Sutter, Boychuk may be Canes' energy source
Someone else can do the math and the Hurricanes may still be the oldest team in the league, but their average age is dipping.
Brandon Sutter, 20, has been in the lineup five games. Zach Boychuk, who turned 20 on Oct. 4, will be in it Friday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Sutter and Boychuk began the season with the Albany River Rats (AHL) after leading the Hurricanes prospects to the championship in a rookie tournament hosted by the Detroit Red Wings. Sutter was called up Oct. 24. Boychuk got the call Thursday.
What can two 20-year-olds and former first-round picks do for the big team?
"We're just young guys and we'll try to bring energy," Sutter said Thursday. "I think so far it's gone OK for me but we're obviously not winning. We'll try to bring what we can and see what happens."
Sutter, who played 50 games for the Canes last season, scored the only goals in Carolina's recent losses to Philadelphia and San Jose, and has been active on the penalty-kill team. Boychuk will be expected to add speed and quickness on the wing, be a scoring threat and be responsible defensively.
"I'm sure he'll be excited," Sutter said. "It's always exciting when you're down there and you get called up."
General manager Jim Rutherford said Thursday that both Sutter and Boychuk would be among the top nine forwards against the Leafs.
"That's great," Sutter said. "Even in the first five games I've been here I've been in the top nine. Even when I was playing on the fourth line I was still getting 10 to 13 minutes.
"if you play more than 10 minutes a night you're going to get better. So far it's gone well and I'm just going to keep playing and hopefully stay."
No complaints from coach Paul Maurice.
"We've gotten good results," he said. "Young Sutter has come in and given us some good jump and good effort and played some fine hockey for us.
"We'll bring these guys in and we'll play 'em. We'll play 'em and give 'em a chance."
About the blogger
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is in his second season as the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at chip.alexander@newsobserver.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @ice_chip.
Comments
Canes & Cub fans
Fri, 11/06/2009 - 11:17 — esteban1949are really alot alike...And yes for all of you who are going to go, Do have fun,enjoy the other fans and most of all go home Happy,Hoarse, healthy !! And yes make a believer out of Zach as i am sure that what limited exposure Zach has had in the past here...should no way take away what he should be given tonight !!
And will someone have a braut for me please ???
Go Canes !!
Uh, no.
Fri, 11/06/2009 - 15:30 — wxray1Sorry Esteban, I disagree. I grew up on the N. Side of Chicago, and bled Cubbie blue for a long time. (I've since cured myself of that disease through a good infusion of Canes red.)
I will never, ever, forget the feeling of being at Game 7, when my heros, the Hurricanes won it all. No Cub fan alive today can remember what that was like. Game 7, 2006 crossed off a big item on my bucket list. Cub fans have no idea. The latest generation are there mainly for the drinking and singing. They don't know winning. They are having fun, but they have no idea what it is like to be on pins and needles when it is all on the line.
Although I will have fun, and maybe drink and sing tonight, I *know* winning and will long for it no matter what.
And they can never take away my Game 7 Stanley cup experience. Never!
I grew up
Fri, 11/06/2009 - 15:41 — esteban1949a fewblocks from the old Olson rug factory and i in my old boxes i has packed away my "oringinal" Left Field Bleacher Bums certificate !! My point was that we cubbie fans love them when imes were and are tough..and i feel & felt that the caniac nation ought to be doing the same thing...after all players and managers come and go, but the canes, like the cubs...will go on and on !! And can i ask a favor please...if you are going tonight...have fun & a braut for me ..OK ?? Catch ya later...
Go Canes !!
Cool!
Fri, 11/06/2009 - 16:11 — wxray1Nice, a beacher bum!
Don't know if you've been back lately, but it is different. I was just a kid sitting with my grandfather out there in the bleachers, getting beer (Old Style, of course) sloshed on me by you guys. (Or maybe you had an Ice Cold Fresca.)
I get your point now. Sorry to start a war among lovable loser fans.
I don't think I'll find a Fresca or Old Style, so I may have to settle for a Bud, Diet Pepsi and a Brat. :-)
???
Fri, 11/06/2009 - 13:49 — richardfocHow in the world are Canes & Cubs fans alot alike? They haven't won a World Series since 1908 and the fans are dying for that. We won a Cup in 2006. They sell out all of their games. We most certainly do not. Not sure I see the comparison.
hey richardfoc
Fri, 11/06/2009 - 15:34 — esteban1949my point was that the canes curerent slump,slide or what ever you call it is a test for the die hard Canes fans...the comparison is,as i see it is that despite a losing effort on sadly on a repeated basis, their fans( as in Cubs fans)still support them...but if you still don't get it, then i guess you'd have to be a long time Cubs fan to see the "simularities...even though they are NOT that close mind you. If you're going to the game...have fun...Go Canes !!
Um,
Sun, 11/08/2009 - 00:31 — richardfocI went to the game. I did not have fun.
Let the young guys learn
Fri, 11/06/2009 - 10:13 — HockeydogI agree, Boychuk will make mistakes. Take the positives from his game tonight. He seems to be a smart young man and won't make those mistakes for too long. Let the rebuilding process begin!
Clash Of The "Titans"
Fri, 11/06/2009 - 07:54 — NetMinderLeafs v. Canes. The two worst teams in the NHL go head to head tonight, and a lot of so-called fans would rather go through a root canal than go to the game. Yet it's a game that will tell us a lot — not only about the Canes, but about the fans that support them. Tonight will separate fair weather fans from Caniacs. Tonight's the night Caniacs fulfill their role as the seventh man — hanging from the rafters, rocking the roof off the loudest house in the NHL and making life miserable for the Maple Leafs. Tonight's the night we show Boychuk what it's like to play in front of Caniac nation. Tonight's the night real fans show up, the real Canes show up and we begin to turn this season around.
I'll be there and actually
Fri, 11/06/2009 - 10:20 — CaniacCathyeI'll be there and actually looking forward to it. Win or lose, I'll be in my seat until the last season ticks away on the clock.
Root Canal? Nah.
Fri, 11/06/2009 - 09:13 — wxray1I'll be there. It will be fun.
In a strange way, this losing streak is freeing. Just go to the game, cheer and have fun. Don't worry about stuff like playoffs, since it probably won't happen. Cheer for the here and now.
Hmmm. Maybe the team needs to act that way. Go out, have fun. Maybe the bounces will go their way and the other goalie will go cold.
When the fun leaves a team
Fri, 11/06/2009 - 10:24 — dustinlammersWhen the fun leaves a team things never go their way. I agree they need to go into this game remembering it's just a game, have some fun and things will come along.
Carolina Hurricanes fans
Fri, 11/06/2009 - 08:08 — abramsdougNetminder: I appreciate the articulate post. I agree completely with you. The test of a fanbase is whether we will support our team when it is down and trying to find its way. My family and I will be there making as much noise as we can. In particular, like many other Hurricanes fans, I have been asking to have Sutter and Boychuk play. It would be a total travesty to do anything other than welcome them enthusiastically. I think they will bring energy, guts, and pride and that will help the team rediscover their game.
It shouldn't be
Thu, 11/05/2009 - 21:14 — esteban1949Just a Gas & Go trip for either of them. The one advantqge both of them have is that not many NHL teams know much about them (except sutter from last year). So who knows...maybe just maybe the canes can now put some pucks in the net !! And AD, you are right...if the fans there @ RBCC do go out of theire way...that will make having to eventually going back to Albany that much more of an incentive to work even harder. Thanks Chip !!
Go Canes !!
Sutter, Boychuk, and Caniac Fans
Thu, 11/05/2009 - 16:46 — abramsdougI for one am very excited that Sutter and Boychuk will get top nine minutes. I fully expect to see them make some mistakes and don't have the illusion that even the best young player will be error-free. What I hope is that Sutter and Boychuk will feel from the reaction of the Hurricanes fans that we are behind them 100%. I remember the tremendous crowd reaction when Ruutu burst onto the ice after being met at the airport and being driven to the game. It was one of the special moments I've experienced; and I think that it cemented a special relationship between Ruutu and the fanbase. It would be fantastic if Sutter and Boychuk got the same kind of crowd reaction; including when things don't necessarily go perfectly with their decision-making.