The Carolina Hurricanes 2023 Prospect Development Camp started Monday with some on and off-ice training.
Following the sessions, select prospects and development coach Peter Harrold spoke with the media.
Here's what they had to say:
Peter Harrold
On the group: It’s a good group. Honestly, they all have good personalities, they’re good kids. A lot of them worked really, really hard on the bike and a lot of them did well too. Maybe a little pleasantly surprised at how well they did in some of their off-ice testing. They’ve been great so far so hopefully it keeps going that way.
On Bradly Nadeau: Bradly Nadeau is a very good skater and he’s got an elite shot. He’s a goal scorer. So for us, that’s what you hope he’s doing at the next level too. He just has a very good skill set in that sense. Probably has to get a little bigger like most of these guys. A lot of them are 18 and they got to get bigger and stronger, but he projects to be more of a shooter and scorer.
On Felix Unger Sorum: Unger Sorum is probably more of a playmaker. Just a very, very high hockey sense. We’re looking forward to seeing him in the pro leagues over in Europe this year, but when he gets here, I think he’s going to be more of a playmaker. That’s the funny thing though. They’re 18 and you just never know. Hopefully they can add different dimensions to their game as they get older, but they were both very impressive in those two areas effectively.
On what the team wants the main takeaways from development camp to be: Different players are going to take different things out of this. We throw a lot at them and we know not all of it is going to stick, but we’re trying to give them some foundational and fundamental things in every area that we think is important. There’s technical, tactical, cognitive, nutrition and those types of things. We’re trying to hit a lot of the boxes and give them some of the things that they need so when they go back, we’re not having to re-explain things and they start developing the habits they need both in practice and in the weight room and the sleep and nutrition habits are huge. So we spend a lot of time off-ice on that stuff just to make sure they’re starting to engrain some of those things as soon as possible. They have to go back and play for their teams so we can’t give them our systems, but we can give them some of the stuff that they’ll see down the road and some generalized concepts.
On how the team bases their assessments of different prospects: You take the kids based on where they came from. So when they were drafted, we take that into account. What the competition level is in the league they were playing in. Some guys adapt faster and some guys it takes a little longer. That’s part of this. Drafting guys at 18 is not an exact science. What we try to draft on is kind of potential but also by the character of the individual and I think all of these kids… clearly our scouts did their homework.
On the goal of camp: Some guys never make it, but our job is to do everything we can to give them every opportunity to get there. We give everybody the same type of treatment. We’re just trying to give them everything we can and some guys take it and progress faster and some guys it takes a little longer. Unfortunately, some don’t make it and that’s just the nature of it, but our job is to make sure we’re giving them everything that they need. If they work hard and they want it, most guys are going to make it that way. That’s just kind of the message from us.
Bradly Nadeau
On the experience so far: It’s fun. I mean being here at the practice facility, meeting all the other guys. It’s an amazing rink here and it’s just fun to get out there and get started. It’s definitely a good opportunity for me to be here. I’ll get better within a year or two, that’s the goal but it’s important to be here and just get better as a player.
On being at camp with his brother: It’s obviously a good experience and to do this with him. It feels amazing. I’ll be playing with him next year so it’s just fun to be able to do that with him. I think it just helps having your family there. Even if you’re far from home, it helps a little bit. It’s been helping a lot along the way for sure.
On how fast he anticipates making the jump to the pros: It’s going to take the time it’s going to take. I don’t want to rush it. When I come here I want to be ready. I don’t have a time in mind. I’ll see how things go.
On his consistency as a player: Every game, you try to play your best. You have a standard you want to play to and some games it doesn’t happen but most of the time it did. Just by working hard, it’s going to help you accomplish that standard.
On being drafted: It was amazing when my name got called out. Obviously it was a dream come true. The organization here, I’ve watched them a few times and in the playoffs last year too. They have an amazing team and I’m really happy that I got drafted by this team. At first it felt unreal, but now it’s kind of hit me and I know I have to work so that I can play here one day.
On being a fit within Carolina's system: Watching them, I think it’s kind of a similar game style so that was a good moment to see that they drafted me and they think I’ll be able to play their game style too.
On what he wants to get better at: Obviously getting stronger. That’s going to be part of my plan. Being more in the gym is going to help me. That’s one thing I want to accomplish most next year. Getting better defensively is going to be one thing to get better at too. In the BCHL, I didn’t play in the D-zone a lot, so I didn’t learn much, but that’s going to be something I’ll learn in college more. That and getting stronger.
On being able to play on both wings: I played right wing my whole life until I got to juniors and then I played two years as a left winger. So I think I’m comfortable on both wings. Obviously there’s some positives and negatives for both, but I’m comfortable playing both wings and that’s something that’s good for my bag of tools playing hockey.
On himself as a player: My shooting is something that I’m pretty good at. I take advantage of that. I like to shoot the puck a lot in games and I also see the ice.
Felix Unger Sorum
On how development camp compares to his junior experiences: I think it’s a little bit of a higher level here, but the junior league in Sweden is good too. Especially in the U-20s and in the playoffs. The level is really good in Sweden too.
On playing a handful of games in the SHL: I was lucky to get a chance and it was really fun. The speed wasn’t so different. It was more so about strength and structure of the game. But I think it went well.
On getting drafted: I didn’t have any expectations about the draft. Just to be drafted was an amazing feeling. If it’s 62 or 200, it doesn’t matter. It was a really good experience. I don’t know so much about the US, but what I’ve heard from people and seen so far, it seems like a really good place here.
On describing himself as a player: I’m a smart player. Good in the offensive zone. Also pretty good in the defensive zone. I can work a little bit on my skating and shot, but I would call myself a passer.
On his experience at development camp: So far it’s been really fun. I had a bit of a trouble with the flight and stuff like that, but it ended up really well. I landed in Paris for a connection flight and when I landed, my other flight was canceled here. So I had to fly to Chicago and then to here and my baggage didn’t arrive and stuff like that. But it’s here now.
On a player he likes to watch: I like to watch Lukas Raymond. He’s from Sweden, right wing, pretty much the same size as me. I like to watch him. A really skilled player.
On his expectations: I don’t have any expectations to get here. If I get to the NHL, it would just be a dream and an amazing feeling, but I try to focus on my team in Sweden right now whether it’s the juniors or men’s team, it doesn’t matter so much.
On experiencing North America: I’m more so just taking it as it comes. I don’t have any expectations. I live in a really small village in Sweden so everything is bigger and different for me here.”
On the biggest culture shock: Probably the weather. I went out yesterday and it was so hot. I had pants on and it was a bit of a mistake. I should have taken shorts.
Jayden Perron
On playing for the Chicago Steel in the USHL: It was amazing. They’re extremely focused on development which for every kid playing junior hockey, that’s kind of your goal. To get better everyday and we focused on that a lot.
On knowing multiple players within the organization: [Jackson Blake], I knew he was with the Canes and watching [Michael Emerson] get picked was extremely exciting. It makes this a lot easier for me, having guys that I already know here. Going through the same thing at the same time together is also huge. I’m definitely looking forward to it.
On how he would describe his game: I think I’m a highly skilled forward. I can think the game at a high level and I think I try to use that to my advantage as best as I can.
On what he wants to focus on: Just focusing on getting better every single day is what I’ve been doing for the past couple of years and I don’t plan on changing that. That’s what I’m going to do.
On the experience: I’m just trying to soak it all in. Just being on the ice with all these special players and amazing coaches, I’m sure I’ll learn a lot.
Scott Morrow
On how this camp compares to last year's: Good so far. Today’s just the first day obviously though. Just did some testing, but it’s good to be here with some familiar faces from last year. Definitely a lot more comfortable.
On how he's improved since then: I think my game’s matured a lot. I’ve gotten a lot stronger, quicker and I think just having another year at school has really developed my 200-foot game overall.
On the value of development camp: It’s a really good benchmark to see how your summer is kind of going training-wise. I got to play against good competition over the summer, but this is another checkpoint where it’s like, I’m playing against some really good players and getting to see other players and take things from their game and bring it into mine. It really gives the second half of your summer a boost and helps you prepare for the season.
On if he's anxious to make it to the Hurricanes: That’s not really what I’m focused on from a day-to-day standpoint. I have a lot of things that I need to improve before I get to that point. I have a short-term kind of focus right now. I’m just trying to get better every day.