Ethan Bear Not At Practice; Brendan Smith Expected To Draw In

Reported from the Carolina Hurricanes’ practice today, defenseman Ethan Bear did not participate due to a lower-body injury. It is expected that Brendan Smith will take his place in the lineup.

Ethan Bear, acquired last summer from the Edmonton Oilers, has had a bit of a roller coaster of a season. He started the season off strong playing on the first pair alongside defensive stalwart and alternate captain Jaccob Slavin. Bear’s strong play was not a surprise to most fans as his underlying numbers the season before were really good, but unfortunately Ethan was sidelined with COVID early on in the season.

Upon his return, something was different. Although he was never the fastest guy, his foot speed was even worse, and he just seemed to be a step behind everybody else, most likely a side effect from his battle with COVID-19. Due to Ethan’s play he was demoted to the third pair and eventually supplanted by Brendan Smith, who has spent most of the season as a depth defenseman.

That must have been a wake up call of sorts, because Ethan Bear has played up to his usual standard these last few months. Bear’s game picked up after being put back on the top defensive pairing with Slavin, an opportunity he got after Tony DeAngelo went down with an injury.

DeAngelo returned early in the month and Ethan Bear has continued his solid play on the third pair, which just speaks to the depth the Hurricanes have on the backend as of now. Assuming Ethan Bear cannot participate in tonight’s game against the Washington Capitals, Brendan Smith will likely take his place once again on the right side of the third pair.

Ethan Bear has 4 goals, 9 assists, and a plus-minus of +5 through 51 games this season, while averaging 16:07 in ice time. Brendan Smith has 3 goals, 2 assists and a plus-minus of +3 while averaging 14:02 in ice time.