Storm Watch: Observations From The Carolina Hurricanes Practice 9/18/10

If the players currently on the Carolina roster play as well as they practice, the Hurricanes will be a much improved team from one season ago.

Today in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Carolina Hurricanes Hockey Club held their annual Caniac Carnival for fans of all ages.  While the rides, food and fun were certainly welcome, what is most important is giving the fans a first look at the players currently on the training camp roster.  While less than half will make the Opening Day roster for the NHL Premier in Helsinki, Finland, those 23 players on the roster against the Minnesota Wild as well as the players at the Hurricanes AHL affiliate in Charlotte, NC, should be good enough to get the Hurricanes back to the postseason.

The team on the ice for the Hurricanes has changed drastically over the last seven months and now includes only four players over the age of 30, Joe Corvo being the eldest at 33.  With a team that young one would think that the Hurricanes could have some trouble early on with inexperienced players on their roster; however, at least 20 of the 44 players on the training camp roster have NHL experience many of whom played with the Hurricanes last season.  With the familiarity of each player's tendencies that the team has, look for them to bounce back from a poor showing in the regular season besides a great second half of 2009-10.

After watching the practice from which most of the Hurricanes regulars will come, here are some thoughts on a couple of players on the training camp roster:

Cam Ward

The former Conn Smythe winner from 2006 looked spot-on during his portion of the practice, showing no effects of his back problems from a season ago.  Ward was instructed to perform some back exercises along with his regular training regimen during the off-season and so far it seems to have helped him tremendously.  His rebound control and reflexes harkened back to his 2006 and 2009 Playoff forms, and with the upside and potential that he shows in his form and skill, 40 wins in a season is not out of the question for a goalie who will most likely have 70 to 75 starts in 2010-11.

Jeff Skinner

Carolina's 2010 First Round selection at seventh overall looked as good as 50 goals in his final year of juniors says already.  He is fast, agile and has one wicked wrist shot to boot.  His size will most likely not affect him as much as it would have had he started his career before the lockout, and 20 to 30 goals next year might not be a pipe-dream.  Once he develops into a more mature forward, along with the rigorous off ice conditioning stint over the summer with former NHL player Gary Roberts to get him ready for life as a professional hockey player, 40 goals year after year could be a given five years from now.

Many of the players were able to move quickly on the ice and their preparation for the coming season showed in a very good way.

However, some questions still exist with how Jay Harrison and Anton Babchuk will perform next season, as each player is not the best on the defensive side of things, and also how the Hurricanes will fit in the next five defensemen on the team on some nights.  They most likely will not be playing much more than 10 minutes per game with players such as Joe Corvo (who has seen his best years of his career so far with the Hurricanes), Joni Pitkanen, Jamie McBain, Brett Carson and Tim Gleason fitting into the top two defensive pairings, with Carson being the seventh defenseman on certain nights because his two-way contract gives the Hurricanes coaching staff some flexibility on where he can fit in.

Overall, they will most likely not be challenging the Washington Capitals for first in the Southeast Division, but don't expect the Hurricanes to be blow-overs on most nights in the upcoming season.