The Carolina Hurricanes took to the ice for their second day of training camp on Friday, this time at Invisalign Arena at the Wake Competition Center.
The C2 group went first today, however Scott Morrow was absent from the group.
The 2020 second-round pick left practice early yesterday with a lower-body concern, but head coach Rod Brind'Amour doesn't think it's much of a concern.
"Scotty just felt something a little funky so we just took him out for today," Brind'Amour said. "I think he should be fine for tomorrow."
On the ice, the intensity started to pick up.
While the team primarily worked on neutral zone as well as transitional play, there were a few 2-on-2 and 3-on-3 drills that got a bit spicy.
With the preseason fast approaching, the players need to be sure they're ready for that physicality so it's a welcome sight for sure.
Someone who stood out to me today was Jackson Blake.
The way he's able to move with the puck on his stick is mesmerizing.
The 2021 fourth-round pick has so much control and he is able to cut, deke and fake effortlessly even in tight.
He's definitely one to keep an eye on.
Following the C2 group, the C1 group took the ice at about 11 a.m. but like the group before them, they were also down a player.
William Carrier, who the Canes signed to a six-year deal this offseason, appeared to injure himself during the conditioning skate the day before.
He left the ice clearly laboring and in pain, dealing with a lower-body concern.
"The same thing [that happened with Morrow] happened with [Carrier], but his thing we think may have a little more sting to it," Brind'Amour said. "He's getting checked out today, so hopefully that's nothing serious."
Without Carrier, here's how the forward group lined up:
Andrei Svechnikov - Sebastian Aho - Seth Jarvis
Jack Roslovic - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Martin Necas
Jordan Martinook - Jordan Staal - Tyson Jost
Brendan Lemieux - Jack Drury - Eric Robinson
For the regulars group, it was the same old, same old as the group works to get their feet back under themselves and get some of the new guys up to speed.
Select Quotes from Head Coach Rod Brind'Amour
On what excites him about the news players: For all the newer players or first-year guys that are coming in, for me, it's just about waiting and seeing. I don't want to put anything on them.
On keeping two of his defensive pairings together: The D is a little simpler because there's only six of them and we know one pair is probably not going to move. We'll probably try a couple of guys there, but there's not much decision making on that end. With the forwards, what always happens is we move them around all the time. Right now, to be honest, it's more just that we're throwing guys out there and trying to get the whole concept of systems and play. That will be through training camp and maybe at the end of the camp, we'll start getting lines more [together], but I'm not putting too much weight into that right now.
On if he feels there are opportunities for the young kids to make the team: We'll see. I think there's always opportunity. When you have the youngsters that we have that we obviously think highly of, maybe you're going to give them a little more of a look and see what could be, but they have to kick somebody out. So they really have to be special.
On his remember of Jaromir Jagr: He was a special player. Just a guy that you knew was going to put up points. He didn't really skate that well and you were like, 'How is he doing this?' but man. At the end of the night, with that long hair flowing all over the place, he was putting it in the back of your net and you were just like, 'How did he do that?' He had that unique ability to just be effective.