Hanifin Blossoms in First 100 Games

BOSTON - Noah Hanifin won't be 20 years old for another month, but based on the way he carries himself on and off the ice, you'd be hard-pressed to tell.
Hanifin's maturity both at and away from the rink has earned him the trust of the coaching staff and allowed him to blossom as a professional hockey player in his first 100 games.

"It's been a lot of learning, just from the first game of last year to playing the 100th the other day, it's been great. I've learned so much from the coaching staff and the players, all the veterans around me," Hanifin said. "I think I've definitely developed a lot as a person and a player in the year that I've been here. It's been great, and hopefully I have a lot more games to play and a lot more learning to do. It's been a good start."
"As a professional, he's a very mature kid," assistant coach Steve Smith said. "He tries to do the right things on a daily basis. He works hard in practice, and he works on his game continually. He's very open to new concepts."
Hanifin skated in his 100th NHL game on Sunday, Nov. 27. Against the Florida Panthers, he lined up across from Jaromir Jagr, someone who was already skating in his seventh NHL season by the time Hanifin was born.
Playing against the best the world has to offer - and having to defend against some of his childhood favorites - was one of the biggest adjustments the 18-year-old Hanifin had to make in his rookie season.
"I think you learn to play your own game and not worry about that stuff," he said. "Once you get into the league and have a year under your belt, you realize you belong and try to contribute to your team."
Helping to ease Hanifin into the NHL was forward Nathan Gerbe, a fellow Boston College Eagle who took the Canes' fifth overall draft pick from 2015 into his home and served as a mentor for the rookie defenseman.
"Playing 82 games is a tough thing. It's not like college when you're playing 40. It takes a lot out of your body, so just learning how to get in a routine and take care of yourself," Hanifin explained. "[Gerbe] helped me out a lot with that aspect of it. I tried to take a lot of what I learned last year and use it this year. I wasn't used to last year playing that many games. It takes a toll on your body, but I think every young guy goes through it for the most part. Right now, I'm a lot more used to that routine."
As Hanifin broke into the NHL, so did Brett Pesce and Jaccob Slavin. This All-American trio has grown together in the league and helped cement the future of the Hurricanes' blue line.
"I'm young but I'm around a lot of very mature professionals," Hanifin said. "It's awesome. We have a really tight group. We have so many young guys with us, and it makes it so much easier to go through the journey with them together."

Hanifin rooms with Pesce on the road and the two now have apartments next to one another in Raleigh.
"I think it helps having guys like Brett, who I'm with 24/7," Hanifin said. "It makes it a lot more fun."
In his first 100-plus games on the ice, Hanifin has put on display the skillset that made him a top draft pick. He's an incredibly gifted skater and can move the puck up the ice with ease.
"He has some special attributes that we don't teach as coaches. He's such a wonderful skater and carrier of the puck," Smith said. "He has an offensive side of him that is just starting to come to life. When he's dialed in, our power play moves it around at a high-end and high level. He's the guy, as a 19-year-old carrying the puck up the ice has a lot of responsibility, but he's done a pretty good job."
His game has also evolved defensively over the course of his first 100 games, and Hanifin credits Smith for much of that growth.
"He's been great. Just having so many young D shows what a good job he's done. Mostly, he's been really helpful with the defensive side of the game in my own zone. That's something that my whole life I haven't really been taught too much," Hanifin said. "My whole strength has been skating and jumping into the play. I think he's really taken the time to help me out in the D-zone, how important it is to be strong and have your guy. It's helped me a lot."
The coaching staff has witnessed the strides Hanifin has taken in his sophomore season. It took some time, but finding Hanifin a suitable defensive partner in Matt Tennyson has helped stabilize both his game and the team's blue line.
"He's just getting better and better. He's starting to skate more," head coach Bill Peters said. "I think he's starting to read those plays where he has the opportunity to take off with the puck, and not just take off with the puck but take off, move it and then jump into a hole. He's still a young guy and has some traction with Tennyson as a partner right now. It's solidified that pair. He's got a real bright future."
"He's much stronger on his skates than he ever was, he's a little more physical than he was in the past and you can tell he worked hard on his shot this summer. His shot has come a long way," Smith said. "Defensively I find that structurally he's becoming very sound. He's got to continue to stay engaged for all 60 minutes in a game, but overall, virtually every aspect of his game has improved over that first 100."

Just days after skating in his 100th NHL game, Hanifin makes his return to Boston, where he grew up watching the Bruins. In three games against his hometown favorites, he's a point-per-game producer (1g, 3a) and, in dramatic fashion, scored the game-deciding goal in the fifth round of the shootout in April.
Hanifin said he expects to have around 30 friends and family in attendance for the Hurricanes' first and only appearance of the season in Boston tonight. Next to his first NHL game, Hanifin said, his two games at TD Garden have been the highlights from the first 100 games of his burgeoning career.
"My first time I played an NHL game there, it all became surreal where I am and what I'm doing," he said.
"And the shootout winner was awesome, too," he added with a smile.