RALEIGH - Wednesday was Brandon Sutter's first visit to the RBC Center since his final day at training camp last fall. It's a place he should be prepared to spend a lot more time in the coming months.

Sutter is one of 11 prospects in town this week for the Carolina Hurricanes' annual conditioning camp, but he's the only one likely to be with the team this fall.

The son of an NHL coach and scion of one of hockey's most famous families, Sutter has enough hockey sense to read between the lines. He knows what kind of opportunity lies before him.

"Obviously, it's really exciting," Sutter said. "This is what I want to do. Playing in the NHL is a dream come true. It's awesome here. I wouldn't want to go anywhere else. I'm going to do all I can to play here next year."

The Canes signed Sutter to a three-year, entry-level contract last March, and he finished out the season with their farm team in Albany (AHL) to positive reviews.

With opening night three months away, the 19-year-old is penciled in as the Canes' fourth-line center. Actually, it might even be ink.

"We feel he's ready to move in there," Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said. "Unless something unforeseen comes along that we don't expect, he will be with the team."

This week won't have too much impact on Sutter's NHL prognosis. The focus is on education, not evaluation, although a player in Sutter's position is always under observation.

The goal of the camp is to give recently drafted prospects an idea of what kind of off-ice work ethic is required at the NHL level while teaching them how to do it. Typically, the Canes have held this camp in August, almost entirely under the auspices of trainer Pete Friesen.

But coming to the end of his first full year as assistant general manager, Ron Francis has taken an active role in the proceedings, moving them up to July so he can see which prospects have absorbed the material and which haven't by the time training camp opens.

Sutter missed Friesen's four days of torture last year because he was with Team Canada preparing for an exhibition series against Russia. This summer, he couldn't escape. But it's hardly his first time in Raleigh or at the RecZone.

As their first-round pick in 2007, Sutter spent most of training camp with the Canes before heading back to his junior team in Red Deer, Alberta.

"It was nice to come here last year and get a taste of what it's like," Sutter said. "I'm used to the buildings and the city and the people around here, so coming back now there are a lot of familiar faces and I feel a lot more comfortable."

There's no question hockey is in his blood. His father, Brent, coaches the New Jersey Devils and was arguably the most successful of the six hockey-playing Sutter brothers. Brandon is the ninth member of his family, and third of the second generation, to be drafted in the NHL.

"He's a typical Sutter," said fellow Carolina prospect Zach Boychuk, who has known Sutter for almost a decade. "He's got great hockey sense on the ice and he's a great leader and a great friend. He's a pleasure to be around."

When Sutter arrived in Albany in March, his pedigree was as apparent to his new teammates as his ability.

"He stepped right in and didn't look out of place," Albany defenseman Bryan Rodney said. "You could tell he has that leadership quality about him. He fit in with everybody and got along with everybody. His work ethic obviously is instilled in him and he's a great player and a great talent.

"He was a big addition to our team. He solidified our team at center ice and really helped us in our stretch drive and in the playoffs."

Sutter started playing hockey in earnest last July with his Team Canada duty and he was going full speed right up until the River Rats were eliminated from the AHL playoffs in April. By the time Sutter's 10-month season ended, Francis figured Sutter's weight was down to the "160s."

Coming off that long year of hockey, the Canes had one message for Sutter this summer: Rest.

"Our concern there was he was a little bit light," Francis said. "He's played a lot of hockey in the last few years for Team Canada and the World [Junior] Championships and the Canada-Russia series and he was probably playing 25-plus minutes a night in Red Deer last year. As a result, he lost some weight.

"The biggest thing we tried to do with him is just shut him down after the season. He could weight-train and we monitored his nutrition, but we tried to keep away the cardio until he started putting on some weight.

"That's the biggest thing we're looking for. Other than that, we've got a big indication of what he can do watching him play in both juniors and for Team Canada and also in Albany last year."

Sutter said he has added about 10 pounds since the end of last season, with a goal of "being in the high 180s" by training camp. According to Friesen's measurements this week, Sutter is at 183 pounds -- yet another sign Sutter remains on track for an NHL spot this fall.

"There's a spot for him," Rutherford said.

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