Carolina Hurricanes center Jesperi Kotkaniemi needs a breakout season

Carolina Hurricanes center Jesperi Kotkaniemi needs a breakout season

Uh, Dennis, are you an Inception fan? Oh, love that movie. Fantastic movie. That I I have learned it’s a little polarizing. People either love it or they leave it going like I didn’t understand it the whole time. I didn’t like it. Um, Adam Gold may have Inception to me a little bit yesterday. Okay. Yesterday we had him on the show right at the end of the show. We were ending early to make way for the Carolina Hurricanes uh preseason game two and and and he was at the arena. So, I was like, “Ah, let’s hear from it. Let’s see the vibes.” uh and he talked to us and it wasn’t even an intentional like I didn’t steer the conversation here. I I wanted to do the fun stuff. I wanted to talk about uh Aaho centering Eers and Jarvis. Turned out wasn’t that fun in the game, but it was just preseason. Uh but kind of off-handed I I forget how we did it. Um I referenced a a hint of yes Coke and the Emmy is playing and Adam jumped in. Do we have this this audio here? And uh Adam jumped in and just talked to like again just offhand made a comment about about Yes. Berry Cooki uh in in in the preseason and specifically last night. Here’s what Adam said. I think this preseason is enormous for him to reestablish who he can be because I don’t rule out that Koki has that spot when the season begins. So I think tonight and however many times he plays he’s got to make statements. So, I actually look for 82 uh to be a very noticeable player tonight and however many times he plays in the preseason. And that right there, soon as he hung up, and we had like like a minute and 30 by the time we were done talking to Adam for for the the end of the show, I said, “All right, I’m going to change the way I’m going to watch tonight.” Because I I was going into it looking for the statement from somebody like Bradley Nadau or somebody like like Dominic Badinka, right? somebody in the prospect part of the the team that’s looking to make a name for themselves. That’s the statement I was looking for. But I went, “No, now I’m going to look for yes. Barry Cook and Emmy.” And then he scores a goal. It’s a pretty good goal. And I’m like, “Oo, is that the statement that Adam Gold was looking for?” And and I’ll say this, too, there were a few times, and maybe it’s just me, uh, you know, I got to get back into hockey watching form, right? It’s preseason for all of us, right? refs make some rough calls in the preseason. They’re getting into the mix, too. Not just the players, right? Maybe I’m just not in like uh, you know, sitting back and watching hockey form. I’m used to football where we get a nice 40 second break between every play and I get to regroup and obviously hockey gets up and down the ice. Um, there were a few times where like out of my peripheral I went like, “Who’s that? It was a bigger dude moving a little faster than I’m used to.” And it was actually Kokin Emmy and I’m going like, “All right, may maybe my guy woke up. Maybe maybe Koke and Emmy is is at 25 years old which tell me that’s not a strange like if you would have asked me he’s like 32. Uh he’s the 20 newly 25 within the last 2 or 3 months 25year-old yes Barry Cook Emmy um has the play finishes the goal moving around a little faster pushing off a little more aggressive like somebody his size is never going to be the like is never going to be out of the block super fast right it’s going to take a couple strides but he was moving and and I was pleased to see it and thought they’re killing penalties a little bit last too. And it felt like he was very eager to play in that game. Maybe to make a statement and it got me thinking. That’s like the anti-Cook and Emmy thing. That’s that’s the anti-Cook and Emmy thing because I can’t tell you how many times since we I started doing the show years ago now I I’ve I’ve said like this is the game co and Emmy needs to step up, right? this is where the season could turn. If Coke and Emmy makes a play and he’s been quiet in those situations almost 100% of the time. Not to say he never does anything good, but it’s just when like the moment builds, right? To use another movie reference, when the the score crescendos, right, the when when the the music starts getting louder, John Williams style, right? When it starts to bum bum, he’s always like, “Nope, not today.” And I’m not saying last night was the biggest pressure thing. I’m not saying it was the climax of the movie. I’m not saying it it was the the, you know, the rising action. It’s still preeason. But Adam Gold put it in my brain that this preseason he needs to make a statement. And then I turned the game on and Koki scored and Koki was moving well. And Dennis brought it up. He’s getting out there on special teams a little bit. And Kokani was doing things that that uh so often when I’ve looked for it, he’s left me empty-handed. He just turned 25. What if Koke and Emmy wakes up? Like this is preseason, right? This is optimism time. Everybody’s 0 and0. Everybody’s thinking about the best case scenario for their team. What if Koke and Emmy wakes up? What if all that potential? And again, I was not here yesterday. I wasn’t even looking for it yesterday. One comment and everything changes. Let me ask you this, Dennis, about about Kokini specifically. All right. Is there more or less pressure on him now that Logan Stanovven is being given a shot at 2C second line center? I think there that’s a good question. I think there is still more because he wants that job and it’s it’s slipping through his fingers. I think it’s more or less the fact that they are actively trying to give that spot to someone else or at least trying to because if he had solidified that spot already then we wouldn’t be having this question about 2C for this for this team. Probably would be feeding Logan Stego on the way. Yeah, exactly. So I think yes, there’s probably even more pressure on him because now it’s look either you got it or you don’t. So, so let me put this in a different way and and this is maybe the difference because is he now the hunter rather than the hunty because for a long time like he was penciled in as he’s going to get the first shot at the second line center and then you know when he struggles is when you’ll bring stall up or you’ll heck at times like Jenowski even like like but it was always scratch like we saw last year. Yes. and like high-profile scratches, but it was always Kok was going to get the first chance. This is the first year where he’s really not like first to bat for second line center and he has to go outplay somebody rather than maybe try to avoid the dumb mistake, right? And it’s just a tiny little difference in thought process that might unlock something in somebody who like physically does have potential and and that’s why he was drafted as high as he was and that’s why he got the offer sheet that he did and that’s why all of these things have have happened in his career is because of what he what the idea of him could be. And I I do think that he is and should be chasing good plays more than doing everything he can to prevent bad plays, which is just a tiny little thought process different because when you have the job, you’re thinking if I have a bunch of turnovers or if I don’t win these faceoffs or if I don’t D, they’re going to pull this job from me. When you don’t have the job and you have to go earn it, you’re thinking like, I got to score goals. I have to outperform him. Logan Stanovven got a goal in the first preseason game. If I want to keep pace, I have to get a goal in the second preseason game and I have to do this and I have to do that. And then then he came out and made a statement. Now, here’s the the the golden million dollar question. Okay. Actually, we’ll call it like what is it? $4.8 million question. Million question. The $4.82 million question. Um, can it be consistent? That’s that’s the key word. Yep. Cuz we’ve seen stretches. Yep. especially very correctly towards the end of the 2023 season where he was playing extremely well. We saw a couple stretches last year was like six, seven, eight games. It’s like, okay, is this the time? Then it’s usually hasn’t been usually as soon as we’re anticipating it not being there. He gives us like four or five games where it’s there and then we we go, all right, there it is. And then he’s like, never mind. Which which is why last night was interesting because it did seem like again Adam did it and I jumped on the bandwagon. We were like, let’s see it. and then it showed up which is just not how I not my relationship with Kok and Emmy. My relationship with Kokin Emmy is all right, let’s see it, quiet and then all right, never mind, forget him. Oh, now he’s playing well. That’s always been my relationship with him. So last night was a little different. And it’s not like he hasn’t played with great players. He was playing second line center last year at the beginning of the year with with Andre Sesnikov and Martine Nus. And Martine Nus every time he stepped on the ice, a point was scored because of the hot streak that he had to start last year. And we didn’t see Koki didn’t capitalize on that. So yeah, somehow Kokin Emmy was was on the floor with or on the ice with Nature’s Nature would finish with three points and he’d be plus six and and Coin Emmy would be no points. It’s like how is that even possible? I don’t know. Obviously, actually, I should have said plus one million. I got to get better at my exaggeration. Uh he wasn’t actually plus six, but it it was it was Martineous was on an alltime heater. Koken was around it and it didn’t rub off at all, which was a really weird place to be. Um, so basically I’m just I’m entertaining the idea that that yes, Barry Cook and Emmy can make an opening statement that changes things for this year for the young player. And I’m trying to remind myself that he’s 25, not 35, because he’s lived a life in the NHL already. Yes. Barry Cook, can he at me? There you go.

Tim Donnelly & Dennis Cox discuss the Carolina Hurricanes needing to have a big season from center Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

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