CANES NAME NEW CAPTAIN?
Carolina
It has been a trying season in Raleigh this year. That much is certain.
Many new faces have come and gone, the fans hopes of a successful season seem to swing in the balance as this season continues to ride along, right now being more than half over.
One thing that has given the fans a tad of hope, however, has been the play of defenseman Brad Stuart. The Western Canada kid has shown he has all the tools to be the franchise guy in Carolina, both with his offensive flair, his ability to rush the pcuck up ice in a hurry or even his willingness to drop the gloves in order to defend a team mate. Stuart has been everything he could be asked to be and has done so without a peep.
“He isn’t a guy who questions things,’ said ehad coach Joel Quenneville. “He goes out and does his job. I don’t need to explain things, he just knows. He is a special talent and he is that nice blend of skill, speed and size. He is a valuable asset to this team.”
With that said, it is not surprising to hear that the team itself has had a closed door meeting and decided unanimously to name the young defenseman the captain for the rest of the regular season.
“I was sort of surprised to hear it myself,” said Stuart upon his arrival to practice. “I was just getting in and Fish stopped me and said I was gonna wear the C. I was really honoured. I hope I can live up to the expectations here.”
That might have marked a changing of the guard, so to speak. By naming Stuart the captain of this squad, the Hurricanes have basically stated he is here for the year, a feeling few on this team have had.
“It is safe to say Stu is the guy for the rest of the year,” said Fisher. “I wouldn’t expect any of our 6 D to get moved to be honest. I think we have a great blend of guys back there and we are really looking forward to making some noise.”
Stuart, who is probably the best naturally gifted offensive defenseman, has been given top line power play duty and has found a good chemistry with rugged defender Chris Pronger.
“He gives me a lot of advice and he makes things easy for me. He has awesome vision and he is an intimidating guy to play against. I hope we are a tough duo to deal with, at least that is my goal for now.”
The Canes will go with the new duo working as part of a five man unit with the forward line of Tim Connolly, Henrik Zetterberg and fan favourite Brendan Shanahan.
“Hopefully things get easier for us as the playoff stretch comes along. Right now, we are not firing as we should but hopefully we stay focused and make some noise. I honestly believe if we make the playoffs, there are a lot of teams who don’t want to see us on the other side of their rink.”
It has been a trying season in Raleigh this year. That much is certain.
Many new faces have come and gone, the fans hopes of a successful season seem to swing in the balance as this season continues to ride along, right now being more than half over.
One thing that has given the fans a tad of hope, however, has been the play of defenseman Brad Stuart. The Western Canada kid has shown he has all the tools to be the franchise guy in Carolina, both with his offensive flair, his ability to rush the pcuck up ice in a hurry or even his willingness to drop the gloves in order to defend a team mate. Stuart has been everything he could be asked to be and has done so without a peep.
“He isn’t a guy who questions things,’ said ehad coach Joel Quenneville. “He goes out and does his job. I don’t need to explain things, he just knows. He is a special talent and he is that nice blend of skill, speed and size. He is a valuable asset to this team.”
With that said, it is not surprising to hear that the team itself has had a closed door meeting and decided unanimously to name the young defenseman the captain for the rest of the regular season.
“I was sort of surprised to hear it myself,” said Stuart upon his arrival to practice. “I was just getting in and Fish stopped me and said I was gonna wear the C. I was really honoured. I hope I can live up to the expectations here.”
That might have marked a changing of the guard, so to speak. By naming Stuart the captain of this squad, the Hurricanes have basically stated he is here for the year, a feeling few on this team have had.
“It is safe to say Stu is the guy for the rest of the year,” said Fisher. “I wouldn’t expect any of our 6 D to get moved to be honest. I think we have a great blend of guys back there and we are really looking forward to making some noise.”
Stuart, who is probably the best naturally gifted offensive defenseman, has been given top line power play duty and has found a good chemistry with rugged defender Chris Pronger.
“He gives me a lot of advice and he makes things easy for me. He has awesome vision and he is an intimidating guy to play against. I hope we are a tough duo to deal with, at least that is my goal for now.”
The Canes will go with the new duo working as part of a five man unit with the forward line of Tim Connolly, Henrik Zetterberg and fan favourite Brendan Shanahan.
“Hopefully things get easier for us as the playoff stretch comes along. Right now, we are not firing as we should but hopefully we stay focused and make some noise. I honestly believe if we make the playoffs, there are a lot of teams who don’t want to see us on the other side of their rink.”
posted by Lohaus at 2:33 PM
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