Many of the players in the Carolina Hurricanes’ first preseason exhibition game realize where their hockey season likely will begin: in Chicago, with the Wolves of the American Hockey League.
Among them: Canes center Skyler Brind’Amour.
The Hurricanes had a roster Monday sprinkled with the required number of NHL players, but also filled with young prospects and would-be NHL’ers looking to move up. The Tampa Bay Lightning, also with a youthful lineup, took a 2-1 victory at Lenovo Center behind some stellar goaltending from Jonas Johansson, who had 29 saves.
The Canes showed off their new white uniforms and new logo on their helmets after announcing First Citizens Bank as a branding partner. Logan Stankoven got in a game at center, scoring the Canes’ goal on a third-period power play, and defenseman Alexander Nikishin stirred the crowd with a huge open-ice hit in the second period.
Brind’Amour, who centered Josiah Slavin and Bradly Nadeau in the game, is coming off a productive 2024-25 season with the Wolves in a year highlighted by making his NHL debut with the Hurricanes.
“A cool, cool experience,” he said.
Signing a one-year, two-way contract with Carolina, Brind’Amour had a place to play after leaving the Charlotte Checkers, the Florida Panthers’ AHL affiliate. Rejuvenated and reinvigorated, he responded by scoring 16 goals in 68 games, more than triple his goal production with the Checkers in 2023-24.
“Last year was a good year,” Brind’Amour said. “I thought for me, on an individual level, it was good to get a fresh start. Give credit to the coaching staff. It was a fresh start and they gave me a role down there where I would not be afraid to play again, which is a big thing. I could build that confidence.”
Brind’Amour was a callup for the Hurricanes late in the season, making his NHL debut April 16 in Montreal, then playing a second game the next day in Ottawa against the Senators and getting almost 18 minutes in ice time.
And scoring. Centering a line with wingers William Carrier and Logan Stankoven, Brind’Amour banged in the rebound of a Carrier shot late in the first period for his first NHL point.
One shot, one goal. That’ll do.
Behind the Canes bench was a proud poppa, head coach Rod Brind’Amour. He, too, scored his first goal on his first shot, making his NHL debut with the St. Louis Blues in the 1989 playoffs.
Asked Monday which was more thrilling, his first goal or his son’s, the coach smiled.
“Honest answer? I was probably happier when I scored,” Rod said, laughing. “Watching him score, I wasn’t doing anything behind the bench.
“But certainly more proud, watching him score. It was great to see. It was just a beginning but certainly a good memory.”
Skyler Brind’Amour said while his two-game NHL ride was a “whirlwind,” that it also was a cool experience.
“It’s one of those things where you learn how much harder that level is,” he said.
But his father played more than 1,500 games, Skyler was reminded, winning the Stanley Cup with the Canes in 2006. Skyler has been around NHL locker rooms and players all his life, absorbing, learning.
“Yes, but it’s different when you’re out there playing,” he said, smiling. “You understand it a little bit more now. It’s something I’ll always remember and will cherish for sure.”
Skyler, one of Brind’Amour’s three sons, is 26 after spending four years playing college hockey at Quinnipiac and then with the Checkers in his first pro season. He won an NCAA championship at Quinnipiac, another hockey thrill, but also can sense the clock ticking in his hockey career.
“I’m not a young chick anymore, unfortunately,” he said grinning. “I’m getting older but I still feel young,
“At this stage, there’s no room for any setbacks and things like that. At the same time, for me, I don’t try to look at it as a clock thing where you’ve got to do it. For me, I want to be a really good player for the Chicago Wolves, and if I can do that and if I get a chance to play up here, make the most of it.”
Brind’Amour said he played much of last season in Chicago with Josiah Slavin, one of Jaccob’s Slavin’s younger brothers, on a wing. The chemistry was good on the line, Brind’Amour said. He had more scoring opportunities — and 16 goals.
Brind’Amour, like his dad, has a sturdy frame at 6-foot-3 and 203 pounds. Like his dad, he’s a strong checking center and has been adept on draws.
“I saw good growth,” Rod Brind’Amour said of Skyler’s year in Chicago. “Really, it was opportunity. It’s hard. All of a sudden you’re getting more (playing time) but you have to make it count. I thought he did a nice job of that.”
And this season? Brind’Amour, who signed another one-year, two-way contract with the Canes, has the same personal goals.
“My mindset, if you’re getting better each year, that’s the main thing,” he said. “If you’re continually getting better, at some point hopefully you get there.
“I look at it as taking it day by day and enjoying the process. It goes by fast. Even my college career, it went by fast. Every day you’re thinking. ‘What’s the next step?’ I just want to take it day by day, control what I can control and then whatever happens, happens.”