Jack Drury’s long odds get shorter after a goal in his Hurricanes preseason debut
Jack Drury called for the puck with a lift of his stick in the slot, then cut behind a Stefan Noesen screen to the net. By the time he got there, the pass from Jamieson Rees at the right circle was there waiting for him.
As goals in preseason debuts go, they don’t get much prettier than that. It’s very early yet in Drury’s quest to make the Carolina Hurricanes’ roster, but it’s off to a good start.
“It takes a little load off your shoulders,” Drury said. “You can loosen up a bit out there, so that felt nice. But we know we’ve got to get right back to work tomorrow and start getting ready for the rest of the week.”
For a player like Drury, a second-round pick in 2019 with famous NHL bloodlines -- father Ted, uncle Chris -- every shift matters, especially in Tuesday’s preseason opener against a weak Tampa Bay Lightning lineup.
Just as the Hurricanes’ power play is expected to dominate, and did, and a legitimate NHL starter like Frederik Andersen is expected to be near-flawless, and was, a prospect like Drury is expected to make the most of these circumstances. And did.
“Any of the guys that want to make the team have to make their mark,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said after the 3-1 win. “I don’t want to say they have to do more than other guys, but they do. They have to stand out.”
The power-play goals by Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Teuvo Teravainen were prettier, as should be expected from an NHL power play against a Lightning lineup very light on talent, but Drury’s goal had far more significant implications.
Kotkaniemi and Teravainen have nothing to prove. Drury has everything to prove.
Coming off a successful if unorthodox season in the Swedish pro league after leaving Harvard mid-pandemic, Drury returned to North America with his sights set on an NHL job, and at one point in the offseason it looked like he might land one by default.
With the skill to play on the third line and the two-way game to contribute on the fourth, the hockey sense to play center and the versatility to move out to the wing, Drury had the potential to fill just about any void left on the Hurricanes’ roster.
And then over the space of two months, just about everything that could get in his way got in his way.
Jordan Martinook re-signed when it looked at one point like he might go elsewhere. The Hurricanes signed Josh Leivo to replace the departed Brock McGinn and Warren Foegele, then added veteran center Derek Stepan, nominally a fourth-line center but with the ability to jump up the lineup.
And the one spot at forward that was still there for Drury or Seth Jarvis to potentially claim was filled in perhaps the most unexpected way possible, by the August offer sheet for Montreal’s Jesperi Kotkaniemi. When the Canadiens declined to match, there was suddenly a long list of big names in line ahead of Drury.
“I’m just trying to take it day by day and stick to my process and what I can control,” Drury said. “It’s a stressful environment for everyone but as a pro athlete it’s something you have to be able to handle. It’s a fun challenge.”
Not that a rookie would ever take a preseason game for granted, but the stakes couldn’t have been higher for Drury on Tuesday night with basically one job available as the extra forward, basically Drury or Stephen Lorentz with Jarvis likely headed back to junior until there’s a spot available higher up the lineup.
It’ll be telling if the Hurricanes decide to get a look at Drury on the wing with NHL players later in the preseason; for now, Brind’Amour said they’re content playing him at center and confident he can slide outside if needed.
That’s all on paper at the moment. The real decisions will be made on the ice. Shift by shift. Game by game. Goal by goal. After a summer when the NHL seemed to get farther away, Drury pulled it closer again Tuesday night.
