News und Ankündigungen » aig Buttons Top Prospect: Haydn Fleury

KINGSTON, Ont. - The infectious smile was missing from Nam Nguyen last week. A favourite to win the Canadian mens title for the first time, the 16-year-old from Toronto was feeling the pressure. So his coach Brian Orser told him: Skate like you own the place. And Nguyen did. Nguyen, who won fans and melted hearts when he participated in the skating gala of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, as a precocious, bespectacled 10-year-old, scored 81.78 points to top a field that was missing three-time world champion Patrick Chan. Orser admitted Nguyen had a mini-meltdown last week. The young skater, whos fuelled by a sheer love of performing, wasnt loving anything. Weve done the junior worlds and senior worlds and its always been sort of in the hunt, and this time, theres been a lot of talk about him, a chance he could win, all that stuff, and hes starting to feel the pressure, Orser said. But thats life, thats the way it is. So we just had to put it into perspective, but I know exactly the feeling that he was going through. So I think just that discussion helped, his shoulders dropped a little bit. Nguyen admitted to nerves when he took the ice, but he hid them well, landing a beautiful triple Axel, then a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination, and triple flip for virtually the only clean program in an event riddled with spills. Jeremy Ten of Vancouver scored 77.80 points to stand second, while Roman Sadovsky, a 15-year-old from Vaughan, Ont., goes into Saturdays long program in third after scoring 73.46. Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C., a three-time national silver medallist and member of Canadas team that won silver at last years Olympics in Sochi, fell on all three of his jumps to finish a disappointing 12th in the mens short. Nguyen has risen swiftly through the ranks, winning the world junior championships last spring, and then finishing third and fourth in his two senior Grand Prix events this season — Canadas top performance in mens singles. He has a really big season from last year to live up to, Orser said. The absence of Chan added to the pressure this season. Suddenly, the title was anyones for the taking. Chan, whod won the seven previous titles — including 2012, when he scored a whopping 101.33 points in the short program — is taking the season off to contemplate his future. Nguyen said the key to his success was Stay normal, dont change anything, treat everything like its a practice at the (Toronto) Cricket Club. Nguyen, who was the youngest skater to win Canadian titles at the juvenile, pre-novice-novice, and junior levels, has finally settled into his five-foot-eight frame, as well, after a growth spurt saw him shoot up more than a half a foot in a year. It was really hard for me to get my jumps, especially my triple Axel because during that time, I lost it, Nguyen said of his growth spurt. After that, I started regaining my Axel, fixing my technique and now when I have a little bit of a growth spurt going on, I know how to deal with it and know I have to push through it. Nguyen looks back on his innocence at the Vancouver Olympics — when he skated in checked pants and big goofy glasses in a role that was meant to represent the future of skating — with fondness. He didnt know pressure then. I was just trying to have fun, Nguyen said. Im actually trying to keep the same mindset for myself, even though I am aware of the pressure now. Hes also aware of his growing popularity. His Twitter page — he goes by the handle @namnamnoodle — has 7,719 followers. He has a big fan following in Asia, Orser said. Ive never had this kind of attention on me, Nguyen said. Its kind of exciting for me, but also a little bit distracting. So I needed to ignore some of it, and also have some of that motivate me in practice sessions whenever Im feeling down. . . so for me Im feeling both. It was a disastrous afternoon for Reynolds, who has had problems with ill-fitting skates for the better part of two seasons, and had just a month of solid training before arriving here. Nothing much to say. I gave it everything that I had this last year to give it a shot for this national title, and tried the best that I could, and I failed, Reynolds said. Nothing much more to say. Reynolds has had trouble finding skates that fit his uniquely narrow foot, and said last week he felt he had finally found a pair after trying skates of every brand. Incredibly disappointing to say the least, he said, fighting back tears Friday. I want to apologize to all the people who have supported me through all of this, because they didnt deserve that performance from me. All I can say is I did the best that I could. Reynolds announced late on Friday that he has withdrawn from the remainder of the competition. Ten, meanwhile, decided to give his sport one last season after battling injuries for the better part of a few years. When I made the decision to do this season, I had a great chat with Ted Barton, who works for our B.C. office, and he said Would it be worth it to stay one more season and go to nationals knowing your numbers are limited at the age that youre at, to experience what its like to compete on a national stage in front of a Canadian audience, does that seem worth it to you? And it does, at that moment it clicked, Ten said. Kyle Freeland Jersey . 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Division: Metropolitan GM: Ron Francis Head Coach: Bill Peters 2013-14: 36-35-11 (7th in Metropolitan) Playoffs: Did not qualify Goals For: 205 (22nd) Goals Against: 226 (19th) PP: 14.6% (28th) PK: 81.7% (17th) That Was Then: The 2013-14 season stretched the Hurricanes run of early summers to five straight years. The last time the franchise missed five in a row was when they found themselves on the move from Hartford. The first half saw the Hurricanes fall into extended lapses. While the 15-16-9 record they posted as the calendar rolled over might that bad on paper, beneath it was three losing streaks of at least four games. The Canes seemed to be perfectly capable of equaling the opposition for 60 minutes, but of the dozen games they forced to an extra frame or shootout they only emerged with the bonus point in three. And one of the biggest issues for the Canes in 2013-14 was between the pipes. Long seen as a franchise pillar in net, Cam Ward may have had his worst year as a pro. He battled injuries all season long and missed 23 games with lower body injuries. When he was in net, the results were rarely stellar, as the 30-year-old posted a seven-year low .898 save-percentage and a goals-against average of 3.06. To make matters worse, back-up Anton Khudobin was hurt in early October, forcing Justin Peters into regular duty as the Canes starter for extended stretches in November and December. The Canes kept pace in the new Metropolitan Division through October. But once November struck, a steady downfall kicked in and despite a 10-4 January run, the team was out of playoff positioning for the rest of the season and earned its fourth Top 10 draft position in five years. Scott Cullens Analytics Hurricanes 2013-14 stats by Quarter Games GPG GAA SH% SV% SAF% PTS% 1-20 1.85 2.45 5.3% .931 48.0% .500 21-41 2.76 2.95 7.5% .914 49.5% .500 42-62 2.43 2.38 6.9% .927 51.5% .550 63-82 2.65 2.65 7.4% .932 47.3% .500 NHL AVG 2.67 2.67 7.8% .922 50.0% .562 Key: GPG= goals per game, GAA= goals-against per game, SH%= even-strength shooting percentage, SV%= even-strength save percentage, SAF%= score-adjusted Fenwick percentage (differential of shot attempts faced vs. shot attempts, excluding blocked shots, adjusted for game score), PTS%= percentage of available points. Analysis: Games 1-20: Couldnt score, and every win was by a one-goal margin, yet goaltending kept them treading water. Games 21-41: Possession improved a little, scoring jumped, but goaltending fell as Cam Ward went through a rough patch. Games 42-62: Continued to improve possession, goaltending bounced back, but scoring was still subpar. Games 63-82: Continued their break-even ways, with below average possession and shooting, countered by above-average goaltending, thanks to Anton Khudobin. Key 2014 Additions: D Tim Gleason, LW Brad Malone, G Drew MacIntyre, C Jay McClement Key 2014 Subtractions: D Matt Corrente, C Manny Malhotra, G Justin Peters, LW Brett Sutter This Is Now: The dominos fell on the Canes front office and coaching staff in the spring. The only general manager the Hurricanes have ever known moved to a divisional rival in Pittsburgh. Jim Rutherford, who was there so long he may still have business cards kicking around that read, Whalers, stepped aside and former franchise player Ron Francis began his managerial career. Kirrk Muller was also out as head coach, replaced by Bill Peters - a former Detroit Red Wings assistant who has never been an NHL head coach but was in demand this off-season.dddddddddddd Francis didnt make any major moves over the off-season, leaving the core to kickstart the road to improvement. They arent lacking talent with scorers like Eric Staal, Skinner and Alexander Semin forming the front end of their ranks. Jordan Staal had a down year in 2013-14, posting 40 points despite logging 82 games for the first time since 2009-10. Jiri Tlusty, too, suffered a drop-off after enjoying a breakout season in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign. After a career-best 23 goals in 48 games, Tlusty netted just 16 in 68 games with the Canes in 2013-14. If the two of them can lift their offensive games, it should provide a much needed second attack wave for the Canes. The Canes also have options from the point when it comes to scoring with 28-year-old Andrej Sekera enjoying a career-best 44 points last season while Justin Faulk continued to develop with 32 in his third NHL campaign. If Ryan Murphy can contribute full-time minutes for a whole year and John-Michael Liles can re-discover his 30-point form, the Canes could resuscitate their 28th-ranked power play. Of course, the team needs to keep goals out of the net, too. The addition of PK-specialist Jay McClement helps, but their defensive fortunes will come down to what kind of year they get in net. With two years left at a cap hit of $6.8 million, trading Ward is next to impossible. If he doesnt bounce back, Khudobin is ready. He was extended for two years at a total of $4.5 million after passing his one-year audition last season. His .926 save-percentage and 2.30 goals-against suggests the Canes can compete well with him. DEPTH CHART Forwards Left Wing Centre Right Wing Jeff Skinner Eric Staal Alexander Semin Jiri Tlusty Jordan Staal Elias Lindholm Nathan Gerbe Riley Nash Pat Dwyer Zach Boychuk Jay McClement Brad Malone Chris Terry Victor Rask Greg Nemisz Brock McGinn Phil Di Giuseppe Justin Shugg Defence Left Right Andrej Sekera Justin Faulk Ron Hainsey John-Michael Liles Jay Harrison Ryan Murphy Tim Gleason Brett Bellemore Keegan Lowe Danny Biega Goaltenders Anton Khudobin Cam Ward Drew MacIntyre TSN Director of Scouting Craig Buttons Top Prospect: Haydn Fleurys exceptional skating ability allows him to impact the game multiple ways. Turning and going back for the puck makes him very difficult to forecheck and thus less time in the defensive zone for his team. The ability to transition is so important and combined with very good sense and understanding of what is unfolding, Haydn can support the offensive attack also. A very calm player who plays with a competitive edge. Fantasy - Scott Cullens Player to Watch Elias Lindholm Coming off a rookie season in which he tallied 21 points in 58 games, spending some time with the Swedish National Junior Team (where he scored nine points in six tournament games), 19-year-old Lindholm has already shown a promising two-way game. With limited competition at the top of the Hurricanes roster, there should be a very good opportunity for Lindholm to play in a top-six role which, combined with the likelihood of improving his on-ice (shooting and save) percentages and hopefully something close to a full season of games, could result in a sizeable jump in production. ' ' '