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Carolina Hurricanes’ Young Defense is the Real Deal

By Peter Dewar

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One thing has been a constant for the Carolina Hurricanes this season, the play of their young, stellar blue line.

We’ve all seen this movie before. The Carolina Hurricanes are playing on New Year’s Eve just seven points removed from a playoff spot. They push late into the year, put together some fantastic win streaks, bring in some larger crowds to PNC Arena, only to come up a game or two short of a playoff bid. Same old Canes, same old story. Only this year, it is not the same old Canes.

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They have a seemingly rejuvenated captain in Eric Staal, whose two goals in New Jersey last game were a bright spot in an otherwise frustrating and deflating loss. They have an absolute workhorse (forgive the cliche) and star defenseman, scorer(?) and leader in Justin Faulk. The goaltending struggled mightily in the beginning of the season, but seems to have been turned around, knock on wood. Credit Goaltending Coach David Marcoux for that. But the true difference lies in the defense.

Three rookies make up the Hurricanes defense at this point of the year. For those who may not know, three is half of six, which is the number of defensemen the Canes usually dress. For them to be holding their own is one thing, but for them to be shutting down teams like Chicago and Pittsburgh is sensational. And sure, we all know Noah Hanifin is good, but what about the other guys?

Rewind to the 2013 NHL draft in New Jersey. The one Seth Jones probably wants to forget after being highly touted as the surefire #1 pick, only to drop to fourth overall. But another defenseman is forcing the League to take notice these days, and if Tripp Tracy’s incessant gushing is any clue, this guy is good.

The Hurricanes took Brett Pesce in the third round, 66th overall. He spent two years after that playing at the University of New Hampshire before signing with the Hurricanes to play in Charlotte, and was expected to continue doing so this year until new signee James Wisniewski went down with a torn ACL in the first game. After being one of the last cuts in training camp, Pesce got his shot and never looked back.

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One year earlier, Jaccob Slavin was taken 120th overall. He enrolled at Colorado College and joined their team, playing for two years before signing with the Hurricanes and joining Charlotte as Pesce did. He was called up in mid-November after providing a solid jump-start to the Checkers’ game.

Slavin and Pesce are certainly not tearing up the league by any means, but that is precisely why they are so solid. They do what needs to be done, and they do it well, without any sort of pomp and/or circumstance. Sure, they slip up and turn the puck over, or miss the guy on the back door, but for the most part, they consistently frustrate opponents who perhaps assume an easy night against a rookie

But one cannot praise Carolina’s young defense without citing the subsequent success of its older members as well, if you can even call them that. Faulk is the easy one to pick out, with his 14 goals tied for the league lead in goals from a defenseman. His experience was not dissimilar to that of Pesce and Slavin, and they would be wise to soak up all the advice they can from the 23 year old alternate captain. Hainsey and Liles have been their usual selves, reliable and confident. With role models like these, it is easy to see where the young guns can find the faith in themselves to get the job done each and every shift.

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The Hurricanes may very well miss the playoffs again this year. But they are not the team they have been in the past. The youth movement is here, and it is here to stay. And Pesce and Slavin are the harbingers of what is to come for this team. It is only a matter of time before Haydn Fleury and Roland McKeown join this mix, and then Nathan Gerbe’s Home for Wayward Rookies(TM) may finally take off.

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