One Week Into Canes Training Camp

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have been back at work for a week now, shaking off the summer rust and working together as a 48-man unit toward October 9's season opener.

Skating in two groups for practices and playing a pair of exhibition contests, some of the questions the team had coming into camp have started to reveal their answers, while other new storylines have arisen.

Here's what we have our eye on as the ramp-up continues...

Ehlers - Aho - Jarvis...

Coming into camp, the probability of summer signing Nikolaj Ehlers working on a line with Sebastian Aho felt high, but there was some wonder over who would be the final piece to the trio. Revealed to be Seth Jarvis, the three have worked together in every practice and got their first taste of game action as a unit on Wednesday night.

The familiarity between Aho and Jarvis has been established over the past four seasons, and now it's about getting things to gel with the new addition.

"(Developing chemistry) might take a couple of months. As will the details of where you are supposed to be and the way we want to operate things," Rod Brind'Amour said following Thursday's practice. "The first (game's) out of the way and now you have some things you can show and say, 'Hey, here's what we want, what we're talking about' and go from there."

Ehlers, who carries himself as every bit of a 10-year professional, is optimistic about the fit long-term and eager to make it work.

"You want to lay a foundation in practice, but ultimately, it's the games that you find that chemistry, and you learn how to play with each other," he said after his exhibition debut on Wednesday night. "I think we did a lot of good things today, but also a lot of shifts where nothing was happening at all. That's also part of playing in the NHL. We've got some work to do."

Stankoven's Center Experiment...

Since Vincent Trocheck's departure in the summer of 2022, the Canes have been in search of a right-handed center for their lineup. More specifically, while Brind'Amour may not number his lines, there's been a need for a bona fide option between Aho and Jordan Staal up the middle.

Now, Logan Stankoven is getting the opportunity to fill that role.

Working as Andrei Svechnikov's middle man at each practice thus far, Brind'Amour has remained noncommittal on how long the experiment will last, but after Stankoven scored the lone goal for Carolina in their exhibition opener on Monday, the head coach had a positive review of the first game action.

"I thought he did a good job. That line was pretty good," Brind'Amour said. "Got a point on the power play, snapped it around pretty good, and I thought he looked pretty good up the middle."

With Stankoven at center, Jesperi Kotkaniemi has centered a line that includes Eric Robinson. It'll also be worth monitoring how the team will use Mark Jankowski, a natural center, once he can shed his yellow, no-contact sweater.

A Cautious Approach On The Blue Line...

Although the on-ice portion of training camp didn't begin until September 18, many players had been skating and working hard well before that.

Some don't like the time off during the summer; they'd rather stay in the flow of working out and keeping themselves in shape for when the season comes. The unfortunate side to that is that on any given day, there's a risk of injury.

During the "off months", the injury bug bit Jaccob Slavin, causing him to miss most of training camp thus far. Brind'Amour has said that the injury is not expected to impact the number one defenseman's availability for the regular season and that the team has been holding him off the ice as a precaution.

Slavin joined Group C1 for the first time on Thursday, a good sign that the head coach's timetable on the situation could hold true.

Elsewhere on the blue line, K'Andre Miller continues to work his way back to full strength following surgery for an upper-body injury he sustained toward the end of the 2024-25 season. Closing in on being 100%, Miller has skated just about every day to this point in a yellow, no-contact sweater. Expected to be a big part of the blue line this season, he's also served on the team's second power play unit.

To start camp, Miller had been working with Jalen Chatfield. Then, Chatfield "got nicked up" as well. He has not yet returned to the ice.

Brind'Amour has said on a few occasions that while the three may not be fully healthy, if the team's first regular-season game were tonight, they'd be playing. He also snuck in a nugget that neither Chatfield nor Slavin may play in a single preseason game, and he'd be comfortable with that.

Additional Notes...

• Camp tryout Givani Smith has made an impression thus far, dropping the gloves in each of the team's first two preseason games. Rod Brind'Amour's liked what he's brought to the table.
• Only five players, including Smith, have played in both of the team's exhibition contests thus far. One of the others is 2023 first-round pick Bradly Nadeau. It's clear that the organization wants to get him as many reps as possible playing at NHL speed.
• Goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov was held out of Thursday's practice with what Rod Brind'Amour called a minor injury. Like the situation on the blue line, he'll be held out of practice until he's 100%.

The Road Ahead...

• Friday, Sept. 26: @ Tampa Bay Lightning | 7 p.m. | Watch Live on Hurricanes.com
• Saturday, Sept. 27: Practice Day | Invisalign Arena
• Sunday, Sept. 28: vs. Nashville Predators | 7 p.m. | Buy Tickets
• Monday, Sept. 29: @ Florida Panthers | 6 p.m. | Watch Live on Hurricanes.com