On Friday morning, Oct. 6 before the final preseason game for the Carolina Hurricanes, the lines were announced that could potentially be formed that night. The lines included a heavy NHL regular roster with the exception of one prospect in Yaniv Perets. Other than that, the lines look like the potential opening night roster that Carolina could go into opening night on Wednesday, Oct. 11. However, Andrei Svechnikov will not play in the final preseason game due to still being in the no-contact yellow jersey. Nonetheless, it begs the question, will this be the potential opening night roster going into the first game of the regular season?
Final Preseason Morning Skate Musings
Around 10:30 am Eastern on Friday morning, the Hurricanes beat writer Walt Ruff announced the possible lines for that night’s game against the Nashville Predators. The Hurricanes and the Predators played the night before at Bridgestone Arena, where it was mainly Carolina’s professional tryout (PTO) and prospect players going up against Nashville’s NHL regulars. Nashville went on to win 5-1 in a game they should have with how Carolina’s roster was formed.
However, the roles will be reversed as the Hurricanes will play 99.9 percent of their NHL regulars in the final preseason game. The only prospect that might possibly see ice time is Perets due to Antti Raanta and Pyotr Kochetkov playing the night before on Oct. 5. Carolina announced their roster in the early mornings on Oct. 6, and at the morning skate, the lines were formed as well.
As mentioned before, Svechnikov will not play, which means he played in zero preseason games before going into the opening night on Oct. 11. It remains to be seen if he will be ready to go that night despite head coach Rod Brind’Amour saying he is “so close” to being back. Svechnikov will be tested again on Monday, according to Walt Ruff. Going into the last preseason game, Carolina will be dressing a lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen to give Brandon Lemieux the night off since he played on Oct 5. in Nashville.
Preseason Injuries Sidelining Roster Breakers
Another thing to consider is who will make up the depth spots on the roster after the last preseason game. Injuries to Vailiy Ponomarv and Ryan Suzuki might potentially derail their chances of making the roster. Ponomarev got hurt on the second day of training camp due to a tweak in his knee. Suzuki, on the other hand, is being evaluated on Friday, Oct. 6, to see how severe his injury is after sustaining one during the game in Nashville on Oct. 5. If Suzuki is out for a period of time, that is another player that Carolina needs to figure out what to do with. He had a stellar preseason after his performance at the Rookie Showcase in Florida, last month.
Related: Hurricanes’ Suzuki Finding Preseason Success Shows His Pedigree
Despite that, Brind’Amour was asked on Friday at the morning skate if Felix Unger-Sorem might make the opening night roster and get a nine-game trial if Svechnikov is not back yet. Brind’Amour stated, “We’ve definitely talked about it. He’s certainly opened our eyes. Is it the right thing? Maybe, maybe not.” It almost harkens back to when Seth Jarvis made the opening night roster after having a spectacular preseason before his rookie season. Unger-Sorem is supposed to be heading to the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) on a loan to Leksands IF. If the Hurricanes keep him past the nine games, he will burn the first year of his Entry Level Contract (ELC) just like they did with Jarvis. That begs the question if the Hurricanes will keep Unger-Sorem all season if he does make it past the nine-game trial or if is there a possibility he still goes back to Sweden in the SHL.
Possible Opening Night Roster
Looking at the morning skate roster, it seems like this could potentially be the group going into the opening night game on Oct. 11 versus the Ottawa Senators. Depending on how the test goes on Monday, the Hurricanes might need to figure out what to do if Svechnikov is still not cleared to play. The potential lines could be:
Bunting – Aho – Jarvis
Teravainen – Kotkaniemi – Necas
Martinkook – Staal – Fast
Noesen – Drury – Unger Sorem
Slavin – Burns
Skjei – Pesce
Orlov – DeAngelo
Andersen
Raanta
Healthy Scratches: Lemieux, Chatfield, Kochetkov
Injury Reserve: Svechnikov
Playing Unger-Sorem makes the most sense if the Hurricanes want to give the 18-year-old a nine-game trial. The best way is to get it out of the way early, even if it opening night against the Senators. On the defense, the way Brind’Amour has been doing the pairings, it is possible to see Jalen Chatfield being a healthy scratch to get Tony DeAngelo on the powerplay. Carolina’s general manager Don Waddell has stated during training camp that the team has deals in place to loan players to American Hockey League (AHL) teams due to lack of having an affiliate themselves. This could be the case where Kochetkov could be loaned out to an AHL team if the Hurricanes decide to go that way with Frederik Andersen and Raanta in the crease. However, there is a chance Carolina goes into the season with three goalies on the roster.
No one knows for sure how the roster will play out since the Hurricanes are currently still at 44 players on the training camp roster going into the final preseason game. Once the game is over on Friday night Oct. 6, there will most likely be roster cuts either that night or over the next couple of days to follow. However it breaks down, expect 99.9 percent of the roster in the final preseason game to make the opening night roster.
Decisions, Decisions
If Svechnikov is still not ready after Monday’s test, there’s a chance Unger-Sorem makes the roster if Carolina leans toward giving him the nine-game trial. Plus, it will come down to the diagnosis of Suzuki’s injury and what that timetable looks like. There is no envy right now for what Brind’Amour and his staff will have to go through to figure out the roster going into opening night on Oct. 11. No matter how it shakes out, expect the best possible roster to be ready to go when the Hurricanes drop the puck versus the Senators to kick off the 2023-24 regular season.
