Pre-Game Talk: 2021 Training Camp

[Anton Dubinchuk]

Shall we discuss camp?

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[A Star is Burns]

If they end up doing some scrimmages I hope they provide a video feed. Other than that, our team does a decent job of providing various types of content, so that's good. Not a whole lot of intrigue to camp other than some line combos and who ends up on the taxi squad. Hopefully, everyone stays relatively healthy. I look forward to hearing about guys in the best shape of their lives or that gained impossible amounts of pure muscle this offseason.

 

[bleedgreen]

I should be so pumped about this but I have to admit my heart isn’t in it quite yet.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

I'm with you. I think once games start it'll feel "real". As Azor mentioned though, camp has very little intrigue or storylines so that doesn't help the excitement levels.

I am now on Season 13 (out of 17) of Top Chef, so I'll have to do quite a bit of "work" in the next week and a half to make sure I finish what I started before they drop the puck

 

[GoldiFox]

It is weird that regular season Canes hockey will be back next week. I am excited. I think this season will be pretty cool with 26 two-game series. I expect to see at least some "halftime adjustments" between games. Rod will likely be on the conservative end of that spectrum but I think it is an interesting idea to pop Rees or Jarvis into the second game of a series for some energy.

 

[bleedgreen]

I'm with you. I think once games start it'll feel "real". As Azor mentioned though, camp has very little intrigue or storylines so that doesn't help the excitement levels.

I am now on Season 13 (out of 17) of Top Chef, so I'll have to do quite a bit of "work" in the next week and a half to make sure I finish what I started before they drop the puck

The season in Colorado was my favorite for obvious reasons (not sure which one it is?), but it’s a fun season even without that. A solid competition with people you love to hate. I’ve shopped in the Whole Foods they use so many times. All the places they go are places I’ve been, many of which I love. It’s weird to see every day places in your life being featured in HD on your tv. They stepped up the production of the show it seemed too. That’s the only competitive cooking show I could be dragged to watch in general.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Forwards: Sebastian Aho, Jeremy Bracco, David Cotton, Jason Cotton, Ryan Dzingel, Jesper Fast, Warren Foegele, Morgan Geekie, Seth Jarvis, Steven Lorentz, Jordan Martinook, Stelio Mattheos, Max McCormick, Brock McGinn, Martin Necas, Nino Niederreiter, Jamieson Rees, Sheldon Rempal, Drew Shore, Spencer Smallman, Jordan Staal, Andrei Svechnikov, Teuvo Teravainen, Vincent Trocheck

Defensemen: Jake Bean, Haydn Fleury, Gustav Forsling, Jake Gardiner, Dougie Hamilton, Joey Keane, Brett Pesce, Joakim Ryan, Brady Skjei, Jaccob Slavin

Goalies: Antoine Bibeau, Petr Mrazek, Alex Nedeljkovic, James Reimer

Waddell says they'll probably care 2 forwards, 2 defensemen and a goalie on the taxi squad (not sure if he meant on top of 20 active roster players or 23). Assuming it's a 23 man roster:

Likely roster forwards (13): Aho, Dzingel, Fast, Foegele, Martinook, McGinn, Necas, Neiderreiter, Staal, Svech, TT, Trocheck and Geekie (4th line C)
Likely roster defense (7): Fleury, Gardiner, Hamilton, Pesce, Skjei, Slavin, Bean (or Forling or Ryan)
Goalies: Mrazek, Reimer, Ned

Without the benefit of seeing training camp yet, what are the bets on the taxi squad?

 

[GoldiFox]

Micah Blake McCurdy, @IneffectiveMath

2020-2021 Season Preview

The central falls into four neat pairs: the great (Tampa and Carolina), the good (Dallas and Columbus), the average (Nashville and Florida), and the bad (Chicago and Detroit). Carolina is still constructed broadly along "analytics darling" lines, with overwhelming offensive volume and below-average shooting talent, but defensive strength and an above-average goaltending tandem makes them the class of the division. Tampa are more "well-rounded", either a little bit or a lot better than average in every aspect, even after losing their best player (Kucherov) to injury.

Interesting writeup as always. Has the Canes as #1 in the Central. This analysis accounts for Kucherov missing the year.

 

[MinJaBen]

Without the benefit of seeing training camp yet, what are the bets on the taxi squad?

That is an interesting thought experiment. If Rod has the most say in the taxi squad, I'd say the AHL guys we used the last couple of years that he knows he can trust. If Waddell has the most say, I'd say guys that can be moved back and forth without waivers so they can minimize cap over the year....maybe even having Necas on the taxi squad at times just to hide salary. If player development is the concern, then our highend, non-NHL players who have no place to play at this time like Bean, Jarvis, Rees, etc.

Most Likely some combination of those three. Plus Ned. Here's my guess:

Geekie, McCormick, Bean, Ryan, Nedeljkovic

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

That is an interesting thought experiment. If Rod has the most say in the taxi squad, I'd say the AHL guys we used the last couple of years that he knows he can trust. If Waddell has the most say, I'd say guys that can be moved back and forth without waivers so they can minimize cap over the year....maybe even having Necas on the taxi squad at times just to hide salary. If player development is the concern, then our highend, non-NHL players who have no place to play at this time like Bean, Jarvis, Rees, etc.

Most Likely some combination of those three. Plus Ned. Here's my guess:

Geekie, McCormick, Bean, Ryan, Nedeljkovic

Is the taxi squad something that you define on day 1 and can never change? or is it a fluid thing where you can adjust as time goes on.

In a short season, I can see coaches/teams being less willing to take a chance on unproven guys.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

Skjei's getting his official headshot in...a somewhat odd but also COVID-repellent way...

 

[MinJaBen]

Is the taxi squad something that you define on day 1 and can never change? or is it a fluid thing where you can adjust as time goes on.

In a short season, I can see coaches/teams being less willing to take a chance on unproven guys.

It can be adjusted daily, so a lot of people are speculating that there will be thousands of "paper" transactions over the course of the year to help teams acru deadline cap space to make moves.

 

[Novacane]

Interesting. I thought they usually had two evenly split groups for training camp, but it looks like they’re going with opening night roster in C1 and taxi squad hopefuls in C2. Also a bit interesting that Warsofsky is handling C2; I guess he’ll get accustomed to a few of his players this year

 

[MinJaBen]

Interesting. I thought they usually had two evenly split groups for training camp, but it looks like they’re going with opening night roster in C1 and taxi squad hopefuls in C2. Also a bit interesting that Warsofsky is handling C2; I guess he’ll get accustomed to a few of his players this year

Wow! I didn't look closely at the breakdowns before. When I made my taxi squad above, I did it with the assumption we wouldn't carry a 23 man roster and use the taxi squad as the reserve. If we are going to carry 23, then I think we now know the team. The only question is who makes the taxi squad.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I didn't notice the break-out of the two sessions, but after seeing it, it makes sense. Extremely short training camp, no pre-season games and a very short schedule. They pretty much know what the NHL roster is so set up the camps that way to get as much bang for the buck as possible out of a short camp. There's no room for "try-outs" this year, particularly because Carolina already has a roster full of NHL players.

 

[MinJaBen]

Geekie, McCormick, Bean, Ryan, Nedeljkovic

So, assuming we carry a 23 man roster and it is the C1 group at camp, then I'm redoing my taki squad as this:

Geekie Jarvis, McCormick, Bean Keane, Ryan Forsling, Nedeljkovic

 

[Chrispy]

So, assuming we carry a 23 man roster and it is the C1 group at camp, then I'm redoing my taki squad as this:

Geekie Jarvis, McCormick, Bean Keane, Ryan Forsling, Nedeljkovic

Ned is an interesting question. Putting him on the taxi squad keeps him from playing games regularly. Better to have him playing in Charlotte Chicago (if they are playing) and call up in case of emergency, isn't it?

I see Waddell said the plan is one goalie on the taxi squad, but it just seems odd to me to leave on there for only practice duty.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Ned is an interesting question. I doubt they put him on the taxi squad as that keeps him from playing games regularly. Better to have him playing in Charlotte Chicago (if they are playing) and call up in case of emergency, isn't it?

You just triggered Negan.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

Ned is an interesting question. Putting him on the taxi squad keeps him from playing games regularly. Better to have him playing in Charlotte Chicago (if they are playing) and call up in case of emergency, isn't it?

I see Waddell said the plan is one goalie on the taxi squad, but it just seems odd to me to leave on there for only practice duty.

I think that the Taxi Squad is flexible. I see waiver-exempt young guys such as Bean/Geekie/Keane being on it early on, but then shifting to a more veteran-heavy group when the AHL actually starts. And my personal bet is on a 20 or 21-man roster until the deadline.

 

[hblueridgegal]

Sounds like status quo for now.

"I don't want to ever shut the door on any new players because you just don't know what's going to happen," Waddell said. "We may move some guys around during camp to get a look at them and make a decision on who stays and who goes."

With so little lead time before the regular season begins, the Canes figure to have a slight advantage given they're returning essentially the same team that was in the bubble four months ago.

"You really only have eight days to prepare, and that's why Roddy wants to basically have the team we had last year," Waddell said. "It's a benefit that these guys all know the system and how Roddy wants to play."

 

[Novacane]

Lines

 

[bleedgreen]

It’s Rod’s world. Sounds like they wouldn’t add someone even if someone came available. They’re fine with the goaltending. If they aren’t good enough they can look in the mirror after this one.

I’m fine with the approach. Rod is right in that there isn’t enough time to look at kids or prospects. They have their team and whoever comes out of the gate the quickest will have a huge advantage. He’s a vet coach and he wants his vets to perform quickly. Aside from Bean I don’t think this affects any of our young players. We weren’t expecting anyone to make the team I don’t think. It’ll be interesting how the AHL goes and if we end up with some prospects there that usually wouldn’t have been.

 

[bleedgreen]

Lines

Rod didn’t like Necas in the playoffs so that’s not a surprise he got bumped down, but we know how it goes offensively for guys who end up with Staal.

I like that Trocheck gets a fresh start away from him as they didn’t have good chemistry, and he worked well with other vets when it happened.

Nino is a good fit for the first line. I’m fine with that. That second line with either Fast or Necas is what some of us wanted this off season. That’s good balance. Trocheck is in a good place to recover.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Rod didn’t like Necas in the playoffs so that’s not a surprise he got bumped down, but we know how it goes offensively for guys who end up with Staal.

In fairness, Necas was on a 3rd line (Staal's line was 2nd) until Trochek was acquired, but I agree that Necas's defensive play is still a work in progress so not surprised either.

To add on to your comment about offensive guys on a line with Staal, I'm a bit perplexed by this line-up because Staal and Foegele will be a defensive line, and that is the weakest part of Necas's game. Unless Rod's thought is either a) balance the lines or b) this will help Necas's defensive game develop. That said, I'm sure the lines will change multiple times before the season starts and during the season so not a big deal.

 

[GoldiFox]

Lines

Hopefully Nino won't be the same plug. Offense died on his stick last year. I posted the data a couple weeks ago but Nino-Aho-Teravainen was the least productive 1st line I could find in the entire league last year. Worse than Detroit's, LA's, Ottawa's, etc. Whereas SAT was the most productive 1st line in the NHL. Better than the Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak line.