The Carolina Hurricanes unofficially kicked off their 2025-26 season on Thursday as the team took to the ice for the opening of training camp.

The Hurricanes are split into two groups, C1 and C2, with the first group being primarily the NHL regulars and the second one being mostly prospects and AHL players.

At practice, we got our first sight of the new look Canes, who — after losing a few guys like Brent Burns, Dmitry Orlov and Jack Roslovic — added some big names like K'Andre Miller and Nikolaj Ehlers.

Here's what I saw from day one:

Notes from Day 1

• Here's how the Hurricanes lined up in the opening day of camp:

Nikolaj Ehlers - Sebastian Aho - Seth Jarvis
Andrei Svechnikov - Logan Stankoven - Jackson Blake
Jordan Martinook - Jordan Staal - William Carrier
Eric Robinson - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Taylor Hall
Mark Jankowski* 

K'Andre Miller - Jalen Chatfield
Alexander Nikishin - Shayne Gostisbehere
Mike Reilly - Sean Walker
Gavin Bayreuther - Oliver Kylington

Frederik Andersen
Pyotr Kochetkov
Cayden Primeau

• It's certainly interesting to see Logan Stankoven get the shot at 2C, at least to start. He said Rod Brind'Amour approached him about the potential switch during end-of-year meetings, so it was something that the team has definitely been thinking about.

Read more about Stankoven at 2C here.

Logan Stankoven Starting At Center To Open Hurricanes Training Camp The on-ice portion of training camp opened Thursday morning for the Carolina Hurricanes.

•  I also like to see Ehlers starting right away on the top line with Aho and Jarvis. Should be a fun line to watch this season if it clicks.

"We know what he can do, it's just now a matter of finding the pieces right and who plays with who well," Brind'Amour said on Ehlers' fit.

•  Defensively, there's a lot of ways the Canes can go with this new grouping. This is the first look we've gotten, but it almost certainly won't be the last.

"The D on any team is the most important group so we have to get them all clicking," Brind'Amour said.

"That's not ideal... maybe. But maybe it is," Brind'Amour said on having four lefties on defense. "There's also advantages to it. There are certain areas of the game where it doesn't benefit you, but offensively, there's areas where you're now set up to shoot pucks better and quicker. There's a lot of things. We have a lot of talent, which is good, and I think we have guys that can handle it."

•  I will note that while Jaccob Slavin was absent, it doesn't sound like anything to worry about according to Brind'Amour who said Slavin could have gone today but just didn't feel 100%.

• Mark Jankowski and K'Andre Miller were both also wearing yellow, non-contact jerseys, meaning that they're nursing something, but again, Brind'Amour wasn't too concerned about their future status.

Rod Brind'Amour Not Worried About Player Availability As Camp Opens Up Without Top Defender The Carolina Hurricanes opened up camp on Thursday, but there was a notable absence on the ice.

•  The Canes also ran through power play units very briefly and this was how they were set up:

PP1: Gostisbehere, Jarvis, Ehlers, Aho, Svechnikov
PP2: Nikishin, Miller, Hall, Stankoven, Blake

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