Canes’ Slavin edging closer to his goal
Jaccob Slavin keeps edging closer to his goal, realizing he likely will not reach it this year.
After two years at Colorado College, the defenseman signed his entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes in July. He went with the Canes to the Traverse City (Mich.) prospects tournament last month, playing well and earning an invite to the team’s main training camp.
Slavin began camp in an auxiliary locker room on the far side of PNC Arena from the Canes’ main room. After roster cuts, after scoring the winning goal Sunday in a preseason game against the Ottawa Senators, he moved into the Canes’ locker room but with an auxiliary stall in a hallway next to defenseman Brett Pesce.
Making progress and moving in the right direction?
“It appears to be,” a smiling Slavin said Wednesday morning.
On Wednesday night, Slavin found himself in the starting lineup against the Washington Capitals in the Canes’ first preseason game at PNC Arena. With Ron Hainsey out with an injury, Slavin was paired with Justin Faulk.
“It’s all based on merit and he’s been arguably our best young D-man,” Canes coach Bill Peters said after the morning skate.
Slavin, 21, was a fourth-round pick by Carolina in the 2012 NHL draft, and a shaggy haired 18-year-old from Colorado -- listed at 6-foot-1 and 160 pounds -- when he first came to rookie camp that summer. Or as he put it, “A little, skinny guy.”
No longer. Slavin now has a solid 6-foot-2, 205-pound frame and a more mature look to him. Playing at Colorado College toughened him up a bit, it seems. He also was married in August.
“At Colorado College we had some struggles and not did win a lot of games,” Slavin said. “But we had a great group of guys and great coaches. I learned about being consistent and being consistent in a short season, where you have to play well every game.”
Slavin had 10 goals and 32 assists in 66 college games. He was National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) rookie of the year as a freshman and last season was named to the NCHA first-team all-star team.
Slavin, who said he added upper-body strength in the offseason, caught Peters’ eye at Traverse City. A year ago, center Victor Rask played so well at the rookie tournament, then at training camp, that he earned an NHL roster spot when Jordan Staal was lost with a broken leg.
“If anyone is like Victor Rask up to this point, in comparison to last year, it’s Jaccob Slavin,” Peters said earlier this week.
Slavin called Traverse City a good experience that provided some good hockey competition, adding, “I just tried to play my game and be an offensive as I can, but take care of the D zone at the same time. That’s kind of what my game is.”
The game against the Caps did not start well for Slavin or the Canes. Alex Ovechkin blew through him to score a quick goal. The Caps added another less than five minutes into the game.
Peters moved Slavin into a pairing with Michal Jordan, shifting Noah Hanifin to the Faulk pairing, and Slavin had four second-period shifts. But he kept his composure and helped the Canes emerge with a 4-3 shootout victory.
Slavin’s first preseason game was against the Pittsburgh Penguins, which he called “definitely an eye-opener.” Then came the winner against the Sens, when he blasted a shot off a Kris Versteeg pass for the third-period goal in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
Odds are, Slavin will start the season with the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. That’s not the move he wants but one he said he can accept.
“My mindset is to make it as hard as I can for them to make that decision to send me down,” he said. “There are a lot of good defensemen here. I want to do what I can to help this team win, and if that’s being down in Charlotte first then I’m going to work as hard as I can to get back up here.”
And have a locker stall in the main room.
This story was originally published October 1, 2015 at 8:53 AM with the headline "Canes’ Slavin edging closer to his goal."