Carolina Hurricanes President and General Manager Jim Rutherford announced on Wednesday that the team’s training camp roster was reduced to 49 players as six more were returned to their respective teams.
With the club’s second announcement of roster reductions in as many days, four out of five of the team’s 2011 draft picks have now finished their camp experience while the team’s first pick, Ryan Murphy, continues on.
After Wednesday’s scrimmage, forwards Victor Rask (2nd), Gregory Hofmann (4th) and defenseman Keegan Lowe (3rd) joined goaltender Matt Mahalak (5th) in returning to their junior clubs along with forwards Mattias Lindstrom, Brody Sutter, and defensemen Austin Levi.
A special player
Although it should not be surprising for the team’s top draft pick to still be around after less than a week into camp, Murphy’s situation raises interesting questions.
The Hurricanes announced that they had signed Murphy to an entry-level contract on the opening day of training camp and managerial and coaching staff members could not say enough good things about him.
“Ryan is a gifted offensive defenseman. He skates extremely well and is dynamic with the puck. He put up very impressive numbers as a 17 year old in the OHL, and he’s put himself in a position to push for a spot on the NHL level.” - Jim Rutherford, President and General Manger, Carolina Hurricanes
After the first day of on-ice sessions, coach Paul Maurice referred to Murphy as a ‘special’ player.
“He is going to be a very good defenseman for the Carolina Hurricanes. When that is, I’m not sure. There’s some very special talent and skill there. Above saying that he is a skilled guy, there’s more than that there,” Maurice stated.
Maurice also indicated that Murphy would get his chance to show what he can do during the teams’ preseason games.
Roster spots and size
The team has committed contracts and spots to seven defensemen currently on the roster.
So where does Murphy fit?
Do you give Murphy the full training camp experience and return him to his junior club, the Kitchener Rangers, when it is all said and done, or do you take a spot away from one of those established pros to fit him into a regular rotation?.
Some are saying that he is not ready to start the season with the Hurricanes due to his smaller stature, being 5’11” and weighing 175 pounds, while the aforementioned Hurricanes defensive corps stands at an average of 6’2” tall and 213 pounds.
However, the question of whether he is too small was put to rest by Maurice during the first weekend of training camp:
“This guy’s a special kind of player and he doesn’t fit into a lot of molds, the way he skates and moves the puck. He’s eventually going to put on more mass but I am not in a hurry for that to happen. He has to keep his uniqueness on the ice more than we need to put weight on him.”
So, the question remains, can he earn a spot on the main roster?
If he does make it, it would probably be to the surprise of many but not necessarily to those who know what he brings to the table.
Smooth style and approach
Murphy’s performance at each camp he has attended and the scrimmage and exhibition game situations that he has played in so far, one thing is evident, he takes a measured approach to how he gets involved in the play and it is not a wreckless one.
Granted, being an 18-year old rookie and playing tentatively may be expected at first, but he does not look out of place out there with the ‘big boys’.
Murphy possesses skating skills that allow him to move forward and backward and laterally with such precision that if he gets into a battle in close, it is hard for bigger players to contain him.
In an open-ice situation, there’s no doubt that with a cut here and a cut there, he’s gone.
He possesses puck control skills that doesn't allow the vulcanized rubber disk to stray far from his blade and that he can then advance with a quick a pass ahead or in possession of it with relative ease.
In taking into consideration all of these factors when watching him play you begin to understand why he is considered a 'special' player.
Getting points on the board
Looking back at the first day of on-ice sessions in training camp Murphy knew what he was going to focus on – showing his development on the defensive side of the ice but also showing offensive progress throughout camp.
“Obviously there’s a question mark beside my defensive play, but I have been working on that alot with both Kitchener and Carolina coaches," Murphy said. "I’m focusing on the defensive side alot, but at the same time I want to show them what I got up front.”
A relevant and very important point to keep in mind about where Murphy stands along with others on the defensive corps is that over the past year and a half his offensive output has been tremendous and increasing.
He is on the upward swing of his development path and it is one that doesn’t have him focusing on college hockey but wanting to play regularly in the NHL.
To be or not to be?
Regardless of the age and experience factor, significant offensive output coming from the blue line is an area that the Hurricanes have needed to improve upon for some time.
Murphy can provide considerable help in that area as many have said, and it’s not about if he can, but a matter of when he can be a part of the team to make that contribution.
As the Hurricanes' next exhibition game is coming up on Friday against the Nashville Predators, another opportunity exists for Murphy to show that he is capable of playing at the NHL level and being in Raleigh at the beginning of the season.
Maurice summed it up best on Wednesday regarding who will make this year’s team: “When we put together that lineup against Tampa opening night, we’re going to put out the guys that we think will help us win that game. Age will not be a factor.”
Starting Friday, if Ryan Murphy can start putting some numbers on the stat sheet, he will being making a firm case to take Maurice up on his word.
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