News and Notes Part 11: Where we find out how many goals Malone can score.

[NotOpie]

I don't think I see any hate for Rask around here. Everyone's penciling him into the 2/3 center spot which is what he played last year. I'm not sure what to expect from him though. His 33 points felt rather quiet.

I'm a pretty big Rask fan, paying particular attention to his shifts when I went to the games. I'm one of those guys who think he's going to be better than "serviceable". My guess is that you'll see closer to 45 pts. from him this year and that he could very well top out as a 50 pt. player. He's continuing to grow his skills in his own end as well. He's probably the player that I'm most excited about for this coming year.

 

[GoldiFox]

I'm a pretty big Rask fan, paying particular attention to his shifts when I went to the games. I'm one of those guys who think he's going to be better than "serviceable". My guess is that you'll see closer to 45 pts. from him this year and that he could very well top out as a 50 pt. player. He's continuing to grow his skills in his own end as well. He's probably the player that I'm most excited about for this coming year.

I feel similarly. I could see Rask putting up 40-50 points regularly as a 2C. To me he has the type of game that is based around making smart, consistent plays that often lead to goals. He has very little flash outside of a few "How did he see that?" passes, but what he does have is a high offensive Hockey IQ. His offensive skillset has always been high-end, the only question was his skating which seems to be steadily improving.

 

[Carolinas Identity*]

Rask, where we got him in the 2nd, was my favorite pick that draft.

 

[Ole Gil]

I don't think I see any hate for Rask around here. Everyone's penciling him into the 2/3 center spot which is what he played last year. I'm not sure what to expect from him though. His 33 points felt rather quiet.

The beginning of the year, he was putting up some points, but almost all on the PP. I think he had 2es points through 40 games or something absurd. Then he turned it on down the stretch.

His season kind of reminded me of Justin Faulk's rookie season, where the start he looked like a rookie who probably shouldn't be here, and in the end, he looked like a solid top 4 guy. Or in Rask's case, a good #3, okay #2.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I think this is a key year for all of Rask, Murphy, Lindholm and Skinner.

Skinner needs a bounce back season and needs to show he can play both ends of the ice well enough to get key minutes. If he doesn't, I have little doubt he'll be traded somewhere before the start of next season.

Rask and Murphy need to take the next step to show they belong in a top 4 (D), top 6 spot, not just on the Canes, but even on a good team, and on a consistent basis.

Lindholm, needs to take another step also, kinda like Faulk has improved year over year. I don't think he needs to "break out" like some do, but would like to see him around 45-50 points and playing more in key situations.

I'm not optimistic that the Canes will be competitive this coming year, but if those 4 guys do that and if the team remains relatively healthy, they may be able to at least compete for a playoff spot. I don't expect it, but do acknowledge anything is possible.

 

[StormCast]

I think this is a key year for all of Rask, Murphy, Lindholm and Skinner.

Skinner needs a bounce back season and needs to show he can play both ends of the ice well enough to get key minutes. If he doesn't, I have little doubt he'll be traded somewhere before the start of next season.

Rask and Murphy need to take the next step to show they belong in a top 4 (D), top 6 spot, not just on the Canes, but even on a good team, and on a consistent basis.

Lindholm, needs to take another step also, kinda like Faulk has improved year over year. I don't think he needs to "break out" like some do, but would like to see him around 45-50 points and playing more in key situations.

I'm not optimistic that the Canes will be competitive this coming year, but if those 4 guys do that and if the team remains relatively healthy, they may be able to at least compete for a playoff spot. I don't expect it, but do acknowledge anything is possible.

I'm not sure I'd say it's a key year for Rask as much as the others. Both Staals need to bring more too and hopefully on different lines or if not, with Eric centering Jordan rather than the other way around.

 

[Ole Gil]

I'm not sure I'd say it's a key year for Rask as much as the others. Both Staals need to bring more too and hopefully on different lines or if not, with Eric centering Jordan rather than the other way around.

I'm guessing he means in terms of development. This year, I think we see what the Canes have in a lot of these young players.

 

[Vagrant]

I think this is a key year for all of Rask, Murphy, Lindholm and Skinner.

Skinner needs a bounce back season and needs to show he can play both ends of the ice well enough to get key minutes. If he doesn't, I have little doubt he'll be traded somewhere before the start of next season.

Rask and Murphy need to take the next step to show they belong in a top 4 (D), top 6 spot, not just on the Canes, but even on a good team, and on a consistent basis.

Lindholm, needs to take another step also, kinda like Faulk has improved year over year. I don't think he needs to "break out" like some do, but would like to see him around 45-50 points and playing more in key situations.

I'm not optimistic that the Canes will be competitive this coming year, but if those 4 guys do that and if the team remains relatively healthy, they may be able to at least compete for a playoff spot. I don't expect it, but do acknowledge anything is possible.

I only have real concerns about Murphy moving forward. I think there's a very good chance that unless he makes significant strides in his own end, it's likely he'll get buried by the avalanche of young defenders we have coming by next season. He might be the biggest beneficiary of Fleury having a developmental year that saw him hit the rocks a bit. If Fleury and Hanifin were both ready, I feel like it would influence the decision on Murphy's necessity to the future of our defense. It's time for that offense to show more consistently as an apology for that defense. Carolina hasn't done a tremendous job of sticking with him through those errors as much as I would like, but if his offense is going to play in the NHL we need to see it on display this season or the risk of being forgotten is quite real. Not sure how long his waiver ineligibility remains.

Rask is Rask. I really don't know how much ceiling remains to be discovered there. I don't see him as a second line player though there were times where he filled that role for us last year. Though there are obvious visual dissimilarities, I think he's a volume shooter and not particularly thoughtful with the puck in the way Nathan Gerbe plays. I'm not going to say he's tapped out on potential because that's absurd, but I don't see the 50 point upside in him. One of those rare cases where his career shooting percentage might hold around the 7-8% mark. Not overly impressed with his shooting ability. With our depth, or lack thereof, he's as safe as safe gets in terms of his role moving forward.

Lindholm is a guy that I am expecting big things from. He's taking a very traditionally Swedish development path with incremental increases in output to the point where you realize that he has subtly worked his way into being a first line player. I think the Forsberg hyperbole is a bit much for those that don't remember Foppa at his absolute peak and how dominant he was in all facets, but it's not entirely unreasonable in my estimation to think that he could occupy the same space as a guy like Alexander Steen who is criminally underrated. I want to see yet another small jump in his measurables this year to put him in the 50-55 point range and I will consider that a win.

Skinner is tough. Because it was obvious to me last season that something wasn't exactly right with his game. I think he has some immaturity to work through and the environment in Carolina is conducive to that because he's still so beloved. He needs to get back to playing a simple style of hockey that revolves around him being fearless. It needs to be a controlled burn, though, in the sense that protecting himself still has to be a priority. His extracurricular stick work and after the whistle feisty plays make him an even more desirable target and there's some of that I would like to see out of his game. We pay guys a lot less money to play that role. Utilizing his linemates and creating trust is a big part of why Skinner hasn't been on top of his game in my estimation as well. He looks a bit frustrated that everyone else isn't on his skill level and tries to do too much, which results in some beauty individual efforts that fuel that style of play at his own expense. He has to be better at working inside the framework of what is asked of him.

 

[StormCast]

I'm guessing he means in terms of development. This year, I think we see what the Canes have in a lot of these young players.

Yeah, you're probably right, but it gave me an opportunity to complain about JStaal at 1C so I'm good now.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

@vagrant: Murphy shoots right. Hanifin/fluery, left.
McKeown and biega are the two main contenders to Murphy's direct NHL spot. Ice time is a bit more iffy though.

And Rask is getting the short end of the stick IMO.

 

[Carolinas Identity*]

McKeown will be nhl ready long before Biega though

imo anyway

 

[What the Faulk]

Re: Rask, Eric Staal is a 8.something percent shooter at even-strength too. I wouldn't have a problem if he developed along those lines (as a lite version), though in more of a playmaking role than Eric ever has been.

 

[Cardiac Jerks]

McKeown will be nhl ready long before Biega though

imo anyway

And Biega has a few years head start on him. I don't think Biega will ever be more than a #6/7.

 

[Carolinas Identity*]

And Biega has a few years head start on him. I don't think Biega will ever be more than a #6/7.

I agree and tbh, there's nothing wrong w/ that. I still think he'll be a solid depth guy.

 

[DaveG]

McKeown will be nhl ready long before Biega though

imo anyway

I'm not so sure on that. Biega looked pretty good in his callup last year. I think he could be NHL ready right now. Problem for him is right now his upside looks like bottom pair dman. Guys like McKeown and Pesce are younger with higher upside. So he would have to be able to hold them off to keep a spot since we already have Faulk and Murphy in the system at his position long term.

 

[NotOpie]

McKeown will be nhl ready long before Biega though

imo anyway

Yeah....not so much. McKeown has another year in Juniors and likely a year or two in Charlotte. Biega is going to be fighting for a bottom pairing job this training camp. Personally, I'd rather have him than Murphy in Raleigh.

 

[Carolinas Identity*]

Biega reminds me of Brett Bellemore

 

[Stickpucker]

Rask is like Mikko Koivu lite to me and I like his game

 

[tarheelhockey]

The Hurricanes draft a defenseman.

 

[What the Faulk]

Biega reminds me of Brett Bellemore

Sounds like a good 7-8 option for when injuries inevitably hit

 

[Carolinas Identity*]

we should sign johnny oduya

that's my 2nd favorite swedish name ever, just behind douglas murray

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

Yeah....not so much. McKeown has another year in Juniors and likely a year or two in Charlotte. Biega is going to be fighting for a bottom pairing job this training camp. Personally, I'd rather have him than Murphy in Raleigh.

What has Biega ever done to show that he is a better hockey player than Ryan Murphy?

 

[Carolinas Identity*]

What has Biega ever done to show that he is a better hockey player than Ryan Murphy?

if i understand our fan base properly, my guess is this:

murphy - 5'9", 174lbs

biega - 6'1", 210lbs

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Biega reminds me of Brett Bellemore

In which way? They seem like almost polar opposites to me, which is why I ask.

To me, Bellemore was a big, stay at home physical guy with very limited tools. Wasn't very mobile, didn't look "natural" out there, had very limited puck skills, and his passing and decision making were weak. His main "strength" was size and physicality and "clearing the crease" so to speak as well as dropping the gloves.

Biega, in the limited time I've seen him, isn't as big or as physical as Bellemore. Although he's not afraid to mix it up and doesn't shy away from physical play by any means, he has more tools than Bellemore IMO. He's better skater, more fluid, transitions fairly well, and is way better with the puck. I'm going off a small sample size but I see a guy who is more well rounded than Bellemore.

I think what might limit Biega, is that he's not great in any one thing, but just ok-good in most things. Nothing really stands out.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Murphy, IMO, took a step in the right direction the 2nd half of last year, after his return from the AHL. I remember many on this board lamenting that Murphy was sent down early in the season yet the likes of Harrison and Bellemore were still on the team. Later, when he returned he admitted that he really had no clue how to play defense / defensive system in the NHL and he learned that in his time in the AHL (wish I could find the link to that, but I remember him saying something to that effect).

I've been pretty luke-warm to negative on Murphy the past few seasons. I saw a guy with an outstanding set of skills who didn't seem to be making progress on how to apply them. Defensively, he was terrible and offensively, he would skate it end to end and then lose the puck (rarely seemed to involve his teammates). I started to see improvement in both areas the 2nd half of the season so I have "some" hope now.

I don't ever think he'll be a defensive stud, but skillwise, there's no reason he can't turn into a poor man's Brian Campbell. A guy that starts more in the offensive zone, can play top 4 minutes and do ok defensively, but can contribute 30+ points offensively with time on the PP. I'm looking for him to take another step forward this season and if he doesn't, I will start to get concerned that we'll get a poor man's MAB instead.