Latest / stormTRacker Podcast | Carolina Hurricanes & NHL Hockey / Hurricanes Roar While Wolves Falter: Nadeau, Suzuki, & Robidas Shine!

Transcript

Hurricanes Roar While Wolves Falter: Nadeau, Suzuki, & Robidas Shine! · stormTRacker Podcast | Carolina Hurricanes & NHL Hockey

• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Well, the Carolina Hurricanes are off to a great start.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: The Canes now are at 12-4 in the season after a big win last night, and of course they've been on a bit of a roll too 8-2 in their last 10.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: Not that situation with their farm team in Chicago.
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: And in to talk about some of the struggles that the Wolves have had, of course, our insider we've got Andrew Rinaldi.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: Andrew, how are you?
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: Doing good.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: Tom, Thanks for having me on again.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: Obviously.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: So the Wolves have been struggling.
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: I checked their standings with that Central Division and the Wolves kind of interestingly sit with just three wins in their first 11 games.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: A little bit slower start than I think they were hoping for.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: And of course some of the younger players still kind of finding their way.
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: What are you seeing with the Wolves these days?
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: Well, I think the one big factor it's pretty easy to point out is goal scoring.
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: There just hasn't been a ton of offense on this team over their what 11 games they've scored 18 goals.
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: So wow it.
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: It yeah uh bottom of the league in power play and it hasn't really helped obviously their situation it that can seem like they're not generating a lot with that kind of stat, which I don't think kind of really tells the whole story.
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: I mean, last night I feel like this was kind of a microcosm of their entire season so far.
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: They spend nearly the entire third period in the Manitoba zone, can't finish, and then one chance goes the other way because they're playing too aggressive and Manitoba scores on the breakaway.
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: I mean, I've seen that like three or four times already and I can understand the frustration as a fan.
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: I can't imagine the frustration in the locker room right now.
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: So at the same time, you know, I was comparing it to last year's independent Chicago team, which was an even worse situation when this team is in.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: So not by much.
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: They were 2-8-1.
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: This team has at least had three wins.
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: So it was always going to be a process and there's a lot of lessons to take away a lot of growing pains and you can't just take a look and be like, oh, felix Ungersorm has scored a goal, we can throw away his potential hopes of career, like no, it's early, these guys are still getting in there and I think there's a lot to be hopeful for, because eventually the floodgates are going to open right.
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: It's just you see them playing with pace, you see them creating chances.
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: They're just not going in right now and I know it's kind of like an old, tired cliche to just you know, just trust the process and keep with it.
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: But I think that's what you got to do with a group of young players like this.
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: So tough start.
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: I was kind of expecting it to start this way, but it still doesn't make it any easier to go down well, you know, you've got a lot of, uh, interesting moving parts.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: A new coach, of course, cam avid, coming in and he's first time with the canes, trying to figure out their system.
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: And, of course, all these young players who come from different backgrounds, you know, right around the globe, um, some of them very young.
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: I mean, you've got unger sorm, you've got glenn trickad, you've got other guys who are extremely young Ruzlan Kazee.
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: These guys are young players and they're cutting their teeth in, you know, probably the second or third best league in the world.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: So not a surprise.
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: Now, again, there were some concerns with some of the players.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: You did mention Felix Ungersorm.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: Now he's off to a really tough start.
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: He's got just one point in 11 games.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: He's a minus five.
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: So I know they tried him at center for a while.
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: He's back on the wing.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: What are you seeing with Felix these days?
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I'm seeing a young kid who's playing his first season in North America.
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: You know, I feel like he burst on the scene with that hot preseason last year in Carolina and everyone was like, oh man, this kid's just a step away from the NHL, when the reality of it is is is a little different and um, you know it's, it's, it's an adjustment coming over from an entirely different culture and style and system.
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: So you know you got to give this kid time.
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: These are the same kind of concerns that everyone had last year with Marco Casper coming over on the Red Wings and when he only had one point in his first 10 games and we're like, oh, what's wrong with Marco?
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: And well, now Marco just scored his first nhl goal the other night and looks like regular in detroit for a while.
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: So it's, it's.
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: You can realize just how young these guys are and and these adjustment periods, it's.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: Yes, he's is immensely talented and there's certainly cause for concern.
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: But you know he's been trying out at center.
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: I believe he was lined up at center again last night.
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: Okay, been moving to win, kind of seeing.
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: You know coach is trying to see where he's feeling comfortable, who he's, you know, trying to get this kid to kind of, you know, break out.
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: It's when everyone's struggling offensively that just adds more, you know more pressure to y'all and it's I'm again, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, you know, give it more than a month before I write this young kid off.
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: But yeah, you know, of course you'd like to see more points and all that, but it's a process and you know you have these growing pains.
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: These are grown adults that are all working for an NHL job that he's lining up against every single night.
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: So it's, it's, it's.
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: It's going to take some time.
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: I'm like I said I'm, I'm not hitting the panic button, I am not doing any of that.
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: I know, you know there's a lot of knee-jerk reactions there on social media, but in this league you gotta learn to be patient.
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: That's just.
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: It's just.
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: It's going to be a process with him and a lot of these guys.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I mean Gleb Trikazov is another one.
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: We saw Gleb really looking sharp in the, you know, in some of the camps this summer and in fact he had a hat trick in one of them and really looks strong and I think he's a guy again.
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: You're right on.
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: We've talked a little bit about this before too, andrew.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: These guys coming over, it's a new culture, in some cases a new language, you know.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: It's a big change for them, let alone just you know the hockey side, so we got to give them a little bit of slack.
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: Now a couple of guys that I think are starting to show their way and and pleased to say this, one of them, of course, is bradley nadeau, who's starting to get that offense going.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: We saw him score a couple of Nadeau-type goals where he rips them and, of course, nice setups as well.
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: And the guy that's been helping him, working on that line very closely with him they're getting some chemistry is Ryan Suzuki.
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: What about those two guys?
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean that's pretty much point A and point B of the offense right now at this point.
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: Pretty much point A and point B of the offense right now at this point.
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: And you know I was on the show earlier talking about how much I'm expecting out of Ryan Suzuki and he's basically delivered about as much as I was really hoping for and it's really been heartwarming, to say the least, to see the adversity that he's battled through.
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: To continue to play at a very high level and really grow into a leader of this team is everything that I was really hoping for him.
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: So I'm happy to see that figuratively and just kind of you know showing them the ropes of you know what you have to do night in and night out in order to produce at this league and then hopefully for the both of them at the next level.
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: But yeah, when you have a playmaker like that kind of setting you up for for some of these looks that Nadeau's had, you'd see, you know why he's getting some of those early goals here pretty, pretty easily.
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: Now the one last night against Manitoba was a fun little backhand feed from Suzuki.
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: That's why Nadeau's getting all these looks for Carolina.
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: You've seen that shot.
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: He just ripped it.
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: Not a lot of goalies in this league are going to be able to stop that one.
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: Hopefully he'll be saying that about the next level as well.
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: It's exactly what we expected from Nadeau.
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: We've seen this.
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: We saw it in camp.
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: He's a guy that you know when you showed this, certainly during his collegiate career.
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: Man, he can really fire the puck and now he's getting those looks, as you mentioned.
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: I think rightfully so, andrew.
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: He's getting some looks.
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: His guys are finding some opportunities.
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: Now another guy that I've been really interested in and watching closely seems like he's really finding his way, is Justin Robitaille.
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah, robitaille's motor.
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: The last couple of games has really been eye-opening.
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: Going into this season I see highlights and clips of these guys but I haven't been as in tune, kind of not sure what I was really getting into.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: And you know, this guy is just, he's feisty, he's on the puck and you've seen kind of that will that drive leading to a lot of scoring chances.
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: He got absolutely jobbed out of one earlier than this weekend and but you like seeing it's, it's less so about the numbers at this level and more about like these processes, because those processes and doing them consistently is what's going to lead to the numbers, not just in chicago but at the next level, and that's what really these, these coaches, are looking for.
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: And robita's got some, got some great habits.
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: He's got just a nose for the puck, knows for where to go and and where to be, and you'd seen that tenacity has, you know, has him scoring in relative bunches, not a ton, but for this team it's it's scoring in bunches early on here.
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: well, and I saw him on the power play, which was kind of interesting.
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: I wasn't expecting to see him there, but he is getting some PP time and looked pretty darn good, so yeah.
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so he's another guy that I think certainly is a guy to follow.
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: I noticed that Juha Jaska finally broke through and scored his first goal in North America, and so that was kind of exciting for him.
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely.
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: And again, it was a nice.
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: It was actually Robita who fed him the puck, right in the middle there from a position where you might have normally expected a shot.
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: So I think he kind of caught the defense off guard.
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: And then he just Yoska who I believe had been snake bitten about as much as anyone on this team, finally was able to, and you could just see the relief on, like on leaving his shoulders as he celebrated that first one.
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: So you know, it's, it's, it's again, it's not even, it's a process for these young guys too.
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: But also you know when, when you're you're in a scoring drought like that, I think there's kind of following everyone, just like this, this second you know thought kind of process where you have the puck and it's like you know you should be shooting right now but I'm not scoring.
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: So maybe I can try and find the other guy for the nice play and maybe give him a better chance than that.
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: I've seen this on the power play many times.
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: Sometimes you just got to grip it and rip it, and that's what Yaska did Put it upstairs, brought him within one.
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough last night.
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: But you know, again, you're starting to see more of more of these habits and less so.
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: The ones on friday night against grand rapids, that was just that's.
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: That's one you need the memory of a goldfish for.
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: Just put it away and and keep moving forward yeah, I mean most of the games.
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: They've been in the game, it seems, uh, certainly watching highlights, and so it seems like they're very much in these games.
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: Let's talk about the decor for a minute Now.
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: Obviously, scott Morrow has had a little bit of offense, so he's been off to a bit of a good start, although he's sitting at minus six right now, so that's not the best stat.
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: What are we seeing with Scott Morrow these days?
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: Just command with the puck.
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: I think everyone knows kind of his game at this point, his, you know the way that he's able to dynamically attack with.
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: You know his skating, with his IQ and you know it's it's.
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: It offers a new level for this, this team, to attack now, yeah, it's, I think where where the defense has been not even struggling.
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: But I think where the defense has been not even struggling.
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: But I think when they're pressing so much on the attack, in these instances where they fall in behind and they're looking for goals and they're desperate to tie it up or just get back in the game and go in the other way, there's a breakaway or an odd man rush, they get five chances, four.
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: None of them go in.
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: They get one chance against and it goes back to one and exactly and it's one of the more frustrating parts of the game right now and it's all about you know, knowing when the pinch, knowing you know when you have to stay back, play a little more conservatively, cover your man.
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: I get it if it's five minutes left, like it was in Manitoba.
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you kind of got to press.
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: I'm not going to knock these kids.
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: They're all still learning those little intricate details, the in-game adjustments and, like I said, just as much as putting the puck in the net is a process, keeping the puck out of your net is a process too.
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: So these kids are all learning.
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: I feel like, not that you'd like to see a little more from the vets on both sides of the puck, maybe kind of try and take the reins here a little bit.
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: But I mean, you know Brendan Lemieux's got two points.
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: You know you'd like to see maybe a little more on the defensive side from a guy like Joachim Ryan or Ronan Seeley.
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: But again, it's it's.
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: It's all just kind of coming together as a unit and these things take, take time.
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: This team wasn't going to be a juggernaut in November.
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: You don't want them to be a juggernaut in November, you want them to be a juggernaut in April and in May.
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: So as long as the trajectory just keeps moving up, then I think this team will be fine.
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: Well, and I think you've hit upon a very key point that you know Wolves fans and you know Caniacs who are following the Wolves need to keep in mind.
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: These players have not played together for the most part.
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: So you've got a couple of guys.
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: Sure, they were together last year in Chicago, but for the most part these guys have been in different parts of the world playing on different teams, different systems, and all of a sudden they're creating a new kind of camaraderie along with trying to understand how to play together and so on.
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: And you know Cam Abbott's got to try different lines.
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: I know he's moving combinations around.
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: He's trying different people, trying to find the right.
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: You know mix and you know that's something like the Canes had to go through similar things with a lot of new players in the lineup.
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: So again, yeah, we need patience.
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: These guys have got the skill.
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: I mean, if you watch and you've seen these closely as well, andrew these guys have got real skill and they can play, make no mistake about it.
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: It's just going to take a little while for them to get their you know, get their kind of synergy together, start to gel and I think they're going to be a strong team, as you've mentioned, start to gel and I think they're going to be a strong team, as you've mentioned.
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: You know, you look at um.
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: I was really pleased to see dominic pensori get his first goal and, of course, I've talked a lot about dom and and his former partner, I think is I'm not sure they're still together, but charles alexis will go.
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: Those two guys I really think are great.
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: What's going on with them?
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: yeah, I, I.
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: They were still still uh together as a pairing and they still offer uh.
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: You know, I love the dynamic between the two of them uh might be my, you know, my favorite and over these first 11 games or so that we've had here, um you know, fenso, regan.
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: You kind of you, you want, you know, you understand his game, what he can do offensively and just the smooth skating.
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: But Charles Alexis Legault has really kind of made a name for himself early on here, especially with the drop in the mids and stepping up for his teammate that kind of got crunched against the boards last night.
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: So he's establishing himself physically but I mean, he's the way he skates and moves as a big body has been super impressive and so being able to, you know, make impacts on both sides of the ice has really kind of shown his, his value to this team and be with that.
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: You know he's getting more minutes, more opportunities to be out on the ice and make those kinds of impacts.
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: And I've, I've really liked to see from this whole defensive pairing.
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: Yeah, charles Alexis Legault is probably again not really paying as much attention to these young guys coming in until they hit Chicago and I'm like whoa, where did this come from?
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: So big fan, yeah, big fan of Legault's game and I think that there's even more to come from him later on as we get into the season well, there's a lot of folks getting on the go bandwagon, that's for sure.
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: And, of course, I had seen him with quineppiac quite a bit and was really impressed and and I've mentioned many times that I think the canes pulled off a real steal getting him later in the draft and he's a guy that also is very mature and is much closer to, I think, an nhl type job.
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: He might be a year or two away but he's certainly a guy that you can see that trajectory.
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: Do you see the same thing with lago?
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: yeah, I, I do.
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: I think that you know, to me it's always it's, it's, it's the skating and keeping up with the pace before anything else.
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: You know, and that's one thing I've noticed, the NHL, if you can't skate, if you can't move, it doesn't matter.
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: If you're the sweetest hands or the nicest shot, you're not going to play.
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: Shout out to Timu Polkanen, the god in detroit, who, who had the hardest cannon of a shot but could never skate up to the play, oh geez.
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: So if, if, seeing lago being able to actually move with a big body out there that he has is is probably going to be his most important asset.
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: And, um, you know, it's again.
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: These are, these are things that are going to take time and with obviously a big backlog up there in Carolina on defense.
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: It might be a little bit, especially considering the guy coming over from Russia and again pretty soon here.
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: But you know, for these guys it doesn't really matter.
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: You know you have to show up to work every single day and eventually your opportunity will come.
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: So, and if he comes in with that mindset and keeps working at it in Chicago, it'll come, as you said, sooner rather than later.
• 19:28
  Speaker 2: But just got to keep, you know, putting in the work and doing what he does and playing his game.
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: Well, it's interesting that former Wolf and, of course, now with the Hurricanes, spencer Martin said something similar.
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: He said you know, the big thing I learned is, when I'm playing for a team, I'm playing for that team and I need to play my best and not be concerned about should.
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: I be trying to get up to the big club or whatever.
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: So that's a good point, andrew, and I think very, very appropriate.
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: And again, I think, with the defensive core on the Wolves, the one thing I've been impressed with, of course, is these young guys can all motor.
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: I mean, you think about you just talked about Legault we know Fensori that's one of the big things for Don.
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: You've got Ronan Seeley who can fly.
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: You've got, you know, alexei Himasalmi and, of course, scott Morrow.
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: These guys can all skate and I think that's a pattern for the Hurricanes.
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: Of course, the big club has folks who can really motor as well.
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: So they definitely are picking these players with that in mind, and for sure there's some good ones here.
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: But yeah, they're going to have their work cut out for them to find a home with the Hurricanes.
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: Let's shift gears a little bit.
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: I want to talk about Ruzlan Kazeev.
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: Now, kazeev to me, I really loved him in the camp that the Canes had, the summer camp and so on and into the prospect showcase.
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: He's a guy that he's a big guy.
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: He's another one of the folks that's been trained in Russia, so he's got that certain style and we've seen that with several of the top goalies in the league right now, and actually Piotr Kociakoff's moving into that category as well and again he's a guy that I think is starting to find his way a little bit.
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: I've noticed he's put together some pretty strong games.
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: He's been relied upon a lot, of course.
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: Other some pretty strong games.
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: He's been relied upon a lot of course.
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: You've got both Peretz and Martin up in Carolina right now.
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: So what are we seeing with Ruzlan Kazeev?
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't think we were expecting to see so much at Kazeev this early in the season, but you know, that's just that's the way things shake out in this league.
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: You know, at one moment you're starting for the Bloomington Bison and and the next you're running back-to-back on a Friday, saturday.
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: And I tell you what no one's going to feel bad for you either, because every team in the league at some point or another deals with this, because Eve looks like a 19-year-old getting his feet wet in this league and he's, you know, I'd say he's doing probably about as much as you can ask out of him the Grand Rapids game probably like to have a couple of those goals back.
• 22:09
  Speaker 2: You know, last night against Manitoba he was screened on one another one where you know the defense was just nowhere to be found for the guy out front and just tucked right past him.
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: But I mean, he's been making some really excellent saves and keeping his team in it when he's been called upon.
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: And you know it's being thrust into this kind of situation where again you're the number three guy on the roster.
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: Now it's like, okay, you're the guy dude.
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: So it's a tall thing to ask out of a 19 year old who, um, I imagine probably doesn't speak the best english to communicate with his defense or anything like that, but he's doing an admiral job, as is with, you know, considering the lack of goal support and everything like that in front of them.
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: So it's, uh, it's, you know, I keep saying it's a process for these guys and it is, of course I've liked what I've seen from him.
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: I think maybe he kind of wanders a little bit from his position, kind of over, cutting the angle down a little too hard on one.
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: He got burned against Grand Rapids for that and so to maybe kind of like you know it's all, just kind of working on his angles and everything.
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: But again I've, he sung the praises of Stan Dubicki, the goaltending coach there in Chicago, who Carolina has retained over the past affiliations and everything, and he's been there for the Wolves for the last 10 years or so, as far as I can remember.
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: So he'll dial it in for the young kid language barrier and all.
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: And I mean he was there working with Coach Eckhoff when he first came over from Russia.
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: He was there before he could speak english right, this is stan's first rodeo, so he, um, I, they'll, uh, yeah, they'll, they'll get to work, they'll work on, they'll address the things that need to be addressed on and, um, you know, I, I, but I've, I've certainly liked what I've seen from Kazeev early on here.
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: Well, kazeev comes out of what would have been junior-type play in Russia.
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: He wasn't even in the KHL, so he's a guy that's making the jump Again.
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: We talk about this so much.
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: Coming over from another country.
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: He's got the language challenges, he's got a whole bunch of things that he's trying to deal with.
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: But I think when you watch him and this is what I've been impressed with he is a big man.
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: He commands that goal and he looks like a guy that he can make some incredible saves at times, and I know we've seen that he's still trying to get the consistency up.
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: So some of the others that he should be making he makes as well.
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: But I think in general, you can see the skill and you can see that this guy can move.
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: He's a very you know adept goaltender and a guy that at 19 years old you think about gosh, two or three years of grooming in Chicago, what are you going to have?
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: He's going to be a heck of a goaltender.
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: And I think he's going to have a real shot.
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: So I'm going to be keeping a very close eye on Kazeeb and we'll probably talk about him regularly because he's one of my favorites on the walls.
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: But uh, anyway, we'll, we'll do that.
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: So situation not a not a great start trying to find their way.
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: You know, some of the younger guys starting to get a little bit of mojo.
• 25:28
  Speaker 2: What do you see in the in the next uh coming days with with the walls yeah, well, kind of as as you're talking about how carolina drafts these guys who can really skate and wheel and all that.
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: That's why I'm not really hitting the panic button this this early on, because I've seen this team move and play with pace.
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: It's not like they're getting caved in every night on these losses.
• 25:51
  Speaker 2: Right, they're, they're generating, they're possessing the puck in the offensive zone.
• 25:56
  Speaker 2: They're just not scoring and that's obviously that's kind of a big part of the game.
• 26:01
  Speaker 2: But you know, when you have all these habits that are leading up to the goals that look pretty good could use some tweaks here and there.
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: But you know, it's the finishing where I think there needs to be a little bit of work.
• 26:19
  Speaker 2: Maybe they need to go bring a shooter tutor out of practice or something like that.
• 26:22
  Speaker 2: But I've liked the pace that they play with.
• 26:28
  Speaker 2: I like a lot of the habits in game and you know, in between the whistles and all that, it's just I feel like like you just gotta keep your nose at the grindstone and eventually the floodgates will open with this team.
• 26:41
  Speaker 2: Um, it's.
• 26:42
  Speaker 2: It's not gonna be a like oh hey, look, they just scored six goals.
• 26:47
  Speaker 2: They're back, it's, um it's.
• 26:48
  Speaker 2: It's a night in and night out thing, it's consistency.
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: It's the biggest thing that I've highlighted about young players at this level is you know, okay, okay, you might have it on Friday, but if you don't have it on Saturday or Sunday, what does it matter?
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: You have to bring it every single night and you know, as long as they can keep those habits going night in and night out and aside from Friday, it looks like it's been going pretty good.
• 27:14
  Speaker 2: I'm not super worried about this team.
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: Are they going to hit some bumps in the road?
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: Can I forecast when this scoring drought is really going to come to an end?
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: Not really, but I'm pretty confident that at some point the goals are going to start coming and this team's going to be piling up the points with a little more regularity here in the future.
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: Well, and one of the things we see with the Wolves which we expect piling up the points with a little more regularity here in the future Well, and one of the things we see with the Wolves which we expect, it's the way the Canes play.
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: They play a hard game.
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: You know they work very, very hard and you know they're going to find their opportunities.
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: And so much of it is confidence, particularly with these young guys.
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: You know they're pushing.
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: It seems like they're pushing rope up a hill.
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: They're trying to find a way to get to break through and then all of a sudden it's, it becomes easy, and we're seeing a little bit of that with Nadeau and I think we'll see that with some of these other young players as well.
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: So definitely, yeah, it'll come.
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: We just have to be patient and I think that's exactly the right, the right approach right now as well.
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: Andrew's, just kind, let's just watch it and follow these guys and the ones that are starting to make their way.
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: Let's keep an eye on those guys.
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: But, as well, let's follow these young players that are.
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: You know they're still trying to find it right.
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: You know the Ungersorms, the Gleb Trikazovs and so on, and over time and I think the fortunate thing too is with the Wolves.
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: The Canes are not in a position that they're pushing to get these guys up.
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: They can take their time.
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: They can put them in another lineup, help them learn some things and watch from the press box or whatever, and get their game together.
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: They've got lots of time to do this.
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: I mean, you think about a guy like Trickazov.
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: He's got lots of time.
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: He's like 19 years old, so no panic here.
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: We can sit him out for some games.
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: We can take our time with him, reduce his playing time.
• 29:04
  Speaker 2: Whatever the case is and I think it's still fine it doesn't mean that he's not going to be a player in the future at Alford Canes Any other thoughts as we kind of wrap up today and, um, I, I kind of mentioned last year's team compared to this year's team and you know I've mentioned the processes.
• 29:24
  Speaker 2: Um, uh, you know I've I I don't know how much I can stress more to like not hit the panic button.
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: Um, just coming off my my own personal experience with the griffins last year new coach, new system, a lot of new players looked really bad for the first couple of months and then in December turned it around at the Christmas break and then shot up to number two in the division.
• 29:49
  Speaker 2: Is this team going to do the same thing?
• 29:51
  Speaker 2: It's a little early to tell.
• 29:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah, milwaukee and Grand Rapids, that are pretty anchored up at the top spot in the division there and um, but when you look at the standings, there's, uh, grand rapids, milwaukee and texas.
• 30:07
  Speaker 2: Then there's a huge drop off with a lot of teams that are in very similar positions to chicago.
• 30:12
  Speaker 2: So everything's very malleable here early on.
• 30:16
  Speaker 2: A lot of other teams in your own division are still kind of looking for their own identities, along with the Wolves.
• 30:22
  Speaker 2: So it's a long season.
• 30:26
  Speaker 2: You got another 60.
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: So games of this where everyone's going to be battling each other for position and you're still figuring out what you got in a lot of these guys and it's, it's gonna.
• 30:39
  Speaker 2: You know, nothing's gonna be figured out by today as they take on the rockford icehogs.
• 30:45
  Speaker 2: So it's um you know it's, it's gonna take some time, it's, and that's for everyone involved, but I think that the bones are there for a good team.
• 30:56
  Speaker 2: To you know, by the time that we really get into the dog days of the season, they're really going to kind of show us who they are and it's it's.
• 31:04
  Speaker 2: I still feel like there's a lot of a lot of fun and interest in this squad moving forward and we haven't even really tapped into.
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: Well said.
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: And, as always, andrew, it's great to talk Chicago Wolves hockey with you.
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: For those of you who've been watching or listening, if you like this episode, please hit the like button.
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: If you have any comments, please leave those down below.
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: Andrew and I will try to get back to you just as quickly as possible.
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: And if you want to be alerted of future episodes of Storm Tracker, please subscribe and hit the bell and you'll be made aware of those episodes, as always.
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: We want to thank you so much for joining us and we'll catch up real soon, right here on Storm Tracker.