Canes report card .... part 4 of 5

Here's part four of the Canes mid-season report cards. I'm almost done with the whole thing.

#27 Craig Adams (aka "CrAdams", aka "Craigassaurus Rex" aka "Craiggers", aka "Hands of Feet", aka "Hands of Stone") -- D+
CrAdams, like the unrelated Kevyn Adams, is not doing much to provide energy to the "energy line". He's looked bad at times, and has a cumulative -9 rating for the season, ranking him second to last on the team. Expectations were pretty low for the Brunei native, but even with increased ice time due to injuries, Craig has failed to meet the low expectations. He's appeared in every game this season and has accumulated just 9 points (6/3), which means he's behind defensemen Mike Commodore (16 points) and Anton Babchuk (10 points). He's also behind Cory Stillman, who has 10 points in just 12 games. He's slow-footed and lacks offensive ability, but he's very good on the backcheck and at battling for loose pucks. Not enough to get him a better grade, though. Craiggers will have two more years in Carolina.

#28 Andrew Hutchinson (aka "Hutch")-- B-
Due to a couple of long visits to the injured reserve last season, Hutch failed to meet the criteria for getting his name etched on the Cup -- 41 regular season games played OR 1 game in SCF), the Canes petitioned the League to have Hutch on there. The league approved. This season, the injuries have been to just about every one else, and hutch has seen his ice time and his role on the team increase. He went from being a seventh defenseman or healthy scratch to being an every night starter. He hasn't disappointed, but he hasn't exactly shone either. Neither a horrifying liability nor a tremendous asset. One thing the coaches asked him to work on last year was putting more pucks on net. He does a good job of running the power play, but they wanted him to shoot more. He's getting better, but he's not exactly what anyone would call an "offensive threat". That said, he's on pace to set a new personal best point production. Thanks to increased ice time.

#30 Cam Ward (aka "Wardo") -- C
The Conn Smythe winner got off to a really slow start this season, and has faltered at times. Still, he has a winning record (19-12-3), and his GAA (2.78) and his SV% (.901) are somewhere around 20th in the league. Not terrible. One mitigating factor in the grade here is that there has not been one single game this season where he has had a full, healthy blue line in front of him. Most nights, two or more defensemen are hurt, and right now, there are four out. When one of the few available defenseman is Avi Tanabe, there's trouble. Given that, I think he's done a fine job. We'll see what happens when Frantisek Kaberle et al return and Ward can focus on goaltending.
Defensive help or no defensive help, there's still the problem with Cam's rebound control, which has been spotty. I contend that this will get better when the Canes better defensemen are back on the ice, and they can deal with the rebounds.

#45 David Tanabe (aka Avi, aka "Snuggles") D-
Last night's game against the Islanders notwithstanding, Tanabe has been pretty bad. He's been irresponsible in his own end, sloppy in neutral ice, and non-existent in the offensive zone. He has tremendous speed, and should be a more active player in the Canes "everybody in" offensive system. He's made some horrible mistakes that have led directly to goals against, and some other plays that have indirectly led to goals against.
He has had a few moments of brilliance, which gives false hope that he's developing better skills. However, those hopes are quashed when he does something dumb on the next shift, or the next period, or the next game. He can be good in all aspects of the game, but he does it with such infrequency.

#47 John Grahame (aka Crackers, aka "Johnny Crackers", aka "Johnny G") -- D+
Carolina allowed Marin Gerber to head off to Ottawa, promoted Ward to the #1 spot, and went out and got John Grahame. Grahame had struggled a bit in Tampa, and was sort of in John Tortarelli's dog house. Peter Laviolette, however, has a good relationship with Crackers after having coached him a few times on Team USA. It was a gamble, but Canes fans were okay with having him as a back up.
Grahame is a very big dude with a completely different style from Ward, which probably gives the defensemen fits the same way a wide receiver struggles with a quarterback who throws the ball differently from the normal guy. Okay, it's nowhere near the same, but the way he sets up and the way he plays the shots and handles rebounds is so different from Ward's style that the players have to adjust when Grahame is in the pipes.
In limited appearances, Grahame has been inconsistent. That's to be expected when you only play once every ten games or so. Unlike some former Canes goaltenders who had been relegated to backup, he's not sitting there sulking and pouting, though. He wants to help the team, and is always one of the first guys out there to congratulate Ward after a win.
One thing that is disappointing is his focus. He gets rattled and stays rattled when he makes a mistake.
Honestly, I'd like him to get some more starts so he can have a chance to improve on the things like rebound control and concentration. It's hard to simulate that in practice. With a thinner schedule in the second half (fewer back-to-backs) there won't be so many obvious chances for Crackers to start.

Canes report card .... part 3 of 5

After taking a day off, I'll continue with parts 3 and 4 of the continuing series of midseason report cards. In the meantime, Carolina has lost their third straight game (all to teams from cities starting with the letter P), and has been shut out twice in a row. Carolina hasn't scored in the year 2007, and will look to end that trend tonight versus the Islanders in the RBC Center at 7:00.

Without further ado, the grades:

# 19 Trevor Letowski (aka "The Big Letowski" aka "The Dude", "El Duderino, "His Dudeness") -- C
There weren't many expectations about Letowski coming in. We knew he would be a third line winger at best and that he would be more of a Josef Vasicek replacement than a Matt Cullen replacement. He's got a ton of energy and like the other "water bugs", he's blessed with speed and elusiveness. The only problem is that he's not as skilled or as confident as Ray Whitney, so he's not going to be much of an offensive threat. Early in the season, he was pasted by the Penguins' Colby Armstrong with a devastating open ice hit. Letowski missed nine games with a concussion, and might have lost what little confidence he had. Presently, he's got 5 (2/3) points, and I suspect that his second half will be better, but I wouldn't expect anything more than 18 points total. With the way things are going injury-wise, he will have no choice but to step up his game. The mitigating factor here is that expectations were low for him. Elsewise, his grade would be much lower.

#22 Mike Commodore (aka "Commy")-- A-
I'm still completely giddy about the way this has worked out for the Canes. After being essentially cast off by the Flames, Commy found a home in Carolina, where defensemen were needed. He saw significant ice time, and surprised many critics by being a solid, dependable defenseman. This season, he's continued to be a very liable d-man, and has been a major player in this "defensemen joining the rush" thing. In fact, he scored a goal this season while the Canes had a two man disadvantage against Buffalo. For the record, that has been the only three-on-five goal in the entirety of the NHL this season.
With 16 (4/12) points, he's already surpassed last season's points total and is on pace to outperform several of the Carolina forwards. Kevyn Adams, I'm talking to you. The only thing I don't like about his game is that he's taking some lazy penalties with too much frequency. He's been in the wrong place at the wrong time for more than one of those delay of game (puck in crowd) penalties.
However, he's almost always in the right place at the right time, whether it's denying an attacking skater a passing lane, or creating a screen in front of an opposing goaltender. We've got him for one more year, and hopefully another renewal after that.

#24 Scott Walker (aka "Remo") -- B+
This has turned out to be a really good trade. Carolina exchanged Josef Vasicek, who once led the Canes in goal scoring for a season (2003-04) for Nashville's all time points and goals leader. For whatever reason, Vasicek wasn't working in Carolina, and I think Nashville freed up some cap space for JP Dumont with this trade. It's gone well. He's got decent speed, great skating ability, good passing skills, a great sense of where his teammates are and where they will be. His d skills aren't that great, but he doesn't put the Canes in harm's way. He's definitely not afraid to throw the gloves down, either. He's just about the only Canes player to avoid injury this season, which was one of the concerns coming in. He's sitting on 26 (12/14) points, and if he can step it up a tiny bit in the second half, he'll be able to reach the 60 (25/35) points that I predicted on the day of the trade.
All indicators are that he's a really good guy to have in the room. One of those guys that all the guys like. Certainly, the fans do.
I haven't been able to discern the results, but Walker played in a charity poker tournament against other NHLers. However much he won all went to the Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids Foundation, which focuses on children's health, education and helping kids (mostly inner city, underprivileged) get into team sports.

#25 Eric Belanger B
The other player in the "Jack Johnson trade". I have a lot of thoughts about that trade, but that's for another post.
I had no idea what to expect from Belanger. On the day of the trade, I looked at his past numbers and took a shot in the dark, guessing that he'd hit 40 points this season. He probably won't but he won't be far off that mark. He's got some nice moves, and generates some outstanding scoring chances, but he's suffering from whatever Maxim Afinogenov suffered from last season. He just can't finish. He hits posts, crossbars, he's been robbed by phenomenal saves. He's been everywhere but in the net. I think once the Canes get back on the right foot, Belanger will have a good second half, and might end up getting that 40. At his current pace, he'll end with 30 (13/17).
One aspect of his game that I really like is that he can dominate the faceoff circle. When Brindy was out, Belanger was the only one the Canes could trust to go in there and win an important draw. His style, and his stance in the circle are actually really reminiscent of Brind'Amour, so it doesn't surprise me.

#26 Erik Cole -- A-
After a career-threatening neck injury last winter, Cole surprised everyone by returning to the Canes lineup for the final two games of the Stanley Cup Final. He looked good but rusty. While we were all glad to see him, and he played a huge part in setting up the Cup winning goal, there was some debate about whether he should have just taken the rest of the summer off. Coming into camp, there was some trepidation, and the knowledge that he's much more at risk for neck injury than the next guy. For a guy who plays hard and fast, this is obviously something to be concerned about.
Most nights, you can tell that he's having some neck pain, and on some nights, you can see on the bench that he's in a great deal of pain. Still, he plays, and he goes 100%. Last season, he was on fire, headed toward an 82 point season, only to sit out the last 22 regular season games and the first 23 playoff games. This season, he's not far off that pace. He's got 36 (16/20), and when the Canes can right the ship, he'll score in bunches. I figure he'll end with about 78 (35/43) points.
Even when the rest of the team is struggling, and even on the nights when the Canes get crushed, it's a thrill to watch him. He's so fast and so strong and so agile and handles the puck so well. He can turn nothing at all into a breakaway chance.

He's still young and has two more years in Carolina. At some point, which I assume will be next season, he'll be given the "A" when Wesley retires and K-Ads goes on the free agent market.


So there's that.

The Canes will try to (and I predict they will) snap out of this horrible funk tonight. I'll watch the game and do that semi-liveblog thing with open comment thread. After all that, I'll attempt to get part four of the report cards up. Either way, I'll have the whole shebang done by Sunday night.

Canes report card .... part 2 of 5

In a continuing series, giving the Canes a mid-term grade, here is the second fifth of the Canes numerical roster:

#12 Eric Staal -- C-
It looks like Staalsy is suffering from Josef Vasicek syndrome. Lead the team in goals one season, then stink it up the next. To be fair, his 34 points (17/17) through 42 games isn't exactly "crappy". It's good enough to be in the top 50 league-wide, but we know that he can do much better. It's not as if he's been robbed a ton of times. It's not as if he's getting bad bounces, or clanging shots off posts. He's just not playing with the fire that we saw last season. There are games (and this is where the Josef Vasicek comparison really works) that he's just out there floating around aimlessly. He's not aggressive enough with the puck, not selfish enough, and just not the same player we saw last winter. Unless he goes completely en fuego in the second half, this season will be a major disappointment in contrast to last year's 100 point break-out season. Two theories to explain his lack of effort this season: (A) -- The "Stanley Cup Hangover" is a real thing, and he's just plum tuckered out. I don't buy that because Viva picked up right where he left off. Roddy is better than he was last winter. Ditto Whitters. No sale there. (2)The "Player tries hardest in a contract year" theory saying that a player in the last year of a contract, and in particular, the last year of a rookie contract will bust his ass, giving 125% each night. When he's rewarded with a nice new long guaranteed contract, he feels like he doesn't have anything to prove. I'm a little more likely to buy that one. Viva and the Captain both just signed long term renewals, and they aren't resting on their laurels. However, they've been around the block a few more times. In Roddy's case, he's been around the block a few thousand more times.
This isn't just sub-par play. This is frequently bad play. We're all really hoping that he can right his own ship, and I actually think that he's simply in a really long slump. I think he'll break out of it, and finish with around 80 points, which will still be a disappointment, but for now, I'm not impressed. Knowing what he can do and what he is is doing forces me to give him a bad grade. I'm reluctant to grade him as high as I did, but 34 points is still pretty good output.

#13 Ray Whitney (aka "The Wizard", aka Whitters, aka "Everybody loves Raymond" -- A+
With his silky smooth passing, his above average speed and his Danny Briere-esque slipperiness, Whitney is a player who gives opposing defensemen fits. He's really fitting in on the first line with Viva and Brind'Amour, and it really is quite a treat to see these three highly skilled players together. I've seen some insanely delicious no-look and behind-the-back passes from Whitney and some incredible skating clinics. Add all of this to the fact that he's a prankster and a generally fun guy, he's definitely a fan favorite. He's also a really well liked guy in the room. He's second on the Canes with 44 (16/28) points, and is on pace to set a new personal best at 86 points. He's in the final year of his contract with the Canes, and we'd love to see him around in 08 and beyond.

#14 Kevyn Adams (aka K-Ads) -- D+
I can't bring myself to give Kevyn a failing grade, but it's awfully tempting. There was lots of gossip about a fight K-Ads had with Bret Hedican during training camp, and how he's been in the coach's dog house since then. The "fight" happened, but there's no dog house business. Nonetheless, K. Adams' play has been -- even on a good day -- bad. He's not bringing energy to the "energy line", and that makes it infinitely easier for the opponents to light it up against our fourth line. His -10 is indicative of just that. Out of the "regular" players, his TOI per game is dead last, and he's still managed to bring up the rear in the +/- category. The doghouse isn't about fisticuffs. The doghouse is about poor play. The fact that he'd been playing through pain with a busted wrist (suffered in Game 7 of the SCF) and required surgery isn't enough of a mitigating factor in this grade. He's just not playing well.
UPDATE -- JANUARY 8 3:30 PM --- Kevyn Adams has been traded to the Phoenix Coyotes for defenseman Dennis Seidenberg

#16 Andrew Ladd -- C-
There was a reason that the Hurricanes traded up to get Ladd in the 2004 draft in front of a huge crowd in Raleigh. He has tremendous potential, and we really started to see that last season and during the playoffs. He's gritty and smart with the puck. He's had a shoulder issue and an emergency appendectomy this season and has played hurt a few nights, and he's been good in small spells. Unfortunately, he's not quite ready to bring intensity every night. I'd like to see him be more physical, and to have better defensive skills. He's going to develop very nicely if the Canes can be patient enough.

# 17 Rod Brind'Amour (aka "Brindy" aka "The Captain", aka "Roddy", aka "Tha Warchief") -- A
At 36 years old, the Captain is in far better shape than anyone else on the team. He's leading the Canes in TOI per game and is among the top three in the League for forwards in that category. His faceoff winning prowess has been beaten to death on this and other pages. No need to rehash that. He's missed a few games with a "lower body" injury, but is still tops on the team with 45 (13/32) points, and he's well on his way to his highest point production in more than 10 years. As is the case with Ray Whitney, he works extremely well with his linemates, and it's no surprise that those three are the top three scorers on the Canes. In fact, their 137 collective points account for 47% of the team's collective point total.
Brind'Amour has been superb from a defensive standpoint, proving that he's deserving of his Selke award last year. His 4 GWG are second on the team and near the top of the League. He might occasionally sit out with an injury, but he never "takes a night off" by mailing it in.

That's it for part two. Tune in tomorrow for part three (Letowski, Commodore, Walker, Belanger, Cole)

The Canes are at home tonight against the 'Yotes, trying to end a two game skid. They're already down 1-0 early in the first frame.

Canes report card .... part 1 of 5

Now that we've reached the half-way point of the season, it's time for the midterm grades. This isn't going to be easy, but I'll go down the Canes roster numerically and grade them all. Feel free to bust my chops if you disagree with a grade. Please note that some of these grades will be given based on rash decisions.

#2 Glen Wesley -- B+
The ancient defenseman is still extremely reliable. He seldomly makes mistakes in the defensive zone, and does an outstanding job on the penalty kill. Offensively, he leaves a bit to be desired, and has had a tiny bit of difficulty with his infrequent opportunities to run the point on power play. A great player, but slowing down with age.

#6 Bret Hedican -- B-
A very sound defenseman, who, like Wesley, is letting his age and injuries catch up to him. He's a phenomenal skater with good passing skills. He's on pace to have a good season in terms of assists, but he's not active enough in that whole "joining the rush" thing to make any waves in goal scoring. He's doing a good job, but he can't be as physical as he used to be, and occasionally it hurts the Canes.

# 7 Nick Wallin (aka "Nicky", aka "Secret Weapon") -- B+
The defenseman has been set back by a couple of injuries, and had one or perhaps two "bad games", but aside from that, he's been very solid. Since last season, he's picked up his level of physical intensity, and has really cranked up the hit-meter. He does a good job of finding the right place to be when the goaltender is out of position. Although he has an uncanny knack of coming up with some clutch plays, he doesn't bring much to the table offensively, and really can't be trusted to handle the puck.

#8 Tim Gleason -- incomplete -- B
Gleason has been a very pleasant surprise for the Canes. Acquired over the summer from the Kings in the "Jack Johnson deal", there weren't many expectations for him. Right away, he was forced to be a major blue line player, and he didn't disappoint. He's been victim to a few injuries, keeping him out of about 14 games so far, and he played hurt in a few others. When he's been healthy, he's been very good, but we really don't know. No offensive skills, but he's a very physical defenseman, and has displayed the ability to take over the defensive zone. By the time he's done developing, he should be an outstanding defenseman. It's not really fair to give him a grade since we haven't seen enough of him playing healthy, but I sure have liked what I've seen.

#11 Justin Williams (aka Viva)-- A+
Viva has been arguably the Canes best player this season. He may still be developing, but he tallied 76 (31/45) points last season, and is on pace to match that this season, with more points coming from goals. He's on pace for 37 goals, but I think he'll have no trouble reaching 40. A power forward with explosive speed, good puck handling skills and a nose for the front of the net, he's always in the right place at crucial moments. It's no surprise to me that at the halfway point, he's leading the entire League in game winning goals (6) and leading the team in shorties (2). He still commits more stick fouls than we'd like, but he more than makes up for it with his point production and his high level of "team toughness".



That's it for now. This is tougher than I imagined, and I'll have to do these five players at a time.