robinson and of course Taylor Hall electric they have been so good for a fourth line I mean when when Eric Robinson came back yeah I was like you know let's see hopefully hopefully they'll be able to pick back up because I remember they was really good earlier on before he was injured and when he came back I mean they're they're awesome I haven't seen I don't I don't have any graps at all about that that fourth line since he's come back.
SPEAKER_01:Well the interesting thing is uh you know we talk about Aho's line has to help out with the scoring if we can get some offense out of that fourth line and they were effective at the start of the year uh before injuries kind of derailed them and they started moving Taylor Hall to the top line and some other places um I think I think there's some real potential there. And Aaron what are you thinking about with Kokaniami?
SPEAKER_03:I know he you're all over uh KK what are you thinking about with Kokaniami Well I think that you know um I've liked the these last few games I think once he got um moved back to center you know it's it's always such a strange thing to see him playing wing because he does not play the the the position as well. And that's pretty unusual for a forward usually every forward out there can play wing and a lot of them just played center because they were the best guy on their team in junior you know so there's a lot of guys that get that come into the league listed as a center and they should never go anywhere near the center of the ice and I think you know we can use Mark Natchez as an example. We all he's our famous example because you know he played center plant quite a bit in in the in his junior years. He even played a little bit of it in the um in Charlotte in the when when that was the affiliate back then. But uh but yeah Natchez is not a natural center um in that in the sense of being able to play it better than he plays wing and uh you know so so for Kokanami it's kind of the opposite you don't want him at wing he doesn't play as well at wing uh it was necessary because of the injuries I think it's necessary because uh Jankowski definitely plays um you know a solid game at wing and and is probably also not as effective at center at um I mean on on the wing rather he plays effective at center um so you've got two guys both of whom can play center you're gonna put the one who doesn't play as many NHL games there so that he's not struggling to figure out where he needs to be because I don't think Jankowski's played wing very much with the canes maybe once or twice you know so it's but but having KK back at center I think that you see the physicality is there. I was noticing um he's up to 23 hits on the season right now. He's actually um uh I think that of the forwards it's just uh I think it's just Spet Stall and Martinok maybe there's just like three forwards that are ahead of him with his ice time that's pretty good. So that's I know that's what they want out of him.
SPEAKER_01:So that's that's uh a good to sign to see yeah and and I think the other thing is he's been really firing the puck um you know like he's feeling much more confident like he's out there looking for the puck and he wants to shoot it. So okay is that uh is that Kokanami or who's uh who's in his body right now um but yeah he I think he's playing well and you know Robinson is the glue uh we talked a lot about Oracle before um and you know he's the glue and the other thing I noticed I don't know if you saw this Katie last night but I thought Taylor Hall was flying yeah he he had he has had his moments I still struggle with his game I feel like he'll have brilliant flashes but then there are other times I just wonder what in the world he was thinking in that moment.
SPEAKER_00:But a lot of those questionable decisions shall we say were when he was playing above his above his head. I don't think you know he was meant to be on the first line or on the second line I think he um I think he is slotted best at the fourth line and and his his his pride might not like to think that after his history but the the Kanes have a an elite fourth line. There are many teams in the National Hockey League that would kill to have a fourth line that strong um and he his skill set fits what KK and Robinson also bring and so and I think he he also plays freer he doesn't have to have those defensive responsibilities that the rest of the line do in the pressure because that the matchups are easier. It's not not that he gets to just take the night off but the likelihood of being burned for whatever choices he's making is a lot lower. And so I'm you know I hope they can get their group back. You know Robinson's injury really kind of threw a big wrench in the success they were having because before that happened that that line was just phenomenal and Hall was a big part of it. And he's in a lot of ways he's the finishing touch. You know he he's he's the one creating um though those opportunities opportunities and so and he brings out the best in in KK and um in Robinson as well. So I like I said I hope they get to stay together for a while and rediscover that magic they had at the beginning of the season because that's a big weapon for the Kanes being able to roll four lines when most teams can only successfully or expect success out of two or three.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah and and and again uh they can play more minutes they're capable of it. Don't forget uh last year of course uh Kokaniami and Robinson were on that line with Natchez so they were playing second line minutes last year and did well uh and of course Taylor Hall he can play extra minutes as well so I think there I think there's definitely an opportunity for them uh I for me they could be one of the better fourth lines in the league and the matchups they're gonna get are going to be really favorable. You know it's interesting last night I ended up watching part of the game on the uh Washington broadcast because uh ESPN had a bit of a problem for me with the uh Kings broadcast so I ended up watching part of the Washington one it was fine but you know what they were raving about Eric Robinson um they said man this guy this guy he's big he's you know he's he's a big man he can skate like the wind uh he he's really good out there with the puck um and this guy he's got four goals in nine games he's gonna be he's a handful you know like you know and I thought wow that's uh that's good words for Eric and sometimes I think we take him for granted but he's he's growing with the canes for sure and you know when they decided to re-up him for another four years I think it was obvious what they were thinking with him. So that's good stuff. Okay so a lot of good things happening some not so good as we say for progress uh and I guess when you take a look at the current uh power play numbers in the NHL it's kind of funny to see the canes second last sitting in 31st place uh with a whopping 12.5% rate and by the way the leader is up around 37 I think right now so that just gives you an idea of the difference in the success of some power plays and the hurricanes and the fact the canes have been winning without a power play is even more kind of astounding. Aaron, what are your thoughts on the power play and uh where do we go from here?
SPEAKER_03:Well I posted something on Twitter last night that I said that if you come to me now and you tell me that the biggest problem with the canes power play is execution I will enthusiastically agree and ask you whether you think that a firing squad or a guillotine would be better. Because that's because that's how bad it's gotten. It's just and it's frustrating because you see um when they look like they know what they're doing even if they don't score you see what the vision is like the first power play last night against the Capitals the top unit was moving well they were getting chances I think they had several shots on goal and then it just completely collapsed. They had five total power play opportunities even though one of them ended up being kind of that hybrid four on four situation but five total opportunities and they were crucial especially towards the end of the game when all they needed to do was get another goal to tie it or maybe then they needed to because the caps scored again. But you know when they were in that position where a goal would have made all the difference in the momentum the power play just sucks the momentum out of the game and that's not sustainable you know I'm going back to Roger Namore's word that he used about things at the beginning of the season when he said that the injuries on the defensive core and having to play with rookies wasn't sustainable. Well it it turned out better than it than it probably could have, you know. But it's still you still need your defensive core back before you know we get into the really serious part of the season where everyone's jockeying for those uh what those playoff spots you know so right now I look at the power play and I think what is it exactly what is it because when you look when you look at the stats I and I know that uh you guys have already talked about this a little bit um th they they're they're creating chances they don't you know things there's they're getting the expected goals are there you know to a certain extent but it's not happening they're not finishing so that's when I I have to start asking is this just a case of the system they're creating even though it generates chances is too much for the players they have to be able to get that finishing do they need to alter the system to be more realistic about what the players on the ice can actually do I don't know it's it's a mystery to me. I think that they they have to do something I I don't know if they need a different voice in the room we've talked about that before too do they need a designated power play coach not because the things that they're trying to do are you know inherently bad but because it it's not getting through somehow and the execution then isn't there. No I don't know what you can think about that.
SPEAKER_01:No I I think you're on I think you're on the right track Aaron.
SPEAKER_02:Rachel what have you seen with the power play um it's really lack there's just not much laugh on it in the attack is just it's it's a wet blanket but um yeah uh I have noticed you know they've heated up a little bit on the power play which which is good and they've been incorporating more uh pub movement but they need to really incorporate more of a net front presence I believe in the last game against the Capitals it was like I didn't notice it until right there at the end with the six on four situation where they even had someone out front. So they definitely need to uh make sure they have more more presence to keep that that puck moving and uh cause as much uh chaos as possible while that can also put holes in the defense with uh the power play ultimately you know fortune favors the bold so yeah well those are good points and you know it's interesting because we've talked about a net front presence forever I think uh in previous podcasts we said you know the power play you know that they need two things in terms of trying to get the puck in the net one of them is a net front presence and second of all someone that can really fire the puck.
SPEAKER_01:But you know there's two things that I see that I I kind of get concerned about. One of them is zone entries. They had a lot of trouble in the game against the caps particularly and and in some of the other games as well they've been struggling to get the puck in and get set up. And that's that's a concern and to the same end uh they've been struggling on the faceoffs. Sebastian Aho has really really struggled on power play face-offs and you know if you don't get puck possession you know if it's up in the opposing zone you got a face off up there and you can't get puck possession what are you doing? You're heading back to your zone and you're trying to come into the zone and they haven't been effective at that. So you know I think gosh it's just a whole series of things that uh you'd like to see them do better. Um where does it go? What what do you do with this now?
SPEAKER_00:Katie, what do you what would you do um I almost would just go back to square one and reimagine the power play and mix it up enough that there's not this kind of malaise that they can sink back into. If necessary to spark them split up Aho and Jarvis. The second power play unit is not working. It just is not working as much as I like Dan Coven and Blake on five on five I do not like with that particular unit with especially with the 2D men um I thought perhaps Walker deserves some looks on the power play but I'm I'm not sold at all I'm I'm really not sold on Miller. I don't know where to go from there. Perhaps even a five forward unit would be something different to create some more opportunities and challenge the guys you know okay here's Ajo's unit here's Jarvis's unit now let's see who can actually produce give them a minute and go from there. When it comes to the net front they've been putting Setch there a lot and I think he's miscast he is completely miscast as a net front presence. I know he's the biggest body out there and that's where that logic is coming from but I think that somebody like Stenhoven or Jarvis makes more sense. So if you're gonna leave Aho and Jarvis um together that's how Stenkoven or Blake would make a better net front presence. They've tried Blake there a little bit but I'd like to see Stenhoven there. Stenhoven's really good in the front of the crease I know you technically would like to have two centers on your two different power play units, but if you load up PowerPlay one with Aho and with Stenhoven on it and let Stenkoven go net front and dig out pucks and then give them a mandate a mandate you have got to put the puck on net jar it shoot shoot ahoot got despair drive in and shoot because you're going to have Stenkoven in the front to help take away your eyes you are going to have your wingers driving in from the other side looking for rebounds so good at puck retrievals and that includes their top guys. Give them a chance to go and retrieve some pucks if it doesn't go in or let Stenhoven be the one who's there to battle and knock it in in front of the goal. I mean wasn't his first goal with the canes a tip on was it not power play that was his first goal with the canes put him there put Stenkoven net front figure out power play too and either they don't take face offs or they only play the last 20 seconds of the power play anyway. You need something else you need an injection of life and we saw Stenkhoven's willing to do it whether it's the fight from last night or the battles in the corners or being net front he will give the attitude and the fight and the snarl and the energy that would pep that group right up and he would also help with the uh zone entries as well interesting thing about uh Logan of course he was schooled by Joe Pavelski uh on those tips and you know Joe was probably the best so he's very good in front of the net as you say he loves to get in front of the net he's gonna pick up rebounds he's gonna deflect it whatever the case is and I agree with you he should be on that top line.
SPEAKER_01:Now we could put Kokani at center on the number two unit. That's fine. He can go up there I mean they they don't he's sitting on the sidelines right now put him in he's he's playing with some energy and uh he'd probably enjoy getting back in the power play. So I think you've got I think you're on to something I really believe they've got to make some changes in the personnel. I really do. Uh and whether it's Stankhoven coming up or Blake or somebody else they've got to do something to shake this group up because they're just not getting it done. And you know you can't sustain a you know a winning streak or any kind of success rate without you know without your special teams and uh and in particular your power plate. You know we've seen this before right where they've really struggled. They've never been down at 12 and a half but we've gone through discussions where they've really been a world of hurt and you know they've got to figure it out. And it could come back to as simple as what you said too Aaron maybe they need a power plate coach somebody that comes in and all he does is is work the power play and his success on the team is determined by how well they do because it's just not working that well in any case speaking about special teams just for a couple of minutes on this um canes are not where they normally are on the PK as well um you know they're usually one or two right there they've been up there forever uh this year they're sitting at number 10 uh 81.8 percent that's not really they're giving up power play goals I mean last night they gave up one that was critical to the game uh you know they're still in the game power play goal happens they're done and and this is unusual and it might come back to something as simple as what we were talking about before you know some of these some of these extended uh you know tight situations where they're playing many games in a short period of time is wearing out the one of their top penalty killers and that would be Jordan Stahl. And so you know and they don't have their best penalty killer outside of the goalie and that's Jacob Slavin. So you know I think for me I'm not as concerned about the PK I think they'll get it turned around and write the ship. I mean they've been trying they one of the goals last night of course they had Alex McKisham with uh Uel Nistro him out there. You know if you've got if you've got like Jalen Chatfield and uh and Jacob Slavin it's a different uh different ball of wax so um anybody any thoughts on the on the PK that you just want to throw in before we move on to the next point we're okay okay we're okay PK is fine okay so um now uh you know we looked at all this kind of stuff and the canes continue to win despite bad power play less than what they would normally have in the PK some challenges with some of the lines they keep winning and the question is how are they doing it? What's actually working for them?
SPEAKER_03:Aaron Well um I'm gonna jump on uh one little thing that I found really interesting is that you know we've we've noticed that they're that they're doing they're getting some more rush offense than they have been in the past and and that's something that um I think that it's been a vision of Eric Tolsky's for a long time not so much just the rush offense itself that's a that's a nice um sort of subset of what they're going for. But back in 2013 um Eric Tolski presented a research paper at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics conference about the difference in in uh generating offensive chances between the typical dump and chase method and controlled zone entries and the conclusion I mean if this paper is out there on the internet I will warn you that it is extremely dense and I was not able to understand probably a third of it. But but but but the conclusion was that carrying the puck through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone creates better offensive chances and more sustainable offense than the typical dump and chase method that teams had used you know a lot prior to that and continue to use even now and the Keynes are one of those teams that continues to do a lot of dump and chase. It takes a lot of skill to get that puck through the neutral zone. It takes a lot of it takes very fast skating it takes you know extremely good puck control it takes good decision making about passing the puck to other players that are along there with you to get it in and to make those zone entries happen. You know we we just talked about how the Canes are struggling with that a little bit on the uh um on the power play. But at five on five some of the lines and I would here again I would point to the Stancoven line on this some of the lines are getting to be quite good at getting into the zone with possession and not losing the puck. I think that that's where you go back to um what they wanted from a player like Martin Natchez was they wanted him to be able to do that. And Katie, I know you know that he does that in in Colorado he can carry the puck through as many zones as you want him to carry it through. The difference is that when he gets into the zone there have to be other players with him to support him on that puck and there was never anyone on the Keynes who could match that speed of his and just you know be right there with him. With Stancoven you've got a lot of speed but it's it's more it's more of a manageable level of speed for the other players they can he can get the puck to and through the neutral zone passing back and forth with Blake I've seen that um and now with Ealers who's also extremely fast that line is going to Be doing a really good job of entering the offensive zone with full control of the puck. And that does make a difference into how often they're able to score. So I think we're going to see more of that. And I think that is one of the things that's been working for them because we've seen it on some of the other goals. And there, again, you can point to when you're talking about the fourth line, you can point to Eric Robinson. He's extremely good at getting into the zone with possession of the puck because, again, he's quite fast. So all of that is, I think, what they're working towards. And it's exciting to see because we've seen the dump and chase forever, the four check and grind. We know it works for them. We know it works for Florida. The interesting thing is Florida is a master of both. If you watch the how the Florida Panthers play, they are extremely good at dumping the puck in and regaining possession of it. But they're also extremely good at those controlled zone entries, getting the puck deep, carrying it in at five on five. And that's how they manage to get as much offense as they do. So this is exciting to see.
SPEAKER_01:Well, and Mike Kelly, who is the FanDuel's uh analytics guru, who's been on some of the broadcasts, has been really hyping the point that the Canes scoring off the rush uh is near the top of the league. I think at one point they might have had the top, uh, which is really something. And you know what? I think I think a lot of that comes back to what you're saying too, Aaron. If you think about uh Blake, uh Stancoven, and of course Nikolai Ehlers on that line now, all three of them can get the puck into the zone quickly. And you know, they seem to be finding a way. And sometimes the D guys are going up with them. I've seen Walker up many times and Nikatian and so on. Um, so it's it's really working for them, and I think you've hit something very, very well. Um Rachel, anything else that you've seen that you kind of put your finger on to say, boy, this is this is why they're winning.
SPEAKER_02:Goal tending. All three of them have been incredible. I have loved Bussies game. I was kind of I was a little skeptical when he first came in. You know, first NHL game for a goalie, but he did incredible in the AHL. He was one of the top uh goalies in the AHL. And that has carried over into the NHL. He I've seen him make some really incredible saves. Uh and then aside from just him, you know, Pierre Kocheco missed what the first in-game or so. And he came in with a shutdown in Madison Square Garden. That's pretty big. And you know, Daddy Freddie. You know, wish him the best on uh an injury from the Capitals game that didn't really look too great, hopefully just uh precautionary. But um yeah, goaltendings has been making so much of a difference, and I love to see it.
SPEAKER_01:I think the Cades are in a good situation to have three goalies that they can roll. Uh there's always a concern with Fred, uh, for sure. Uh I thought he played a tremendous game last night. He made several 10-bell saves uh that that kind of kept them in the game. Uh and and frankly, uh, you know, him that injury to him was just kind of a fluke thing, and all of a sudden, you know, he's going off the ice and he might have a concussion. So, you know, we hope that he's uh it was just the protocol, which I think it might have been. Um I think he's probably okay and we'll come back. But you always have to be mindful that um, you know, he's he's a guy that's uh struggled with injury throughout his career. Um and the other thing we did mention on the goaltending, of course, is uh, you know, Fred's plan to go to uh to the Olympics with Denmark. So, you know, we're gonna have to see how that plays out. And hopefully, uh, and that's a that's gonna be, you know, he's gonna get some heavy play uh for sure. Uh so we'll have to see how that how that affects him when he comes back as well. So anyway, um I think the goaltending's in great shape. And I, you know, we talked a little bit about this uh seriously about Brandon Bussey and what might happen to him. It's not ideal for the Canes to keep three goalies. We know that, right? So we've talked about that, and that's for sure. Uh, because they've got to play, they've got to keep playing. And so we're gonna have to see how that plays out. Um, you know, we talked that you know, Caden Primo is now down in in Chicago and could be recalled in a situation if they needed him, so they do have more depth. Um and Amir Miptikoff is starting to figure out uh North American hockey as well. So he's played here before, so it's it's good for him to kind of get his game back in gear. So we'll see what happens with that. Now, let's go on to uh something else I wanted to just talk about for a minute. And this is kind of off the ice. Um you know, the Keynes are always kind of being mentioned with anything that's going on in the rumor mill in the in the NHL. And and I noticed a couple of things in the last couple of days that kind of caught my attention. I just want to bring them up and get any comments you might have. Uh Frank Saravalli, who's out of daily face-off, he comes out with you know rumors fairly frequently. And he was just saying that uh, he said, I do think the canes are one of the teams poking around on acquiring a center. I don't think Cadry is one of the only guys that would be on their list. So it's interesting. Um, you know, we we've heard all these words about Nasim Cadry uh not having the Canes on his list that he would accept. But here's Sarah Belly saying that maybe he is on the Keynes list and they're interested in him. Uh David Peñota, who's out of uh the fourth period, said, I look to Utah, Carolina, Ottawa, Anaheim in a similar position to Montreal, Aaron. Um you don't have to strike now, but these are teams that are looking to make a big move. So again, uh we always hear about the Keynes when there's a big move, but there are a couple of teams that are starting to fall out. Okay, and that's the reason I bring it up right now. We know that the Calgary Flames, and it looks like uh as well um the Nashville Predators are gonna be probably selling earlier than later. Um do we think there's anything that might be a possibility there? Aaron?
SPEAKER_03:Well, I'm I'm pretty sure that if a center who fits their needs becomes available, they will be all over that. I'm not entirely sure yet if the centers that have been listed, you know, or mentioned are the ones that they would go for. Um just there's you know, I I we've talked about Cadri. I mean, I think that they would probably like to have him if they could. It is a long contract still. And the biggest issue would be what would Calgary, you know, what would they want? And would he sign in uh Carolina? Or I mean it's it's a it's a because it's a long contract, that's not an issue, but would he want to be in Carolina? You don't want to pick up a player that doesn't want to be. Um and we might very well be on his 13-team no trade list, which in which case it's not even worth talking about. Um as far as uh Ryan O'Reilly is another one from Nashville, I think that you know the Keynes might be interested there, but again, how much would they be expected to give up in a move like that? And what happens then to the players that are currently on the team? I think that one of the biggest issues would be that if you like Logan Stankoven at center and you like how he's developing at center and you want him to keep playing there, then bringing in a veteran player, you know, you have to decide what you're gonna do about that, you know. Um and and that's that that's a that's a lot of moving parts to think about. Now, I I could see because of all of the injuries to the blue line, I could see that if a slightly better than Mike Riley defenseman was to become available and they were to, you know, maybe move Riley to an eighth spot and have this unknown person at seventh, those those are the kinds of players I would expect them to be keeping a an early eye out for because you want to get those players before everybody else realizes that they need them towards the end of the season when you know that when the trades deadline is happening. So other than that, um those aren't the kind of big swings I think that the team would make. I think if they were looking to make a big swing, it would be, you know, for someone who's definitely going to improve the group as it currently stands. So we'll see what happens there.
SPEAKER_01:Well, you know, I think you've hit a very interesting point. This big swing question, right? And you know, we talked a little bit about this is who comes out? Like, you know, if they if they pick up a forward or a defenseman that is a big swing player, you have to believe they're gonna jump into you know top four minutes or you know, top six forward position. Uh, and you know that uh Eric Tolski he likes those big swings. We've seen him do it in the past. Um, so you know it's gonna be interesting. Of course, the Canes are rumored in any deal that's of any significance, uh, you know, because of course Eric always says he's looking for anybody or anything that laid out the team. But, you know, you don't really want to change up a lot. Like I'm not interested to lose uh, you know, Svechnikov or Blake or you know Stankhoven or any of those guys. Um, and you know, if you get a top six forward and we talked about a possible winger coming in, where do they go? Um that's a tough one. So, you know, I'm not sure how it all works. I think it's just fun to listen to what they're saying out there and kind of chuckle. But uh I think the Keynes will make some moves before the deadline. I really do. I think uh I think they'll need some areas of improvement. And for sure, uh I don't think they're the cup team yet, but they're going the right way. And I think we'll see some moves before it's done. So it's all good. Okay, let's uh let's wrap things up a little bit uh with closing thoughts. Um you know the Canes have got four, their next six on the road. What are we thinking about as we look forward to uh the next couple of weeks here with the hurricanes, Katie?
SPEAKER_00:I think I just want to see the Canes simplify and play their game. Not try to get too fancy, not try to color outside of the box at all. Just stick with who they are and what's worked, and I think that they will give themselves the best chance to win that way. Um the one the one exception to that, perhaps again, like we mentioned before, would be the power play. That might need a little bit of a a shake up, but 31st worst, you know, I I don't think that there's a whole lot that can hurt them anymore at this point. There's only can only go up from there. So but outside of that, just simplify, play to their identity, play for each other, and road game, home game, whatever, I think they'll be just fine. I think they'll continue pacing alongside the devils for tops in the Metro.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, the devils. Uh they're definitely off to a great start. Rachel, what are your thoughts as we uh round it up today?
SPEAKER_02:Um basically the same thing as uh Katie said.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, so you're supporting Katie, and that's great. That's great. Aaron?
SPEAKER_03:Well, I think I'm gonna give credit to uh something Katie said in an earlier uh podcast is that we want them to win the games they should win. And I think that that is the, you know, I mean, you can forgive a loss against the Capitals at the end of a tough schedule because that's always been a difficult team for them to beat anyway. Even though they have been struggling this year, that doesn't make them any less physical, and they're always going to be that big physical team. So you can kind of look at that and say it's a one-off, it doesn't matter. But I don't want to see them losing games that they should easily win. I mean, they've got, I think the next two are what, the Canucks and the Oilers, is that right? Um they should they should win both of those games. You know, neither of those teams is doing very well right now. They there should not be any question um that that you know I know that McDavid is going to do his utmost to get some points on the board because he can never get past Jacob Slavin. So unless Slavin suddenly shows up again this in these next two games, um, I think there will be a lot of that kind of thing going on. So they're gonna need to limit that. But as far as the rest of them go, you know, you look at the teams they're they're facing up against, and and you know, there's at least three of those teams they should win those games. So win the games they're they're supposed to win, and then let the rest take it, take care of itself, understanding that you may not be able to win the games that are a closer fight when you're in this situation with so many guys out with injury. You know, do the best you can in those games too, never give up on a game, but get the ones that you should have. Because that's I think that's always the most frustrating thing when they when they end up losing what should have been an easy game to win.
SPEAKER_01:So no, I think that's I think that's exactly right. Um they're gonna have a back-to-back at the end of this week, so that's uh you know, that's gonna be a bit of a challenge for them. Um again, uh yeah, I don't see any wins as easy. I think the Canes have some areas they've got to work on. I'm not particularly excited about the defensive pairing of Walker and uh Kayandre Miller right now. I think they're a little bit off, and uh, and I think that's a bit of a concern. Uh so something they've got to try to figure out how to get that sorted out. They've got to sort out the power play. They're not gonna keep winning if the power play doesn't score. Uh they're they're gonna lose games. And their goaltending has been holding them in in most of these games, and you know, they've been getting some some great uh five-on-five goals, but I think that's for sure. So unless they can solve the power play and they can sort out a little, you know, some tweaks on the blue line, uh, and Sebastian Aho's got to be Sebastian Aho. Um, we've talked about this many, many times, but I'm still waiting for him to be, you know, kind of more dominant when he's on the ice. Uh, I had some folks reaching out to me the other day on X saying he's almost invisible at times. What's you know, what's wrong with Aho? Um, so you know that's again something we've uh we've been talking about for a long time. But yeah, uh four games on the road coming up. They've been playing great on the road. So hopefully uh they'll have some great success again. So, anyway, lots of fun as always. Um lots of controversy, lots of things to talk about with the hurricanes, and I'm sure when we get back in a couple of weeks, we'll have lots to talk about then. Rachel, thanks so much for joining us. We really appreciated it. And we'll be following you very, very closely, of course, uh, Queen of the Puck on your sub stack and and also all your good work on X. So uh thanks again for doing that. For those of you who've been watching or listening, of course, we're ecstatic you spent time with us, and we really appreciate that. If you like this episode, please press the like button. If you have comments or questions, or you just want to say hi, please put those in the comment section below. And if you want to be alerted of future episodes of Storm Tracker, please press the subscribe and the bell buttons, and you'll be made aware just as soon as there are. As always, thanks so much for spending time with us, and we look forward to getting together with you real soon right here. Let's go.
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