‘The energy is perfect,’ Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod BrindAmour says of training camp
Any questions about Carolina Hurricanes winger Martin Necas were answered quickly Tuesday.
Necas was on the ice for the Canes’ second training camp practice. The rookie forward was on a line with Vincent Trocheck and Nino Niederreiter as the Canes again put in a lot of work at PNC Arena.
Necas’ absence on Monday, when the Canes began practice in Phase 3 of the NHL’s Return to Play format, was not explained. The Phase 3 protocols, agreed on by the NHL and NHL Players Association, does not allow teams to disclose information on positive coronavirus tests or injuries.
But whatever caused Necas to miss practice Monday was no longer an issue Tuesday. The Canes are as close to full strength — defenseman Brett Pesce remains unable to participate as he recovers from shoulder surgery — as they’re going to get.
“I didn’t expect (Necas) to look dynamite today but he’s always that kind of flashy player,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said in Zoom media call. “I’m not worried about how he’s going to be in a couple of weeks.”
As for the team, after two days of camp ...
“To be honest, you almost feel like we wish we could play in about three days, because I feel like the energy is perfect right now,” Brind’Amour said.
It won’t be three days. While the Canes will play the Washington Capitals in a 4 p.m. exhibition game in Toronto on July 29, it’s not until Aug. 1 that they will take the ice against the New York Rangers to start Phase 4 postseason competition.
Brind’Amour made it clear Tuesday that he considered the series against the Rangers a playoff round. Not a best-of-five qualifying round, as the NHL is deeming it, with the winners advancing to fill out the 16-team Stanley Cup playoff, but the first round of the 2020 playoffs.
“You can call it whatever you want to call it,” Brind’Amour said. “This is the playoffs because if you don’t win three of five, you’re done. Last time I checked there’s no shootouts in these games. It’s the playoffs and we know that.
“We’re treating it like that and you have to. There’s really no other way to describe it. You can call it a play-in to get to the next round but it’s the playoffs. They just expanded the playoffs. That’s all it is.”
Point made? That will be the Canes’ focus until Aug. 1.
One interesting twist is that until Feb. 24, Sami Vatanen was a defenseman for the New Jersey Devils and Brady Skjei across the Hudson River playing for the Rangers. But the NHL trade deadline brought both D-men to the Hurricanes and now the two are being paired together on D in training camp.
Skeji did get in seven games for the Canes before the NHL paused the season March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Vatanen was on injured reserve with a leg injury and never played for Carolina, getting a feel for his new team and seeing some old friends — fellow Finns Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen — but not getting on the ice to compete with them.
As a pending unrestricted free agent, Vatanen faced the prospect of possibly never playing for the Canes had the NHL not agreed on the Return to Play plan. He has that chance now.
“It’s been a little weird, you know,” Vatanen said Tuesday on a Zoom call. “I came here and I was ready to play but I was unable to. It was unfortunate that the season got a little bit postponed. It’s been nice though. I haven’t played with the Finns in a long time.”
Or played in a game in a long time. Because of the injury, sustained when he was hit by a shot, Vatanen has not been in a game since Feb. 1 against the Dallas Stars.
Vatanen, 29, said he spent a month in Finland before returning to Raleigh and was able to get in enough skating. He said he “feels pretty good” after the push of the first two days of camp.
“I’m ready to go. Health wise I feel 100 percent,” he said. “I have no worries about that. Of course it takes a little time to get used to the game speed and like that, but we have a long time still before we start to play so I’ll be ready.”
The Canes traded for Vatanen to bring in another right-handed shooting defenseman after Dougie Hamilton and Pesce, both right-shot D-men, were injured. Hamilton is back but Vatanen gives Brind’Amour another savvy, experienced player on the back end and an option on the power play.
“He’s a talented, talented player and he’s got to be in that mix,” Brind’Amour said. “You’re talking power play ... We’re certainly trying to find him a spot. That’s what he does. He’s good at it.
“But he hasn’t had any reps with us. There’s a learning curve. You can’t wait five games to see if it’s going to work with him. Those are things we’re ironing out now.”
Before the qualifying ... the playoffs begin.
This story was originally published July 14, 2020 at 2:46 PM.
