Opening night is always exciting for any NHL team. For several members of the Carolina Hurricanes, Thursday night’s opener against the New York Islanders at PNC Arena will take on a little more weight.
Head coach Rod Brind’Amour will make his regular-season debut in that new role. Forward Justin Williams will don a red sweater with the captain’s C on it for the first time in his career.
Forward and 2018 No. 2 draft pick Andrei Svechnikov will make his NHL debut, while forwards Valentin Zykov, Warren Foegele and Lucas Wallmark will see their first crack at an opening night lineup.
“We’ve had a lot of new faces over the years, and you basically tell the kids the same thing,” Brind’Amour said. “We expect them to make mistakes, that’s ok. You’ve got to just go play. The worst thing you can do is be worrying about a mistake and make it. Go make it and we’ll tell you about it after. If we can have that mindset, really throughout the whole lineup, play on our toes and just go for it. We’ll talk about the mistakes later, if there are any but you certainly don’t want to be timid or sitting back.”
Williams, a veteran of 1,162 NHL games, kept his advice for the young newcomers simple.
“Probably the best advice you can say is just play hockey,” Williams said. “If you think about systems while you’re out there and second guess yourself, you need to err on the side of enthusiasm, not apprehension or uneasiness. You need to go out and get it. Go out and play hockey. It’s fun, right? It’s a fun game and you enjoy doing it. That’s a good way to approach your first game.”
Of course, Thursday night’s game will mark a first in Williams’ career as well. It’s the first time the veteran has entered a season wearing a letter on his jersey.
For a young team looking to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2009, the man dubbed “Mr. Game 7” for his playoff heroics was a perfect choice for the captaincy.
“He’s one of those guys who leads by example,” forward Sebastian Aho said. “He’s a good guy to follow and take some notes for your own, just how he does everything. He’s such a professional; he warms up every morning. All the little things he does and the way he always goes, even in practice he goes hard every time. I think he’s a really good leader and he’s a perfect fit for us.”
The debut games don’t stop at Williams, either. Brind’Amour has seen a lot, both in his time as the Hurricanes’ captain (including for the 2006 Stanley Cup Championship team) and over the past several years as an assistant coach.
Thursday night will mark his first game as a head bench boss at any level of professional hockey.
“There will be [jitters], I would assume,” Brind’Amour said. “I was nervous, my first game felt like the on Tampa, to be honest with you, the preseason game. But this one counts and I know that I’ll be nervous. I’ve already said it, I’ll make my rookie mistakes too. Just like we have a very young group and they’re going to make mistakes. We’ll learn from them and we’ll just keep battling. That’s what we want out of our group, our staff, everybody.”
This has been an offseason of turnover for the Canes, with many new faces added to a team looking to make its first postseason appearance in nine seasons. For the aforementioned group especially, training camp was a time to prepare. After several weeks of vigorous training and practice, they’re as ready as they can be.
Now, the preparations are over, and the results are all that matter for this group, as it’s time to play hockey.
“I’m excited for the guys,” Brind’Amour said. “I think they’ve worked hard, and we’ve talked about playing for real now. I think they’re excited to show what they can do.”
