This Has Hurricanes Fans Talking...| Carolina Hurricanes News

This has Hurricanes fans talking as an update from a previous report has now come full circle. The head Hurricane had big things to say about two major prospects that are more than NHL ready but the NHL isn't ready for them just yet. These words from Rod give a glimpse into the future of the team as we await the return of a major producer to the actual lineup. Welcome to Hurricanes Digest. I'm Jeff Testanero. I invite you all to like, share, comment, and subscribe. When you do subscribe, click the notification button so every time I post something, I'm coming right to you. Speaking of coming right to you, we're over on X. You want more Hurricanes Digest? Head over to X at Canes Digest. Click follow for more over there. The season's here so there's a whole lot of stuff coming. Speaking of the season, a bit of a rough start to the season. Canes went 1-1-1 in their first three games. I was ecstatic and I'm sure you all were too when Ghost buried that OT shot to get the win in Philly. For some reason, the Hurricanes and the Flyers love to go full circle. Well, today we're going to talk about some guys who are NHL ready but are not in the NHL and when they might actually join up with the team. It was reported over on X via Walt Ruff. Rod Brendamore had similar thoughts on Bradley Nadeau and Felix Ungersorum. I thought they played great. I thought they did all they could do. It comes down to roster decisions. I would anticipate that we'll see some of these young guys shortly. That's a that's a huge huge pat on the back from Rod there. You know, I don't know about you but I'm wondering how close these two are to actually being on the full-time roster getting another NHL opportunity and that quote from Rod really kind of gives us a lot to think about. Rod liked what he saw. He believes they delivered during when they got their opportunity during the preseason and he's already talking about seeing young players back in the NHL shortly. We revisited the September 28th comment today. There's just one question asking if they did everything they could do. What needs to happen for Carolina to make room for them? What really needs to happen? The biggest part of the quote to me is I thought they did all they could do. That's a pretty strong evaluation. When young players leave camp without a roster spot, the natural assumption is that something was missing. Maybe the pace was too fast. Maybe the defensive game needed work. Maybe the players simply didn't make enough of an impact. But Brendamore's explanation points directly to roster decisions and they have a lot of roster decisions without a lot of room. The Canes assigned Nadeau and Ungersorum to the Wolves on September 27th. The coach's comment gave us an important way to interpret the move. He was pleased with their performance even though neither landed a place on the Canes main roster. That didn't mean either player has nothing left to learn. It also doesn't mean that, you know, a coach's praise guarantees permanent NHL job. What it does mean is that they gave him reason to consider them when the opportunity comes back. And their preseason production helps explain why Rod Brendamore is so encouraged about both these guys. Nadeau scored in each of his first two games versus Florida played 25 minutes 10 seconds in his second matchup. That's really good. That gave the Canes a substantial opportunity to evaluate him. For a player trying to earn a place, those minutes are valuable. More shifts, more situations, and more chances to show the coaching staff what they can contribute. Then they went to Greensboro. Nadeau assisted an Ungersorum's last second winner against the Preds. That's the kind of moment fans remember. I watched the game. I thought it was great. I thought for sure one of them were going to get the open forward spot. With the game on the line, the two young forwards connected to finish the comeback and seal the preseason win against the Preds. For Ungersorum, the reported preseason totals were four games, one goal, two assists, for three points, along with seven shots on goal. He earned a look alongside Sebastian Naho, Andres Fechnikoff in the finale, contributing an assist. To me, the encouraging part is that both players gave the coaching staff examples of how they could help offensively. Nadeau found the net against Florida. Ungersorum delivered the winner in Greensboro. And both were involved in an important play together. Preseason is a small sample. Producing in exhibition games doesn't automatically translate to a full-time NHL role, but it gives you something to build on. So when Rod says they did all they could do, you can understand the frustration for guys like me, and I'm sure some of you, who wanted to see them stay. They produced, they made an impression, and now the question is when, when they earned more opportunities. The word everybody is going to focus on, me included, is shortly. That's what makes this more interesting than a routine compliment. Brendemore could have said they had a good camp and left it there. Instead, he added that he anticipates seeing some of the young guys shortly, but we should be careful with how we interpret that. He didn't announce a recall date. He didn't promise both players would be in the next lineup, and he didn't specifically or specify how long an eventual opportunity would last. An injury could create an opening. One's there right now. There's a huge injury with a huge opening. They tried to fill it with the Laurier for the first two games, and Kokuniemi played against Philly. A lineup adjustment could create an opening. Shuffle those two guys out, call one of these guys up, see what happens. A need for a different offensive look could also create an opening, which is why we saw Kokuniemi against Philly, and we might see one of these two very, very soon. There are possible paths rather than announced plans. The important thing for Nadeau and Ungersorm is to be ready when that opening arrives again, because when a coach already believes you made a strong impression, your next appearance becomes a chance to build on something. Here's where I think the conversation does get interesting. Getting called up is one step. Getting a role that allows you to contribute is another. If the Canes bring one of these players into the lineup, what exactly is the team asking them to do? Is there a spot alongside players who can help create offense? Will they get enough ice time to settle into the game? Is there an opportunity for a short injury replacement? Is there a real chance for both to earn time during the same game? The details kind of matter on this. We have an injury, and Rod's trying to fill it. So there's one step opportunity. A young player can have an encouraging first period, make one mistake in the second, and spend the third wondering whether he's going to get another shift. That's a difficult way to find your rhythm. At the same time, Carolina has to win games. Brendamore has to trust the players he puts over the boards. Nobody should expect a prospect to receive unlimited minutes simply because we are excited to see them. Tell the player what the team needs. They need scoring. Rod just has to say, go out and score a goal. Prove that you can be here. Prove that you can get a spot. Yeah, there's one injury spot open with Jarvee being injured, but there might be more. There might be some room now, even when Charves comes back. My takeaway from Brendamore's comments is that both players gave Carolina something to think about. The roster decision went against them at the end of camp, but the coach's assessment was encouraging, and the preseason gave us examples of why. I'd like to see their next opportunities come with enough responsibility to show what they can contribute. The team will still have to balance development with demands of winning, and each player will have to earn the coach's trust even more to stay in the lineup. I wonder how much Rod actually does trust them. He must trust them a little bit. We're over on X at Kane's Digest. Click follow for more over there. So my question to you is, answer this in the comments. Which player would you give the next opportunity to? Bradley Nadeau or Felix Unger-Sorum? I'd probably start with Sorum because we know what Nadeau can do. So give Sorum a little more time on the main roster, a little more time to kind of marinate and develop over there. See if he can hang on the line with Jankowski and, well, Terry is on one, with Jankowski on the Jankowski line. Maybe bump him up to three. I don't know. Definitely, though, Nadeau does need to come up very, very soon. If anything else comes down, I'll be the first to let you know. Until then, for Hurricanes Digest, I'm Jeff Testanera.