• This is Brandon Sutter’s rookie year. Our 2007 first round draft pick is expected to come in on the fourth line and play some extra minutes on the penalty kill. What would be great is 10 goals. We might get it. No one has seen Sutter against a full team of NHL competition. He did play in all 6 preseason games and seemed to hold his own. But we will see.
  • Anton Babchuk comes back to us after a great year in Russia. He will be expected to come in as the 7th or 8th defenseman. Hopefully there’s no hard feelings. But the D-line is now a place of competition among all 8 involved, especially with a couple of the minor leaguers playing well during training camp such as Bryan Rodney and Casey Borer. Look for a good rotation of D-men this year.
  • Newbies include Sutter, Babchuk, Josef Melichar, Joni Pitkanen, and Dan Lacouture. One thing that has always been important for the Hurricanes is chemistry. How these guys fit in is a key to this team’s success.
  • Lastly, this is the year where Tuomo Ruutu, Patrick Eaves, Ryan Bayda and Chad LaRose all need to be good scorers. With Justin Williams out for a long time and Scott Walker out for 6 weeks, the Hurricanes need all the scoring they can get. We can hopefully expect a bit more scoring on the back end from Pitkanen and Joe Corvo, but the forwards need to be the biggest part. 
    • This is what I wrote in my season preview for the Hurricanes. And as we go into the new year, almost halfway through the season, let’s review those points with what we’ve got so far this year.
    • I think for Brandon Sutter, maybe 10 goals was too much to ask for. Yes, it was took much to ask for. At 39 games into the year, the rookie has played 30 games (missing 9 with the concussion after the hit from Islander Doug Weight) and recorded 6 points (one goal). Not too shabby for a kid who’s had a concussion. And his goal was pretty. He’s also +1, 7th on the team among regulars.
    • Anton Babchuk has put on a nice little streak recently, recording a point in each of the last three games (2 G, 1 A) as of 1/3/09. His plus/minus (-6) isn’t so great, but is on pace for a career-high in points, especially if this streak continues. Not bad for a number 7 defenseman. Tim Conboy, Casey Borer, Brett Carson and Bryan Rodney have all been called up to the big club this year because of various injuries. Carson played especially well, getting some time on the power play.
    • I’ve already talked about Sutter and Babchuk, but Melichar, Pitkanen and Lacouture deserve some time. Melichar did not perform up to expected and was sent down to the minors. Lacouture was a replacement for Scott Walker while he was injured, and performed well in his place for being a fourth-liner. Joni Pitkanen was the most interesting acquisition of the new players this off-season because we traded fan favorite and Eric Staal-buddy Erik Cole. I believe that this trade is a reason why Staal didn’t start out so well, but he’s adapted (I’ll explain more in the next point). Pitkanen has 19 points while missing 8 games (total of 32), tied with Joe Corvo for defense scoring lead. Cole has 14 points currently with Edmonton in 36 games…
    • Let’s review these guys one by one in one sentence. Tuomo Ruutu: Eric Staal has found a new Erik Cole (Ruutu’s got 24 points in 37 games, 11 goals). Patrick Eaves: He has disappointed, based on the contract he got, but has had a couple injuries (6 points in 33 games). Ryan Bayda: The up-and-down NHLer has played well with and without the puck to keep his place and is one of the most solid players we have (10 points and +5 in 40 games with mostly 4th-line playing time). Chad LaRose: Holy guacamole; 9 goals and 12 points in 39 games for a guy who’s expected to be 3rd line, at best. Shows you all the depth we ‘Canes have.