MORRISVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — Twenty-three Carolina Hurricanes prospects hit the ice for the first time at the team’s annual Prospects Development Camp Monday, and there’s not a hockey puck in sight. The stick handling, passing and shooting will take place over the next two days. Today it’s about crunching numbers, as the players are hooked up to a machine that measures power and speed. The Canes can then use the numbers gathered to customize weight room programs for each player.
“From a technical standpoint we video their skating,” said Hurricanes Director of Player Development Peter Harrold. “We look what their stride looks like, we see what their mechanics look like and we can have discussions like that with them and kind of give them things to work on when they come back and maybe be just a little more faster. That’s what we’re looking for.”
Eight players are back from last year’s camp, including 2024 second round pick Dominik Badinka. Badinka is the only player here that is signed. He’ll play this coming season with the Canes’ American Hockey League squad in Chicago. He’s used to what’s taking place on Day One.
“You measure the numbers and they want to basically compare them,” Badinka said. “They have you here every year here and they can compare if you’re getting slower of faster, so I think it’s a good thing.”
Of all the players at camp, Badinka is probably the closest to the NHL, and at this point in his career, he’s still got a long way to go.
“You see the talent level at the NHL, and it’s two levels up from where most of these guys are at least,” said Harrold. “But there’s some time. For most of these guys it takes them a little while, and that’s part of it, we have to talk them through it. You know, you get drafted and you think ‘I’m going to be in the NHL.’ Well, the work’s only begun.”
And the players know it. That’s why it’s so important to soak up as much as they can over the three days of the camp.