Moving attention to the defense group as we bust up this group for the summer. Again, only looking at guys who finished the season on the roster.
Justin Faulk ... this was really the year where Faulk paid off big. His defensive game was even more solid than in the past and his offensive game became one step more mature. Faulk is now not only a true first pairing defenseman, he's also a true All Star level player ... not just some guy who makes the team because somebody has to rep Carolina. Finished at exactly half a point per game, and really got some bad luck down the stretch or it would have been more. Also, being the only point man on the PP who can score from distance meant he got marked hard. His minus 22 for the year is more a factor of his partners and the overwhelming task the team asked him to take on this year. It's hard to over-rate his meaning to the team. He's their rock.
Ron Hainsey ... I thought Hainsey did a good piece of work this season. He's really a support guy, but Carolina has always over-slotted him and he has gamely worked hard at the job. He was solid enough in his own end, but really shone as a veteran caddy for the young kids that worked on his off side. He hung around the zone to be an outlet so many times that I lost count. Yeah, you'd like to see better point production from a guy with that good a shot who can pass it pretty well, but that wasn't job one for Hainsey. Quality year for the vet.
James Wisniewski ... expletives deleted. Worst luck in the history of ever. Less than a minute and out for the year. Worth noting though, that since he was stuck in rehab all year, the Wiz took on a ton of community work at home for the Canes. He's a quality human being, and maybe next season he can prove how good a player he can be as well.
Noah Hanifin ... wow. 19 years old, one season of college and not even close to grown into his frame and he puts in THIS body of work right out of the gate. Just wow. Already probably the best passer in the D group, at least in terms of touch and vision, and very sound positional smarts from someone with no real experience. He's got ton yet to learn ... he needs to work on getting his shot off quicker, odd man breaks baffled him at times, and every young defenseman has to get a feel for when to play the man behind the net and in the corners and when to man your zone by the post ... but the bar for this one is sky high and the staff took it as easy on him as circumstances allowed. Awesome rookie year.
Brett Pesce ... speaking of awesome rookie years, Pesce put in a VERY solid 69 games after starting the season outside of the club's NHL plans. He's got a very mature positional game in the D zone, and a very good feel for when to pressure and when to back off. He also competes very hard and is really good at making up for his own mistakes. Three full seasons of college hockey smoothed off some of the rough edges, but his confidence level was amazing. I think this kid can grow into some offensive game and continue to improve his passing out of his own end and be a REALLY good all-arounder.
Jacob Slavin ... everybody who saw this coming, raise your hand. Didn't think so. Two seasons at Colorado College and this kid is jumping straight into a 60+ game NHL season? And more than holding his own? Sure. Don't post while high, man. And he was the only Canes defenseman to post a positive plus/minus number? Whaaaaaat? Yup. Not only that, but as good as Hanifin and Pesce were, it was Slavin who emerged as the most trusted of the trio. He drew the more difficult defensive assignments, generally with Ron Hainsey's help, and still more than hung in there. He's a bit of an awkward skater, but never gives up on a play and competes so hard that his awkwardness makes him even more endearing. I love his game in the D zone already, but I think he's got a lot more offense in him than we've seen so far. Sneaky heavy shot, pretty good vision and a good sense of when to sneak in towards the back post ... he's got some game on which to build.
Michal Jordan ... remember those circumstances I mentioned in Hanifin's write up? Yeah. Meet Michal Jordan ... the biggest reason we couldn't really let our teenage rookie take the odd game off to watch, learn and heal up. Well, to be fair ... Wiz's injury factored into that issue as well. But this guy was bad in so very many ways that it forced the Canes to rely on two completely unproven rookies ahead of him. Honestly, the only NHL thing about his game is his shot. He's absolutely brutal in all other phases.
Ryan Murphy ... speaking of brutal. Look, I wasn't expecting much from Murphy this season and he disappointed even me. He took a step backwards in basically every phase of the game, largely because he seems to have absolutely no confidence left. This organization has well and truly broken a kid they had no business drafting in the first place ... again. By the end of the season, other teams just sat back in their zone traps and let Murphy turn it over all on his own. It was beyond painful.
Trevor Carrick .. incomplete.
This group managed to improve dramatically while being the youngest D Corps in the NHL by a hefty margin. Still can't get my head around that. Other than some tinkering around the edges, I expect few changes to this group. Clearly the 7th and 8th guys could be addressed, but beyond that ... let's just hope the sophomore slump thing doesn't bite us in the butt.
Justin Faulk ... this was really the year where Faulk paid off big. His defensive game was even more solid than in the past and his offensive game became one step more mature. Faulk is now not only a true first pairing defenseman, he's also a true All Star level player ... not just some guy who makes the team because somebody has to rep Carolina. Finished at exactly half a point per game, and really got some bad luck down the stretch or it would have been more. Also, being the only point man on the PP who can score from distance meant he got marked hard. His minus 22 for the year is more a factor of his partners and the overwhelming task the team asked him to take on this year. It's hard to over-rate his meaning to the team. He's their rock.
Ron Hainsey ... I thought Hainsey did a good piece of work this season. He's really a support guy, but Carolina has always over-slotted him and he has gamely worked hard at the job. He was solid enough in his own end, but really shone as a veteran caddy for the young kids that worked on his off side. He hung around the zone to be an outlet so many times that I lost count. Yeah, you'd like to see better point production from a guy with that good a shot who can pass it pretty well, but that wasn't job one for Hainsey. Quality year for the vet.
James Wisniewski ... expletives deleted. Worst luck in the history of ever. Less than a minute and out for the year. Worth noting though, that since he was stuck in rehab all year, the Wiz took on a ton of community work at home for the Canes. He's a quality human being, and maybe next season he can prove how good a player he can be as well.
Noah Hanifin ... wow. 19 years old, one season of college and not even close to grown into his frame and he puts in THIS body of work right out of the gate. Just wow. Already probably the best passer in the D group, at least in terms of touch and vision, and very sound positional smarts from someone with no real experience. He's got ton yet to learn ... he needs to work on getting his shot off quicker, odd man breaks baffled him at times, and every young defenseman has to get a feel for when to play the man behind the net and in the corners and when to man your zone by the post ... but the bar for this one is sky high and the staff took it as easy on him as circumstances allowed. Awesome rookie year.
Brett Pesce ... speaking of awesome rookie years, Pesce put in a VERY solid 69 games after starting the season outside of the club's NHL plans. He's got a very mature positional game in the D zone, and a very good feel for when to pressure and when to back off. He also competes very hard and is really good at making up for his own mistakes. Three full seasons of college hockey smoothed off some of the rough edges, but his confidence level was amazing. I think this kid can grow into some offensive game and continue to improve his passing out of his own end and be a REALLY good all-arounder.
Jacob Slavin ... everybody who saw this coming, raise your hand. Didn't think so. Two seasons at Colorado College and this kid is jumping straight into a 60+ game NHL season? And more than holding his own? Sure. Don't post while high, man. And he was the only Canes defenseman to post a positive plus/minus number? Whaaaaaat? Yup. Not only that, but as good as Hanifin and Pesce were, it was Slavin who emerged as the most trusted of the trio. He drew the more difficult defensive assignments, generally with Ron Hainsey's help, and still more than hung in there. He's a bit of an awkward skater, but never gives up on a play and competes so hard that his awkwardness makes him even more endearing. I love his game in the D zone already, but I think he's got a lot more offense in him than we've seen so far. Sneaky heavy shot, pretty good vision and a good sense of when to sneak in towards the back post ... he's got some game on which to build.
Michal Jordan ... remember those circumstances I mentioned in Hanifin's write up? Yeah. Meet Michal Jordan ... the biggest reason we couldn't really let our teenage rookie take the odd game off to watch, learn and heal up. Well, to be fair ... Wiz's injury factored into that issue as well. But this guy was bad in so very many ways that it forced the Canes to rely on two completely unproven rookies ahead of him. Honestly, the only NHL thing about his game is his shot. He's absolutely brutal in all other phases.
Ryan Murphy ... speaking of brutal. Look, I wasn't expecting much from Murphy this season and he disappointed even me. He took a step backwards in basically every phase of the game, largely because he seems to have absolutely no confidence left. This organization has well and truly broken a kid they had no business drafting in the first place ... again. By the end of the season, other teams just sat back in their zone traps and let Murphy turn it over all on his own. It was beyond painful.
Trevor Carrick .. incomplete.
This group managed to improve dramatically while being the youngest D Corps in the NHL by a hefty margin. Still can't get my head around that. Other than some tinkering around the edges, I expect few changes to this group. Clearly the 7th and 8th guys could be addressed, but beyond that ... let's just hope the sophomore slump thing doesn't bite us in the butt.
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