By The Hockey Writers,Zach Martin
Copyright yardbarker
One of the other storylines to keep an eye on in camp is what the Hurricanes will do at the second-line center position. As of now, it seems that Jesperi Kotkanemi will get initial looks for the Hurricanes at the spot. Will others be able to get some reps at camp? There is a chance, but don’t be surprised if Kotkaniemi gets the bulk of time as the team’s 2C. A player who could get some reps at 2C could be Logan Stankoven, who has played center in his NHL career, when he was with the Dallas Stars before being dealt to the Hurricanes on March 7. Either way, that will be a position battle to watch as training camp and the preseason roll along.
The Hurricanes do have Primeau on C1 with Pyotr Kochetkov and Frederik Andersen to start camp. They acquired him in a sign-and-trade with the Montreal Canadiens back on July 1 for a 2026 seventh-round pick. There is a belief that Primeau will be the Hurricanes’ third goalie on the depth chart to start the upcoming season. After finishing with 22 wins last season with the Laval Rocket in the American Hockey League, it makes sense to have him with the main group to learn from the top goalie tandem. Primeau will wear No. 55 for the Hurricanes, the number his father, Keith, wore when he was the captain for the team before being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. The guy that Primeau was traded for was Rod Brind’Amour, who is Cayden’s head coach at his first Hurricanes training camp. Full circle moment.
There will be tons of other storylines and players to watch out for at training camp for the Hurricanes. However, at least camp is finally here, and we’re now mere days away from the start of the preseason as the Hurricanes take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday, Sept. 22, at the Lenovo Center at 7 p.m. Eastern. As we’re 21 days away from the start of the 2025-26 season, it feels like hockey is officially back, even if it’s in a training camp and preseason capacity. There are on-ice activities, and the storylines begin to ramp up as each day passes. Then, before we know it, the season will be underway as teams will fight over 82 games to make the playoffs, and then the second season begins for the quest for the Stanley Cup.
