Canes Country's Guide to the Hurricanes Conditioning Camp: The 2011 Edition

Mattias Lindstrom (3rd round, 88th overall)

If only for the player photo: Mattias Lindstrom | Skelleftea AIK 

Hurricanes Sign 2009 Draft Picks Mattias Lindstrom, Tommi Kivisto - Canes Country Despite disappointments, 2009 picks Mattias Lindstrom and Tommi Kivisto have signed entry-level contracts with Carolina.

Mark Alt Player Bio - Official Site of University of Minnesota with stats from his Freshman year including: "Fourth among team defensemen in points, but first among freshmen blueliners".

Eliteprospects.com - Frederik Andersen indicating he signed a contract with Sweden's Frolunda in April.

This from Kirk Luedeke at Bruins 2011 Draft Watch: Victor Rask 

Whomever drafts him in the first round is doing so with the belief in what they saw from him a year ago when he was a dominant junior player with ideal size and some legitimate NHL tools. He didn't get it done this season, but watching him in Germany- he showed the flashes of what made him one of the more talked-about prospects coming in. Now, he has to put it all together. If a club thinks he'll relax and get back to the levels he showed as a 16-year-old, then he's absolutely worth taking a shot at in the first. However, if he slips into the second, he's legitimate value anywhere there.

Keegan Lowe: Out to Make His Own Mark - The Copper & Blue A look at Keegan Lowe's draft day. (And please try to overlook the writer's none-too-subtle put down of Carolina hockey - not worth your trouble.)

Again from Kirk Luedeke, Bruins 2011 Draft Watch: Keegan Lowe 

Lowe's not the most skilled player, but is smart and has grown up around the game. He's a hard worker and does the little things well, playing a sound positional game and using an active stick to take away passing lanes and forcing turnovers. He's an unselfish player who is always willing to take one for the team. You can see the evidence of this in the prolific fight videos of his on YouTube. 

From Switzerland, in French: Gregory Hofmann: "The NHL is a dream for me" | Planet Hockey  (If you don't speak French, here's the Google translated link) This story leads with a knee injury he suffered from an awkward hit with none other than Brian Pothier in January, but goes on to his plans for the immediate future:

Q: If you had the opportunity to join a training in North America next year, what would your decision?

A: Today, I can not answer because I feel good with Ambri-Piotta. However, I have a clause in my contract that would allow me to leave Switzerland for North America.... 

I'm lucky, my coach is very familiar with the world of hockey in North America and gave me excellent advice. I think I will continue to develop myself with Ambri-Piotta before wanting to move to the next level. But you know, it's a decision that must also be taken as a family...I do not know yet what I will do. Sure I'd like to attend a rookie training camp but my current priorities are mostly playing with HCAP.

The Hockey News: International Scouting Services: Best draft picks by round The head scout of ISS writes about his favorite picks from each of the NHL draft's seven rounds.

Round 4, Gregory Hofmann - The best pick of the fourth round was when the Hurricanes selected Hofmann at 103. The Swiss product is an offensive force who has continued to develop into a solid pro and his ability to adapt and produce at various levels has been exciting to watch. He was arguably the Swiss team's best forward during this year's WJC and WJA tournaments, outscoring big-name Swiss stars in the process. The kid can put the puck in the net and is not far away from doing so on NHL goalies. 

Matt Mahalak (6th round, 163rd overall)

From his hometown paper after the draft, Matt Mahalak drafted by NHL's Carolina | Toledo Free Press

Mahalak talked with Maurice again in the Hurricanes suite and discussed the summer schedule, including a weeklong camp and a prospect tournament. They also talked about Carolina goalie coach Tom Barrasso.

"He’s had a lot of success with Cam Ward," Mahalak said. "Coach Maurice gave me a few pointers about how Tom likes to coach. It was very interesting hearing the head coach’s perspective of the goalie coach. He had such a successful career. I’m excited to meet him, work with him and learn as much as I can from him."

Brody Sutter (7th round, 193rd overall)

Hurricanes Choose Brody Sutter, Son of Duane, With Seventh-Round Pick - Canes Country Though unranked by International Scouting Services this year, Sutter, who measures 6'4, 200 pounds, was described as having typical Sutter family characteristics in ISS's 2010 draft guide. ISS credited him as having good size while being both physical and mobile, plus good on the forecheck. And, of course, good leadership qualities.

Jim Rutherford indicated that Sutter may be ready and is apparently eligible to play in Charlotte this coming season. 

For Stat geeks, this is pretty interesting: 2011 Draft - Forwards and NHL Equivalencies - The Copper & Blue. This analysis shows promising results for Brody Sutter who places at 38th among all forwards who were drafted this year when they figured projected scoring based on his WHL numbers - they project him to be a 22 point scorer, ahead of 1st round picks Tomas Jurco (Detroit) and Mika Zibanejad. (Ottawa). He was the 108th forward drafted. (This is the system that predicted Jeff Skinner would be the top scorer in last years draft). Also keep in mind the fact that Sutter is a year older which works in his favor. Gregory Hofmann shows up at 84th projected to score 10.3 pts/season. (We'll ignore that for now)

And the basics on the two invitees

Connor Wilson, courtesy of the USHL Chicago Steel

Torey Klug, Captain of the Michigan State Spartans.

**LATE ADD** Barclay Goodrow, LW from the OHL Brampton Battalion, has a lengthy draft analysis with his story over at Copper & Blue. Includes this gem of a quote: 

I spoke with a couple of different scouts and OHL observers and they all expressed the same sentiment: even with just average footwork, Goodrow would be a 35 goal scorer and probably a second round pick.

Finally, a little perspective