It was a busy summer for General Manager, Don Waddell and the Carolina Hurricanes. The team was coming off a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals and younger players were taking big steps. The summer was kicked off with the signing of top-rated defenseman, Dmitry Orlov.
The Canes followed up the “steal” of the free agent market with the signings of Michael Bunting, Tony DeAngelo, and Brendan Lemieux.
The 32-year-old defenseman was considered the best available at his position by most of the hockey world. With that comes some hefty expectations, understandably. The hype around Orlov is not fake or potential, he has been a proven defender in the NHL for 12 years.
The Russian played most of his career in Washington with fellow countryman, Alexander Ovechkin. The two won a Stanley Cup together after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018.
After a poor season for the Capitals, Orlov was dealt at the deadline to the Boston Bruins. The already-loaded Bruins strengthened their defense and won the President’s Trophy. Unfortunately, Boston was upset in the first round of the playoffs.
The 5’11 defenseman had been playing his best hockey for the Bruins and totaled 36 points on the season, which was a career-high for him. Although Boston was knocked off in 7 games, Orlov registered 8 assists in the series.
With expectations high for Orlov and him getting off to a poor start, the heat is on the new acquisition. Surely every player looks worse when the team is not playing up to standards, but the Caniacs do not know Orlov, which adds to the frustration.
First off, Orlov is not a high-scoring defenseman that will be running the powerplay. Someone like DeAngelo has more experience on the man advantage and quarterbacking the unit. Now this is not to say that the Russian doesn’t have the skillset to do so.
The new man in Carolina has excellent skating attributes and can pass out of the defense quickly and accurately. Orlov enjoys jumping up in the play and contributing to the offensive rush. He can do this more often because of his strong skating ability to recover and defend.
Defending is his main focus and he sacrifices his body, racking up 50+ blocked shots a year. Some years, he blocked as many as 116 shots. Additionally, Orlov does not shy away from the physical play. In fact, the former Stanley Cup winner enjoys the physical aspect and has registered up to 137 hits a season.
He has been physical this season with 21 hits but has been on the ice for far too many goals, registering a -11. He has one goal and five assists, which keeps him on pace for his normal production.
Moving forward, this is a player that is getting used to a new home, system, and defensive partners. He will not be registering 40+ points but can certainly help out with the rush and get some helpers. He will stick up for his teammates and make it difficult for the opposition every night.
Let Brent Burns, Brady Skjei, and DeAngelo take the points from the blue line and Orlov will settle in and be a key component to this team’s success.