The 21-year-old forward earned a spot with the team after a strong pre-season and offseason showing. It was a clear and mild Sunday afternoon in Raleigh and Carolina Hurricanes rookie Jackson Blake was on the greens with a few teammates playing a scramble. It wasn't a great round for Blake, who like many hockey players is an avid golfer, but he was just enjoying the time with the boys. "It had been a while since I played," Blake said. "I'm usually pretty good but it had been a month and a half." The team had just played their final pre-season game and Sunday was a rare off-day following two weeks of intense training camp. Blake, 21, didn't play that final game, but in the four he did play, the 2024 Hobey Baker finalist had a goal, two points, three blocked shots and six takeaways. Canes coach Rod Brind'Amour had called Blake, "one of the better players," during the pre-season, but had he done enough? At this point, things were out of his hands and Blake wasn't trying to think too much about it. That was until a call came through from Carolina general manager Eric Tulsky who informed the rookie that he had made the team. "It was just his play," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour the decision to keep Blake. "It was obvious that he belonged. He made mistakes like everyone else, but I just felt like with what he showed, we wanted to see more. That's why the decision is what it is." Normally, a tough day of golf would frustrate the 21-year-old, but when you get the call that you've been hoping to hear for your whole life, things sort of roll of you a bit easier. "Having that in the back of my head, I would hit a bad shot and I'd remember that and I wouldn't get too frustrated on the course." The first call that Blake made was to his dad, former NHLer Jason Blake. "He was ecstatic obviously," Blake said. "He gave me a ton of advice coming into this because he's been through it a couple of times obviously. It's been great." Blake says that his dad and the rest of the family are planning to make it down to Raleigh for the first game of the season on Friday, Oct. 11 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Although he already made his NHL debut last season, Blake says that he still has butterflies thinking about Friday. "I think this one will be a little more special because last year was the last game of the year and now it's the start of a new season and I'm on the roster right now," Blake said. "I don't know if [the butterflies] will go away anytime soon. It's pretty special being here. It was your dream as a kid. So super excited." Blake, who had been staying in an Airbnb around the North Hills area with Charles-Alexis Legault and Justin Robidas through training camp, hasn't figured out his living situation quite yet, but said that he's currently enjoying hotel life. "The hotel's great," Blake said. "I love the hotel. I get my own room, they make my bed, so it's all good." Blake also understands that just because he's made the team now, doesn't mean that he's assured to be there for the rest of the season. The 21-year-old forward has been taking in the input of the coaching staff and focusing on the areas of his game that he still needs to work on. "Just working on my managing of the puck mostly, "Blake said on the messaging from the coaching staff. "In college, you can kind of get away with a lot of things obviously and it's not as fast as it was in the pre-season games. So just managing the puck, I think I can make plays and do all the things I can do, just in the offensive zone. That's been the biggest thing." "He's going to learn a lot playing at this level," Brind'Amour said. "We know the talent and that he has to play in certain situations and if he can't do that, you're probably better off getting him somewhere where he can do that. But he's going to learn a lot here and maybe he stays, maybe he doesn't but we're just taking it day-by-day here right now." Blake says that he's also been learning a lot from his new teammates as well. "Everyone's been great," Blake said. "Everyone here has been through this already and they've all been a huge help. [Jack Drury], I've just been asking him questions and stuff and he's been great." The talented rookie is a bit of a wild card for the Hurricanes. While we know what he did in college, it remains to be seen what he'll bring at the NHL level. "I think I can bring a little bit of everything," Blake said. "I think I've always been known as a skill guy who can make plays, but I think in the last year-ish, I've kind of just told myself, 'Hey, if you want to play in the NHL one day, you have to give that extra 10% every shift.' I think I can bring a little bit of everything. A little bit of grind, a little bit of skill and help out on the offense and help out in my own end." At Canes' practice, it looks as if the young forward will be starting as a fourth-line winger alongside Jack Drury and Eric Robinson and will also get some time on the second power-play unit. Blake earned his way to the NHL and the Hurricanes are very high on him as a player. Nothing is written in stone, but Carolina is hoping they've found a true diamond in the rough with the 2021 fourth-round pick. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recent Articles
