Potential good news from the Canes media outfit. In a piece titled, Hurricanes to Look for Size at Draft, Paul Branecky leads with this gem: "The Hurricanes have never been afraid to ice a smaller lineup from year to year, with a Stanley Cup and a recent trip to the Eastern Conference Finals proof of how that strategy can be effective."
No contesting the fact that Eric Staal and a cast of Robert Conrad clones went way-deep in the playoffs this season, but I like this (rhetorical at least) commitment to finding largeness in the next draft. Brandon Sutter may end up filling out a la Eric Staal, but other top forward prospect, Zach Boychuk, is listed as "5 feet Danny DiVito inches." I know, this seems like a strange system of height measurement. Must be a super-sophisticated Hockeysfuture.com algorithm. The Canes have some system size on the blueline, but the other kids listed as taller than 6'0" are untried. Dustin Byfuglien was an eigth-rounder in 2003. Will there be any big man gems available when the Canes pick?