Tweetmail No. 198: All-Access, Call-Ups & Naming a Starter

Happy 8/15 and welcome to Tweetmail, a weekly feature on CarolinaHurricanes.com in which I take your Twitter questions about the Carolina Hurricanes or other assorted topics and answer them in mailbag form. Hopefully the final product is insightful to some degree, and maybe we have some fun along the way.
Let's get to it.

Thanks for the kind words! Our video crew has been hard at work for the last few months collecting all sorts of behind-the-scenes footage and stitching it together in the longform narrative that is "Inside the Storm." If you haven't seen the first episode, which peels back the curtain on the Canes' scouting meetings leading up to the 2018 NHL Draft, check it out below.

A new installment of "Inside the Storm" will drop each Tuesday from now until early September, and the three remaining episodes will explore the draft in Dallas, Prospects Development Camp and more.
Beyond that, our video crew will remain busy filming and compiling behind-the-scenes content for shorter, one-off pieces, in addition to potential in-season episodes of "Inside the Storm."

Soon!
The votes have been tallied, and now we're preparing for an announcement within the next week.
Tweet from @LucasDAndrea95: Thought to ask this since Ferland just got to Raleigh. Besides Scott Darling and a few others that stayed in NC over the Summer, who has come back to Raleigh to prepare for training camp?
Micheal Ferland is indeed the newest arrival in Raleigh, as he began skating at Raleigh Center Ice earlier this week. TV's Mike Maniscalco caught up with him there.

Scott Darling and Jaccob Slavin have spent most of the summer in town working with Head Strength & Conditioning Coach Bill Burniston in the gym, and now they're ramping up their on-ice work. Valentin Zykov has been a part of that crew for just over a month, too, and Haydn Fleury is in town now, as well.
You'll only see this group grow in numbers as the days pass. As
noted last week
, by the last week of August or the week of Labor Day, you should see a good collection of guys in town skating in preparation for training camp to open in mid-September.

I'm not going to say no because there's always the possibility, but he's got his work cut out for him. That's not a bad thing, and it honestly says more about the Canes' depth on defense than it does about his game.
The Hurricanes currently have seven NHL defensemen on the roster, which stacks the deck right from the start. Then there are players like Trevor Carrick and Roland McKeown, who have each logged a handful of NHL games. Then, where does a newcomer like Michael Fora fit in?
That's not to say Jake Bean isn't already among the guys in that "next up" list - he had a solid final season in juniors, and his growth was evident in Prospects Development Camp - but his development might be best served in Charlotte. Consider Haydn Fleury, who played in 67 games during his rookie NHL season after skating in 69 games with the Checkers in 2016-17, where he was able to adjust to the pro game without being thrown right into NHL action.
With that said, I'm stoked to see how the competition on the blue line plays out in training camp.

Whew, it's a bit early for this question, but I'll take a stab at it.
Sebastian Aho has to be considered a front-runner (especially if he can figure out how to find the back of the net in October - watch out); in fact, he was probably a part of the conversation last season, as well. I'd also give an outside shot to one of Andrei Svechnikov or Martin Necas if one of them blows the doors off in the first few months of the season.
But, as you mentioned, the Metropolitan Division happens to be stacked with talented forwards, and the Canes happen to be stacked with talented defensemen. Barring injuries, Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin are locks to occupy a third of the Division's forward roster spots. Though, with John Tavares now in the Atlantic Division, perhaps there is more wiggle room at forward.
If the Canes' All-Star representative is again a defenseman, Dougie Hamilton would be a good bet. After all, NHL Network pegged him as one of the Top 20 Defensemen in the NHL. Depending on the start of his season, Justin Faulk could also be in the discussion, given that he's made four previous All-Star appearances.
After having only defensemen represented in the 3-on-3 tournament, it'd be nice to see what a Canes forward could do in that format. We'll see! Ask me this question again in December when my prediction can be more informed.

As was the case on Oct. 7, 2017, I'd expect to see Scott Darling between the pipes for the Hurricanes on Opening Night come Oct. 4, 2018.
There will certainly be competition between Darling and Petr Mrazek in training camp, but the Canes signed Darling to a long-term contract last summer for a reason: They believe he is a viable starting goaltender in the NHL, and he's going to be given the chance to prove himself.
If
this summer is any indication
, Darling can be that guy.
\\*
Join me next week for more questions and more answers!
If you have a question you'd like answered or you know we have to go back, you can find me on Twitter at
@MSmithCanes
or drop an email
here
.