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Carolina Hurricanes: Can the Canes Build a Dynast Part 2

By Joshua Ryan

RALEIGH, NC - MARCH 01: A Bunch of Jerks celebrate at center ice after a game between the St. Louis Blues and the Carolina Hurricanes at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC on March 1, 2019. (Photo by Greg Thompson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - MARCH 01: A Bunch of Jerks celebrate at center ice after a game between the St. Louis Blues and the Carolina Hurricanes at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC on March 1, 2019. (Photo by Greg Thompson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 11: Justin Williams #14 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates with the puck against Lars Eller #20 of the Washington Capitals in the second period in Game One of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 11, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 11: Justin Williams #14 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates with the puck against Lars Eller #20 of the Washington Capitals in the second period in Game One of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 11, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Part . 2 Show ‘Em How It’s Done

Although Young Players are the key to any sports franchise’s success in the present and future, both for their limited monetary impact, and their often-untapped potential, there is no team success without players who have been there and done it before. This is what the Hurricanes front office needs to keep in mind as they prepare this dormant storm to be unleashed.

There is no better proof of this necessity than the Carolina Hurricanes current season. How many times have veteran players been counted on late in important games, and delivered for the team, catapulting them to their current place in the playoffs. Many of these players are not the young, and fast contributors that makeup top lines in today’s NHL, but their influence cannot be overstated.

Justin Williams is the prime example of this necessity. Williams made his return to Carolina last season, and although his first year back in Raleigh was a mix of ups and downs, he proved his worth captaining this year’s playoff resurgence. Williams is a player who has shown to be an incredible leader, has won championships for two different franchises, and has played crucial roles in delivering such championships to very talented teams.

Williams has made the transition from young talented scorer, to veteran crunch-time contributor seamlessly, and that is a recipe that should be repeated. I can foresee the understandable hesitancy at the prospect of adding older, almost certainly slower, players to a very young and fast roster, but these concerns should be countered by what that experience could mean for the team.

There are certain lessons that only time can teach, and many of these young players could use those learned lessons to aid them in navigating their own road to such experience. For an already mature Andrei Svechnikov, and a proven franchise star in Sebastian Aho, having balanced supporting cast could be the difference between a seven-game series loss, and a six-game series win.

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