When your alternate captains are named and the roster is finalized, you realize that the end is upon you.  The end of training camp, that is. Roster hopefuls such as Zach Boychuk, Riley Nash, Jared Staal and Bryan Rodney are in Charlotte preparing for the Hurricanes’ AHL affiliate the Charlotte Checkers’ training camp. But in reality, it’s the beginning.

Big pre-season winners such as Zac Dalpe, Drayson Bowman, Patrick O’Sullivan, Patrick Dwyer, Jeff Skinner, Brett Carson and Bobby Sanguinetti have made Carolina’s Europe roster. Third-year center Brandon Sutter and stalwart veteran defenseman Tim Gleason have been named alternate captains to back up Eric Staal in his first full year as the Hurricanes’ recognized leader.

All these signs point to one of my favorite times of the year: the beginning of the NHL regular season. My life has been waiting for Oct. 7th since April 10th, when the ‘Canes lost to the Boston Bruins 4-2, giving up three short-handed goals. Gone since then are forwards Ray Whitney and Rod Brind’Amour, defensemen Alexandre Picard and Brian Pothier and goalie Manny Legace. Joe Corvo returns after a late-season trade to Washington. Jiri Tlusty, Bowman, Dalpe, Carson and Sanguinetti make the jump from the minor leagues to the big club to start the year. Skinner makes the team out of training camp as a first-round pick a mere three months before. Anton Babchuk returns after a year of tearing it up in Russia.

So many storylines come with the beginning of the season. These storylines turn into questions. Since this is my last blog before the beginning of the 82-game haul, let me ask a few questions that should be answered by the end of the year. Twenty games in, I’ll review these. Then halfway through, three-quarters, and again at the end.

  1. Was letting team leader Ray Whitney go off the the Phoenix Coyotes during free agency the right thing to do? Whitney had 58 points, including 21 goals, that will not magically reappear.
  2. Along with that last question, will Bowman, O’Sullivan and Skinner be able to replace the 30 goals and 47 assists that Whitney and Brind’Amour brought last year?
  3. Two years ago, Anton Babchuk scored 18 goals as a defenseman. That’s a pretty high total. Can he do it again?
  4. The ‘Canes roster overall seems relatively inexperienced. Sergei Samsonov is entering his 13th year, while Tom Kostopolous and Erik Cole are entering their ninth NHL season each, making them the most experienced Hurricanes. Will the fact that 8 of the Hurricanes have never played a full season and only three have more than eight years of time play into the potential consistency that is needed throughout a full season?
  5. Cam Ward spent a good deal of last season injured due to a skate cut on his thigh. Will he return in full form?

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On Thursday, Brandon Sutter and Tim Gleason were named alternate captains for the 2010-2011 season. Other clear options were Joe Corvo, Erik Cole and Chad LaRose.

I personally think Gleason is the best of the picks. A former Los Angeles King, No. 6 is one of the physical leaders of the Hurricanes. He has not been afraid to mix it up with other team’s enforcers after an ill-chosen hit. I watched videos of Timmy’s fights on YouTube.You can hear Tripp Tracy, the Hurricanes’ TV color commentator, say, “Tim Gleason will go through the wall for any teammate.”[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkHMIlqcBAo&feature=channel]

That’s what a team leader is supposed to do. Rookie defenseman Jamie McBain, who played 14 games with the ‘Canes last year, said about Gleason, “He’ll speak up when something needs to be said, but his work day-in and day-out is definitely something you can follow.” Definitely something you want to hear from your prized rookie defenseman about the defenseman alternate captain. I would not be surprised to see McBain and Gleason paired together to start the season.

The choice of Brandon Sutter confused me a bit. This is only his third season in the NHL. Staal was named an alternate captain before his fourth season, and he’s panned out, so maybe the ‘Canes are hoping the same thing for young Sutter.  I would have picked either Cole or LaRose, both veterans with a good work ethic, especially LaRose, who has been one of my favorite players since he first played during the 2005-2006 season, which we won the Cup in.

I really hope these choices pan out. But one thing Staal has said is that whether or not certain players have a letter, they’re still leaders, LaRose and Cole especially.

***

After the Hurricanes’ final preseason game on Friday afternoon, in which they beat Atlanta 2-1 in overtime off of two goals by Brandon Sutter, they flew to Russia. Tomorrow afternoon they will take on the Russian team SKA St. Petersburg in an exhibition. The team will then fly to Helsinki, Finland, to play Minnesota on Thursday and Friday afternoons in regular season games.

Now comes the time when I make my prediction for the year for the Hurricanes. As much as I want this team to win the Southeast Division, it will not happen unless a miracle occurs. The Washington Capitals are way too strong offensively that their goaltending questions will not hurt them until the playoffs. Michal Neuvirth may be the solution, but he may not be. The Tampa Bay Lightning, under the direction of new general manager Steve Yzerman brought in Simon Gagne, Brett Clark, Pavel Kubina, Sean Bergenheim and Dan Ellis, greatly strengthening their team as a whole. I predict that those two will take two playoff spots.

As much as I would like the ‘Canes to make the playoffs, they’re not experienced enough as a team to have a solid chance to make it. There is always the off chance. I won’t say it won’t happen.

There’s always hope. Always. That’s what this team has to cling to. The young guns have to step up and support eye of the storm.