Carolina Hurricanes: It’s Brett Pesce’s Time to Shine

The Carolina Hurricanes need a defenseman to carry the load on the offensive end with the unfortunate injury to Dougie Hamilton. Hamilton also was a key piece on the penalty kill. How can Brett Pesce be the man to fill that void?

As we all know the Carolina Hurricanes took a significant blow to their production offensively when Dougie Hamilton broke a bone in his leg pretty much ending his season. Hamilton was fourth on the Hurricanes in points, but first in terms of defenseman. Hamilton has 10 or more goals than any other defenseman on the roster.

How can Brett Pesce be the one to help boost the offensive output from the blue line?

Pesce is going to see even more time on ice due to the injury. He averages more than 21 minutes a game and has been on the ice for 24 or more minutes in three of the last four games. Yet time on ice isn’t an offensive stat by any means, what it does mean is that with more time on ice Pesce will have more opportunities on offense.

And we know Pesce is there for his defense, but him playing offense doesn’t take away from that.

Going into the all-star break Pesce has four goals and 12 assists. That currently is tied for second in goals for defenseman on the Hurricanes and third in assists for defenseman. These numbers aren’t staggering, but they are close to the pace of the career numbers he put up last season.

Pesce is a good offensive player and most importantly he plays smart. He doesn’t allow his partner to get caught on odd man rushes. He pinches at the right times and always looks to help on offense, which is different.

Pesce has shown growth in his offensive game over the course of his career, but this season he seems more willing to get involved offensively. He isn’t hesitant to join a rush or to leave the blue line to make a play.

How can Pesce’s added presence on the penalty kill be able to sustain its success?

Offense wasn’t the only strength in Hamilton’s game. He was a key piece on the Carolina Hurricanes penalty kill this season and that will solely be missed.

Luckily Pesce is just the right player to fill in and take big shifts on the penalty kill. Especially on a team that has lacked discipline this season, the penalty kill is very important. And the loss of Hamilton hurts because he was doing a great job killing penalties.

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The benefit is having someone like Pesce be able to step right up. He plays a sound defensive game. He doesn’t find himself to be out of position. Pesce is a very smart hockey player and he knows where to place himself in certain situations in order to get a desired result. He knows when to take chances and he knows when to stay back and defend.

Pesce could be heavily relied on by the Carolina Hurricanes in these situations now. These are situations that he has thrived in too. His hockey sense is what makes him elite. It’s something that’s natural to him. The defense needs to give a team a boost on offense and Pesce is very capable of doing so.

Question for CC Readers: Can Brett Pesce be the answer to the lack of offensive firepower on the Hurricanes defense?