Training Camp Preview: Part Two - Defense

by Bob Wage on Sep 16, 2011 1:48 PM EDT in Carolina Hurricanes Training Camp

BUFFALO NY - DECEMBER 26: Defenseman Justin Faulk #25 of USA celebrates his goal during the 2011 IIHF World U20 Championship game between USA and Finland on December 26, 2010 at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York. Faulk will try to impress at training camp in Carolina starting this weekend. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

The Carolina Hurricanes pretty much felt like they had their defense all taken care of during the offseason, but a couple of youngsters promise to spice things up and make it very interesting on the blueline this training camp.

The biggest move, and probably biggest surprise of the Carolina summer was when the Canes traded Joe Corvo to Boston and then signed free agent, Tomas Kaberle, to a three-year deal. The former Leaf and recent Stanley Cup Champion with Boston should help to improve an inconsistent powerplay and will join returning veteran regulars Tim Gleason, Joni Pitkanen, and Bryan Allen.

While he is not yet a vet, Jamie McBain should also be considered in the starting group, leaving only one position up for grabs. Here are some of the top candidates who will be competing for that spot.

Jay Harrison The former Leaf has improved every year while in Carolina and was rewarded with a two-year, one-way contract over the summer. He's usually a steady, physical guy in his own end but he's not necessarily dynamic and is not considered to be a puck mover.
Derek Joslin The blueliner was deemed expendable by San Jose but usually looked good in his 17 game debut with Carolina last year. He seems versatile enough to contribute on the powerplay, but also plays a physical game. Will he be consistent enough in camp to earn a starting spot?
Justin Faulk The highly regarded rookie will be making a strong bid to make the Canes, even though he only played a few games with the Checkers last season and has limited pro experience. Still, he won the NCAA Championship with his college team last season and impressed a lot of folk in Traverse City last week. They also say his conditioning is NHL grade right now. It looks like he's the real deal, but is he ready now?
Bobby Sanguinetti The Canes obtained the former Ranger in a deal during the 2010 draft, but the defenseman suffered from injuries a good part of last season. He is healthy and ready to go now but he'll have to be on top of his game to beat out these other players for a spot on this team.
Ryan Murphy Carolina's first round draft pick also impressed in Traverse City and Jim Rutherford was quoted as saying that he already has NHL level skills, but unlike what Jeff Skinner accomplished last preseason, it's much tougher to make it in the NHL as a rookie blueliner, than it is as a forward. Whether he makes the team or not, much like Victor Rask, he'll be fun to watch in camp.

Michal Jordan, Justin Krueger, Rasmus Rissanen, Brett Bellemore, and Kyle Lawson have each made nice strides toward improvement, but they probably have too many players to jump over to have a legit shot at making the Canes this season.

Will Murphy make it impossible to send him back to Kitchener? Will Faulk continue to impress? Will Joslin outplay Harrison?

New defensive coach Dave Lewis and the rest of the Carolina coaching staff will be looking for the answers.

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Comments

It’s going to be exciting seeing how all this unfolds

"It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times..."

by Gramm Matthew Esq. on Sep 16, 2011 1:56 PM EDT reply actions

I’ve heard “…should help to improve an inconsistent power play” way too many times in the past years. Sad thing is, none of the players that are brought in to do so, ever do. I think it’s time to abandon the search. The game is played the majority of the time even strength. If we pick up someone solely based on the ability to help an ailing power play, aren’t we pigeon holing ourselves?

Satan is just a coping mechanism for monotheists.

by wilmnoca on Sep 16, 2011 2:25 PM EDT reply actions

Well

I’d look at it this way: It’s a poor worker who blames his tools. We keep changing/ adding/ modifying tools. When do we identify the coaching and change that? If the PP was inconsistent (which I call an optimistic assessment, it was mundane to poor all year with only occasional flashes of better than average)—and it was the same in the previous year, one point player change isn’t going to fix it. It’s easy to counter one player on a PK unit.

by Squeaky83 on Sep 16, 2011 2:50 PM EDT up reply actions

But having the ‘RIGHT’ tool makes the job so much better.

I'm trying to be positive here, so if you're not go PUCK yourself.

by canescup on Sep 16, 2011 5:03 PM EDT up reply actions

I know some really good workers who insist on having the best tools if they are expected to produce work at the best quality on the planet. I never heard the expression: “a poor worker who blame his tools”. I’m not sure how to respond to that.

Twitter @HMof2

by Carolyn Christians on Sep 16, 2011 5:10 PM EDT up reply actions

And it's a poor boss who provides his laborers with substandard equipment on a shoestring budget.

Advance apologies if the contents of this sports-based post offended you. I'm just aiming to educate the masses. My law professor says they're asses.

Panthers '011: This is what we've been waiting for...we get to overpay the core of a 2-14 team!

by MichaelProcton on Sep 16, 2011 5:13 PM EDT up reply actions

The boss doesn’t provide the money for the tools – the owner does.

by caniacmum on Sep 16, 2011 6:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Metaphors

are dumb

by jfhammon on Sep 16, 2011 8:28 PM EDT up reply actions

LOL!

Twitter @HMof2

by Carolyn Christians on Sep 16, 2011 10:36 PM EDT up reply actions

The owner is the only boss there is.

Advance apologies if the contents of this sports-based post offended you. I'm just aiming to educate the masses. My law professor says they're asses.

Panthers '011: This is what we've been waiting for...we get to overpay the core of a 2-14 team!

by MichaelProcton on Sep 16, 2011 11:08 PM EDT up reply actions

They did. Why do you think they brought Dave Lewis in as the "New Defensive Coach"?

by Canesfan1 on Sep 17, 2011 1:32 AM EDT up reply actions

Agreed.

PP is 5 guys, not one. How about some forwards manning up on the PP ?

by Hockeydog on Sep 16, 2011 2:54 PM EDT reply actions

Hope McBain comes to camp ready to compete for a spot, or else i can see him getting out-hustled

by Caniac1026 on Sep 16, 2011 3:38 PM EDT reply actions

Here’s another odd thing – they’ve announced the rosters for the Red vs White Scrimmage Sunday with 8 dmen on each team. That leaves 12 players total, 3 of whom are defensemen, to sit out and will be practicing earlier at 9:30am

The D are Derek Joslin, Kyle Lawson and Chris Murray (Murray played in Albany last year and only has an AHL/ECHL contract).

The Forwards are

under 2-way AHL/NHL contract: Justin Soryal, Matthew Pistilli, Justin Shugg, Cedric McNicoll, Nicolas Blanchard

AHL/ECHL only: Mike McKenzie

unsigned rookies: Brody Sutter

Does this mean anything about whether Joslin would be the first guy out, if Faulk makes the team, or is it possible related to a minor injury, or none of the above, maybe even totally random?

Twitter @HMof2

by Carolyn Christians on Sep 16, 2011 5:07 PM EDT reply actions

Could mean they feel like they know what he can do in a game situation.

Advance apologies if the contents of this sports-based post offended you. I'm just aiming to educate the masses. My law professor says they're asses.

Panthers '011: This is what we've been waiting for...we get to overpay the core of a 2-14 team!

by MichaelProcton on Sep 16, 2011 5:14 PM EDT up reply actions

+1

I hope that is what it means. Could be that Joslin may be physically unable to go for some reason. I can see Shugg and B Sutter sitting it out as they just came off the Prospect tournament.
Joslin plays just the type of game this club needs on the back end.

by Hockeydog on Sep 16, 2011 5:20 PM EDT reply actions

Ryan Murphy signed?

Mike Maniscalco and all of ESPN radio are tweeting that Ryan Murphy and the Canes have agreed to terms on a contract, will be announced/signed soon.

Nothing official from the Canes.

Twitter @HMof2

by Carolyn Christians on Sep 16, 2011 5:44 PM EDT reply actions

Saw this as well. It would be a very surprising move. I wonder who they would trade to make room for him…

by jbcanesfan26 on Sep 16, 2011 6:13 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

If I am not mistaken this doesn’t mean the Canes have decided he’ll make the NHL roster. I believe the contract will not kick in until he does play at the NHL level.

by Hockeydog on Sep 16, 2011 6:17 PM EDT reply actions

Ahh…ok thanks. I was thinking that it would kick in whether he played with the Canes or Kitchener.

by jbcanesfan26 on Sep 16, 2011 6:20 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Correct...

Or at least professionally.

Advance apologies if the contents of this sports-based post offended you. I'm just aiming to educate the masses. My law professor says they're asses.

Panthers '011: This is what we've been waiting for...we get to overpay the core of a 2-14 team!

by MichaelProcton on Sep 16, 2011 11:08 PM EDT up reply actions

As This OLD Fan

has said before..we fans needs to sit back..watch the fun to see who is willing to what ever it takes to make the Canes regular Roster…and who gets sent where and in the case of “Brody” Sutter..will he be impressive enough to get a contract offer and if so what level ..ghee this whole bit ih so short training camp scenerio almost reads and plays out like a ‘soap opera’ huh ?? Thanks again Bob…great info & perspective…:D

9/11/01 - Never Forget !!
Long Live #63 The Condor
Go Canes & Checkers !!!

by CaniacSteve on Sep 16, 2011 11:04 PM EDT reply actions

I think Harrison and Joslin will make the team but I am not sure which one of those two will start on opening night. Harrison can potentially play the shutdown role (although he’s faced some extremely weak competition) and he played a good bit of the team’s PK minutes last season but Joslin brings a much more versatile game to the table and played very well during his brief time in Carolina. Going to be interesting to see who earns the 6th defenseman spot there.

I also think Murphy and Faulk probably won’t make the team unless they are incredible in camp. A full year in the AHL is probably good for Faulk.

www.shutdownline.com

by MyFriendCorey on Sep 17, 2011 3:38 AM EDT reply actions

I think Murphy and Faulk will thrill us with their offensive potential and make the positional mistakes expected of young players in their first NHL camp. They will both get long looks, possibly last round of cuts. Not because the team is uncertain of their status, but because the experience of the NHL camp will benefit them in the long run. Faulk will start in the AHL and Murphy will be returned to Kitchner. He could possibly see a few NHL games, if a situation with the defensive corps allows it, but will be returned to his junior team before his point of no return.

by Hockeydog on Sep 17, 2011 9:23 AM EDT reply actions