Boychuk, Dalpe, Bowman, and other prospects that didn't pan out

Big Daddy Cane

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Ryan Murphy is a player that I thought would have a relatively long stint in Carolina, at least as a 3rd pairing, right-handed offensive specialist. I expected MAB-level defense, but I have found Murphy’s play in his own zone to be closer to the average of players of his ilk. What’s holding him back is his offense; it just hasn’t translated. He looks like an offensive threat only for a shift or two every couple of games.
 
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MinJaBen

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The common factor in almost all of these guys is a lack of hockey sense, an inability to make the most of their physical gifts.

Skating and hockey sense: if you are missing either, you probably never make the NHL. I know a lot of people think Gauthier is going to be a stud, but I am currently leaning toward a bigger, forward version of Murphy. Hope I'm wrong. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Roy looks great, but I worry he won't be able to keep up at the NHL level.
 
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A Star is Burns

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I was always somewhat lukewarm on selecting Gauthier, but I'm fine with him at this point. The good thing is guys like Roy and Gauthier should actually get time to work on their deficiencies. I don't think either will be forced on the team at this point since there are other guys that are likely closer than them, barring them making big improvements by camp.
 
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tarheelhockey

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I'm not necessarily down on Gauthier, but I was in the minority here who weren't particularly impressed with his rookie camp. IMO that showing was similar to Rask in his rookie camp, in the sense that you can see the raw talent but there are also visible weaknesses that need to be fixed in order to even make the NHL. Rask was able to work it out and I hope Gauthier will too.
 
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Boom Boom Apathy

I am the Professor. Deal with it!
Sep 6, 2006
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https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/prospect-profile-zach-boychuk/c-471935

“When you’re considering taking a player that’s not a big player, the player needs to fit certain criteria,†said Jason Karmanos. “He needs to have the speed necessary to get away from the bigger players and he needs to have that exceptional hockey sense and skill level. Zach has those things.â€

“You can’t have an undersized team, but you can certainly have undersized players when they’re as strong and as fit as someone like Zach is,†said Karmanos. “Pete Friesen [the team’s head trainer] has compared his strength to that of a gymnast in that he’s kind of strong all over. He’s an extremely athletic indiviual.â€

Hmmmm
 
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NotOpie

"Puck don't lie"
Jun 12, 2006
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Zach
2cb285b9a6baa6c12a44235300f281e3.jpg
Boychuk
 
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Vagrant

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It was pretty obvious to me early on that Boychuk was intimidated by the pace of the game at the NHL level. He never really adjusted and got comfortable. I don't know if it was more of a hockey sense issue or a feeling like he didn't belong, but he didn't have the confidence in his abilities to take the risks he was taking in the AHL that made him dangerous down there. It seemed mostly mental with him. He just didn't seem like the brightest crayon in the box. The step up in physicality wilted him a bit too. Sometimes the NHL is just too much for some players. I don't believe his dedication was 100% on point either. He seemed pretty content with being a big fish in a small pond as far as the AHL goes. That league is supposed to be fairly uncomfortable for ambitious players, but he seemed somewhat content there.

I agree with HFP about Borer. He was already on his way back down when the bus crash happened. His mobility really took a hit with the injuries and he was one of those classic tweeners. Bruno St. Jacques around the same time was another of that ilk. No particular glaring weakness, but no particular glaring strengths. Not big, not physical, not exceptional skaters. Just minutes eaters. Brett Carson was the guy among that group that really had me convinced he could be more. He skated pretty well and was a bigger guy. My memory is cloudy as to his specific weaknesses, but he falls into that group of guys who were middling and only in consideration because of our extreme lack of depth and the fact that our defensemen were all 38 years old.

I remember at the trade deadline in '02 when Rutherford boldly proclaimed that Jarsoslav Svoboda was our deadline acquisition in a terse press conference following another deadline day of complete inactivity. In retrospect, it was insane for us to believe he had any significant future considering how pedestrian his production was in the AHL. He just caught lightning in a bottle that year and picked up the right linemates to not look totally useless. That particular sequence really underscored the cheapness of those teams.
 
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A Star is Burns

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In fairness, JR had already brought back Sean Hill, made the Hedican and Adams for Ozo trade, and brought in Kevin Weekes I believe.
 
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A Star is Burns

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I mean, I'm still on board with your overall point. I believe it was the year prior when we only got Scott Pellerin at the deadline. I was furious.
 
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Vagrant

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I mean, I'm still on board with your overall point. I believe it was the year prior when we only got Scott Pellerin at the deadline. I was furious.

It still shocks me in retrospect how *good* that '02 team was. I think people far too often attach a Cinderella storyline to them, but that team had some significant horsepower. Francis and Brind'Amour down the middle was about as good of a combination as could be found around the league. Two really legitimate first line wingers in Jeff O'Neill and Sami Kapanen around a HOF center. Kapanen being one of the best skaters in the league and O'Neill in his goal scoring prime. Erik Cole, who was every bit of a perfect 2nd line winger if not borderline 1st line for the majority of his career, being paired with another borderline HOF/HOVG center on the 2nd line to really take pressure off the top line. To the third line with Martin Gelinas and a budding Josef Vasicek. Vasicek was a fantastic 3rd line player, but really didn't hold up past that designation. Irbe had a few Top 10 Vezina voting seasons over his career, so he was certainly an above average goaltender in an objective sense at the apex of what was a very respectable career. Kevin Weekes play in the postseason was the biggest fluke about that run, but not an entirely unsurprising one. Weekes was always billed as being a player with every skill you could possibly want but with no real direction. The team success brought out the best in his compete level and focus. Plus, his aspirations were seemingly always elsewhere. I think a big part of his departure was making contacts in the Rangers organization that would help his career after hockey, which ended up being a fantastic move for his career longevity in one sense but not on the ice after he was Wally Pipp'ed by Henrik Lundqvist. He would have been an excellent starter for Carolina. Probably better than Gerber. The move to a higher pressure environment didn't help him. Such a strange way the door opened for Cam Ward in 05-06.

For all his other mistakes, Maurice really deployed that team correctly and each line had an absolute identity. Every player was content with their slotting and everyone had a purpose. Adams-Adams with Daniels or Westlund was a really effective energy line. Kevyn Adams was such an ideal 4th line center. The team was also really underrated on defense. Wesley was just absurd defensively around this time. The lack of offense after being taken away from Bourque combined with missing an empty net in Boston really overshadowed how people viewed him historically. He was a first pairing guy during this stretch. Sean Hill with his intensity and ridiculously heavy shot gave him a Justin Faulk style impact in the offensive zone from a pure production standpoint. He was maligned at the time for what he didn't bring for St. Louis after signing that big contract, but the run he had with Carolina was everything you'd want from a 3rd defenseman. He averaged 24 minutes a night and scored 30 points in 49 games with Carolina that season. He was far better than his reputation. Bret Hedican was very similar to Wesley in his impact on the game defensively. Niclas Wallin was always game and a really essential bottom pairing pillar of stability. Aaron Ward was a strong placeholder in the Top 4. Just a really strong team for their seeding. If anything, that team probably underachieved in the regular season but in fairness as you mentioned a lot of those pieces were mid-season additions. JR should get a lot of credit for how he was able to rework that team through trade to make a really competitive group. He wasn't a popular GM for his risk averse approach, but there were few better in terms of elevating players to bigger roles through trade and having those moves work out. It was a cheap strategy and it failed us in critical moments a few times, but when it worked it worked big. 05-06 was full of those stories as well. The man knew how to build a team, even if lack of liquidity tied his hands in some ways.
 
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geehaad

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If you want to talk about lightning in a bottle, that was the year Battaglia scored 20 goals. And that's 20 goals when it was still legal to water-ski on your opponent.

In so many ways, that run was more fun than the '06 run. Prior to it actually happening, it was inconceivable that Carolina would play for the Cup. In '06, they had the second-best record in hockey, so it wasn't so unexpected.
 
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Navin R Slavin

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If you want to talk about lightning in a bottle, that was the year Battaglia scored 20 goals. And that's 20 goals when it was still legal to water-ski on your opponent.

In so many ways, that run was more fun than the '06 run. Prior to it actually happening, it was inconceivable that Carolina would play for the Cup. In '06, they had the second-best record in hockey, so it wasn't so unexpected.

It was way easier to believe in '06 because of '02.

Still hard to believe we've had to start over from scratch after all that. Man, that building used to rock.
 
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geehaad

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Yep, forgot about Tanabe. Had to look up how much he played, because I didn't remember him in the playoffs...for good reason: he played one game.
 
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Roboturner913

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I loved that 01-02 team. That was easily the hardest-working team I've ever seen. I loved watching the 3rd and 4th lines just as much as the top 2 lines, they couldn't score and they knew it, but they were not going to be outworked by anybody. Tommy Westlund was one of my favorite guys on that team, loved the way that dude played. I even bought his jersey.
 
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Anton Babchuk

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tanabe wasn't on the cup winning team...he was on the coyotes/bruins that year. they signed him the year after when the bruins walked away from his arbitration award.

he actually had a decent season that year and then wasn't re-signed...then randomly signed a few weeks into the season to a two-year deal. then he got bought out even though he said he had a career-ending concussion (which he likely did seeing as he never played again despite being 27 at the time), which was kind of a dick move. he filed a grievance for his full $900,000 salary instead of his $600,000 buyout and they ended up settling for $850,000 paid out over three years.
 
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CandyCanes

Caniac turned Jerkiac
Jan 8, 2015
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It was way easier to believe in '06 because of '02.

Still hard to believe we've had to start over from scratch after all that. Man, that building used to rock.

The building really did used to rock, and man was it ever incredible. I truly do miss the old stadium environment we had, I really hope we can get back to that level someday. Every time I rewatch the game 7 finals games, I get chills just listening to how freaking loud and engaged the crowd was! Best experience of my life still, never had a day that was more fun!
 
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HisIceness

This is Hurricanes Hockey
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Justin Shugg was another that came to mind today as one I had high hopes for. Had a great showing for the Windsor Spitfires his draft year and seemed like a potential steal as a 4th rounder.

Saw 3 NHL contests in an absolutely dismal season and is now playing in Germany.
 
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Eye of Ra

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Nov 15, 2008
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I brought up Kahnberg and Nordgren a little while back. Those are the big ones for me. Obviously I'd never seen them, but looking at their stats made you think they were really going to be good if they ever came over.

I seem to remember a lot of people, probably myself included, being way too excited for Jaroslav Svoboda after he played a decent role on the third line in the 02 Finals fun.

I also remember being high on DeFauw and Bayda from watching them on tv a time or two. I believe they won the National Championship. I always thought Brett Lysak around that time would pan out, but I can't really remember why.

Kahnberg had amazing skills + size. He was like Kristian Huselius. But he was mentally weak and could not handle the small rinks.

Nordgren was nothing special, just a grinder.
 
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Roboturner913

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All I remember about Nordgren is he played about half a season on a line with Whitney and Cullen and he still couldn't score to save his life. And hell, on that team, even Craig Adams scored semi-regularly.
 
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