Are the Canes set at forward? These wannabes hope not

The Carolina Hurricanes had a passel of draft picks and other young prospects at rookie camp last week, and some were back for a second time.

And Warren Foegele, who was back for a fourth time.

That may or may not have set a team record but Foegele didn’t mind. Staying in front of the eyes of management is always a good thing and rookie camp can do that. The same was true for Julien Gauthier, Jake Bean, Janne Kuokkanen and others in camp.

“I wanted to come in and work hard and in September work hard again and try to prove to staff and management that I can play here,” Foegele said.

Meaning the NHL. That was said a few days before the Canes signed winger Justin Williams, before they traded for center Marcus Kruger. Barring more trades, the Canes’ forward slots are filled for 2017-18, and 20-somethings like Foegele and Nicolas Roy likely will be in Charlotte playing for the Checkers in the American Hockey League.

Foegele, who turned 21 in April, could be one to watch in his first professional season. He has the size at 6-2 and 196 pounds, the skills and the savvy and is coming off a strong junior season with the Kingston Frontenacs and Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League.

A year ago, Foegele stuck around the Canes’ preseason camp longer than expected. A third-round draft pick in 2014, the left winger played in exhibition games for the Canes and made it to the final 32 players before being returned to Kingston.

“It was my first NHL training camp,” Foegele said. “I thought I had a good training camp and the message from the staff going into junior was real positive for me. I took that with me, and I think I had a lot of confidence this past year.”

Tony MacDonald, the Canes’ director of amateur scouting, was asked last week which of the players in rookie camp had made the biggest improvement in the past year.

“Oh, Foegele made a huge leap as a player,” MacDonald said without hesitation. “He epitomizes the player you want him to be. He plays a pretty complete game. He plays on the power play, he kills penalties, he’s good on faceoffs. He was the MVP in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. He’s a tremendous kid in terms of his work ethic.”

Traded to Erie in early January, Foegele made a strong team stronger. He had 13 goals and 13 assists in 22 playoff games as the Otters won the OHL championship and advanced to the Memorial Cup, losing to the Windsor Spitfires 4-3 in the title game.

“I moved to right wing with Erie, and I never played that before,” Foegele said. “I think it really helped me adapt more skill to my game.”

The season over, Foegele went back to work.

The Markham, Ont., native is one of Gary Roberts’ summer pupils. Roberts, once a hard-charging, slightly maniacal forward in the NHL, now uses that intensity in his high-performance training camp in Toronto.

Foegele isn’t a name-dropper, but those at the five-days-a week camp the past few years have included Connor McDavid and Steven Stamkos.

“It’s pretty crazy,” Foegele said, smiling. “The camp (program) includes nutrition, working out, yoga, treatment, on ice – it’s the full package and really helped me develop and get stronger and learn about what it takes to be a pro. It’s great environment.”

Canes assistant coach Rod Brind’Amour, known for his intense workouts, said year-round conditioning has become the norm for players.

“That never happened back in the day. If you did that you were kind of the odd ball,” he said. “Now they know what they have to do.”

Foegele knows what he has to do. So do Gauthier, Roy, Kuokkanen and the others. They can see the Canes’ roster, see who’s in front of them.

“Your dream is to play in the NHL,” Foegele said. “With that mindset and drive, if you keep working hard good things will happen.”

This story was originally published July 6, 2017 at 10:49 AM with the headline "Are the Canes set at forward? These wannabes hope not."