Blake, Perron, Nadeau shine in final day of Hurricanes development camp

For the first three minutes and change of the Hurricanes’ 3-on-3 game, neither Team Red or White could score. A few good chances, a couple bouncing pucks, but nobody could find the back of the net.

Eventually, 2021 fourth-round pick Jackson Blake found his groove and scored four goals in the offensive onslaught. His new teammate and 2023 third-round pick, Jayden Perron, skated alongside him and picked up a pair of goals himself.

“It was definitely a lot of fun getting to skate with them out there,” Perron said. “There’s a bunch of talent and great players on my team and on the other team, so it was definitely a challenge.”

It was the first time the Hurricanes hopefuls had some game-like scenarios during the weeklong development camp. And for the crowd of fans packed into the small stands in Invisalign Arena, it was their first look at some Hurricanes prospects.

The hour-long, on-ice session included a 20-minute period for 3-on-3 hockey, condensed 2-on-2 drills and shootouts. And the entire time, the score was kept between the Red and White teams.

Combined, the players scored nearly 40 goals.

“It’s been a grind of a week for sure, with the testing and in the workouts and stuff,” Blake said. “So to get to this day to kind of have fun out there with the group, I think we deserved it.”

Blake found some confidence in his stick handling, easily weaving through defenders on a few occasions. Perron also set up Blake, and vice versa, on a few goals during the 3-on-3 battle.

The two both plan to head to North Dakota on Sunday to start training with their team for the upcoming college hockey season. It will be Perron’s freshman season, along with Michael Emerson — another 2023 draft pick. Blake is beginning his sophomore season.

Also impressing fans was Bradly Nadeau, the Canes’ first-round pick this year, who had a chance to show off his famed shot. He scored three goals and was one of the last players to leave the ice following Thursday’s session. It was his first development camp experience, before going to the University of Maine for his freshman year.

“It was an amazing camp,” Bradly said. “I think the working habits of an NHL team is the biggest thing I got from coming here this week. Everyone has the same goal in mind, to play here one day, so it’s making sure you work harder than everyone else. It’s something I will take to Maine.”

His brother, Josh, also made a few impressive plays, including a shootout goal that caught a few fans by surprise.

Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour has been helping with development camp throughout the week, getting to know the players on and off the ice. He’s given his famed speeches and tried to make connections with the players, but said he doesn’t try to focus on evaluations too much — just give them some new tools.

“You’re not really evaluating too much, you kind of try not to in a way,” Brind’Amour said. “You’re gonna see if it was great, a good idea, get to learn about them, have some familiarity both ways and then send them out here with a plan on how to get better. And that’s really it.”

The purpose of development camp is to prepare the players for their upcoming season, in a “checkpoint” style, Perron said at the beginning of the week. They get a chance to see what being a professional player is about, learn what areas can be fixed and what tools they can continue implementing.

The players will return to their hometowns or colleges for the next year, and some might have an opportunity to receive a rookie camp or training camp invite for later this year. So development camp players might not have an immediate impact on the Hurricanes, but that didn’t stop fans from snapping photos of the prospects and asking for autographs.

It’s the next generation of talent for the franchise, and fans were interested. After wrapping up shootouts, those watching cheered on the kids on the ice. Stick taps, salutes and big smiles were on the ice.

Ending the weeklong adventure with a little bit of love from the fan base.

“It’s super cool that they come out and support us and watch us,” Blake said. “So to play 3-on-3 in front of them, like I said, you get creative. We want to give them some entertainment, and I think that’s what we did today.”

This story was originally published July 13, 2023 at 7:49 PM with the headline "Blake, Perron, Nadeau shine in final day of Hurricanes development camp."