One To Watch: Carolina Hurricanes

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It's just a personal opinion but I wonder about the Hurricanes, specifically in regard to drafting and player development. Sure they have their hits but it feels to me, and I could be wrong, that they have more than their fair share of misses too. And again, I think drafting and player development are two completely and separate issues but if one lacks, the other will rarely yield positive results.  

The selection of Jeff Skinner deserves a lot of praise but having stepped right into the NHL from Kitchener, the 'Canes can't take credit for developing him to being NHL ready. It's a similar picture with Justin Faulk who appeared in all of 50 AHL games. 

Whereas guys like Zac Dalpe, Riley Nash, Zach Boychuk and Drayson Bowmen were that have, so far, failed to reach expectations placed on them. 

2012 Choice: Keegan Lowe - The Edmonton Oil King blueliner took a massive step forward in his development in 2012-13. The years prior he was often partnered with Mark Pysyk and it provided Lowe with a safety net to take risks which often got him in trouble, but not the team thanks to his partner. My question going in to last year was how Lowe would survive without Pysyk covering for him. The results were impressive and somewhat surprising. Lowe elevated his play dramatically, arguably becoming the teams most reliable blueliner. He took on the mantle of leader despite not wearing the 'C' and his production jumped from 3 goals to 15, his points from 23 to 31. 

My 2013-14 pick as One To Watch for Carolina comes after the jump.

One To Watch: Carolina Hurricanes

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Unlike with most teams I've done thus far in this series, the Carolina Hurricanes presented a bit of a different sort of challenge. With other teams it was hard to narrow it down to a single guy because there were so many players that I like. That's not really the case with the 'Canes. 

No offence meant to "Cane-iacs" out there but I've kind of given up on guys I once expected big things for - Drayson Bowman, Zach Boychuk and Zac Dalpe for example. It might be premature on my part but that's where I am, just being honest. 

It didn't help that the team just traded Brian Dumoulin to Pittsburgh, arguably their top prospect. You could make a valid argument for Ryan Murphy and now he probably is the guy on top of the list. 

This time I picked someone based almost entirely on where he'll play this year because I will get to see a lot of him.

Saturday Morning Special - May 28th

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The National junior championship will be decided on Sunday at the final of the 2011 Memorial Cup. Obviously that major event was front and center on The Pipeline Show this weekend but, as always, we looked ahead to the NHL Draft next month plus touched on the Stanley Cup final as well. We spoke with two scouts, two players as well as our regular Saturday NHL Insider plus it was CHL awards day... how did we do with our predictions?

Bad news for Kitchener and Portland?

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Both the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes are making fans of the Kitchener Rangers and Portland Winter Hawks sweat today with news that they've inked their 2010 first round picks to entry level deals.

Carolina put Jeff Skinner's name on a deal and the Islanders followed suit by signing Nino Niederreiter to a 3 year deal.

Tonight's Guest List

Here's a quick run down of tonight's Pipeline Show, which can be heard from 7-9 pm mst on the TEAM 1260 in Edmonton or online www.thepipelineshow.com.

We'll kick things off with the head coach and GM of the Halifax Mooseheads Cam Russell. They have the top two penalty minute players and the top goal scorer so it should be an interesting year in Halifax. They also have a player who's being touted as a top 3 pick for 2012, we'll tell you who tonight.

The Carolina Hurricanes will have some interesting decisions to make when the regular season rolls around. Do they keep this year's first rounder Jeff Skinner or send him back to Kitchener of the OHL? The Canes signed Skinner to his entry level deal today, does that signal his future? Do one of Zach Boychuk or Drayson Bowman make the BIG club? And where does Riley Nash fit in their plans? Carolina's director of amateur scouting Tony MacDonald will be our guest.

Matt Nieto is a freshman for Boston University and is eligible for the 2011 NHL draft. The small skilled forward had a great couple of years for the US National development team and might be one to watch for this year's World Junior Championship.

With the WHL season getting going later this week, we'll chat with Jordi Weidman of the Edmonton Oil Kings about upcoming events on and off the ice this season? Is the team where they want to be 4 years into the league? Has their demographic changed over time?

These guests and lots to talk about tonight starting at 7 pm mst. Email any questions pipeup@theteam1260.com.

7th - Carolina Hurricanes Draft Preview

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"Hurricanes" is a great name for a sports team because it immediately draws to mind the image of an unstoppable force of power, something mortal man can't hope to control. Unfortunately, I don't think I've ever seen a logo for a team with that name (or Tornadoes, Cyclones, Twisters, etc) that was decent. The Lethbridge Hurricanes tried adapting the Tasmanian Devil to theirs a few years ago and that was weak too. However, not as lame as the logo the NHL team uses regularly or this alternate. I know it's a meteorological symbol or something... but that's plain and boring and has nothing to do with hockey. The name fits geographically, I get that, but you're marketing team is screwed trying to tie it into the sport. Might as well call them the Carolina Big Mouth Bass... it makes as much sense and then you could have a fish chomping through a stick. Like San Jose.