What We Learned From The Canes' Preseason

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Carolina Hurricanes put a bow on their six-game preseason schedule on Saturday afternoon in Nashville.

For the first time in the half-dozen, they stacked their roster with a large chunk of players who are expected to be in the lineup on Thursday when the team opens its regular season schedule at Lenovo Center against the New Jersey Devils.

Intentionally, the Canes played it safe the past few weeks, ensuring the health of their players was all in line for the real thing. With that came an opportunity for others.

Here are a few players who took advantage and other items that will stick with us as the team turns the page ahead.

Smith's Successful Showing...

Carolina brought three professional tryouts to training camp this year, and one left having earned himself a job.

Forward Givani Smith caught the attention of both fans and the coaching staff alike in September 22nd's exhibition opener when he dropped the gloves with Lightning forward Connor Geekie. Establishing a presence that includes some much-desired sandpaper, Smith then skyrocketed his stock again two nights later when he tussled with one of Florida's big boys, Ben Harpur.

Continuing to get his name listed on the lineup card, he then added a goal to his showcase on Monday, September 29, in Florida.

Perhaps aided by the Nashville Predators claiming Tyson Jost off waivers last week, Smith was then rewarded with a two-way contract on Friday. He was assigned to the American Hockey League's (AHL) Chicago Wolves on Saturday, but the Canes now have him at their disposal whenever the need for a call-up should arise.

The Nadeau Show: Coming Soon...

Coming into camp, there weren't a ton of opportunities for anyone to steal a job, given that the team had largely solidified what they'd expected to be their opening night roster back in July.

With that being said, though, Bradly Nadeau showed that he's knocking on the door of being NHL-ready.

Last year, he was a 19-year-old set to venture into his first full season as a pro. This time around, he arrived back for his second camp on the heels of a historic 32-goal season in the AHL,

Proving last year was no fluke, he produced five points in the team's first five exhibition games and left Rod Brind'Amour impressed.

"It's tough because, yeah, we'd love to keep him here, but we also have to figure out what makes sense," the head coach said after Nadeau was assigned to Chicago (AHL) last week. "You can see we have lots of forwards, so it wouldn't really make sense at this point with the way the schedule worked out. (We'd rather) keep him going and keep him playing. Plus, he's developing really well. We'll obviously keep our eye on him. He did everything he needed to do."

Could he be considered a call-up option when the season gets going?

"It just depends on the kinds of call up. It has to be the right fit. We don't want to call him up to play six minutes per night," Brind'Amour continued. "It just depends on where we're at. Obviously, he's a high-end player for us and we love how he's progressing."

Health Is Wealth...

While the Canes' final preseason record will show 1-3-2, a victory even bigger than their 4-2 takedown of the Nashville Predators on September 28 is the fact that the group ends their exhibition slate healthier than they started it.

To begin camp, Jaccob Slavin was being held out as a precaution, in addition to K'Andre Miller and Mark Jankowski wearing yellow, no-contact sweaters. Jalen Chatfield and Pyotr Kochetkov also missed time due to minor injuries as well.

But as the group works toward the real deal on Thursday, Rod Brind'Amour is expecting to have almost his full roster of players, if not the full thing, available.

Although neither Miller or Slavin made it into preseason action, Chatfield, Jankowski, and Kochetkov all skated on Sunday in Nashville, signaling that they should be good to go.

If one of or both, Miller or Slavin aren't able to skate in the regular season opener against the New Jersey Devils, Mike Reilly and rookie Charles Alexis Legault are the next men up. There's something to be said for Legault still being in the mix.

The 22-year-old second-year pro gave a healthy glimpse at his defending abilities in five preseason games and stood out with his 6-foot-4, 215 lbs. frame. Although their left-handedness contracts to Legault's right-shot, both training camp tryout Oliver Kylington and summer signee Gavin Bayreuther had an opportunity to earn the final spot, but as time revealed, the up-and-comer has earned the right to stick around for now.