Even Jackson Blake can’t believe where Jackson Blake is now with the Hurricanes
They wanted Jackson Blake to get a sense of the NHL, so the Carolina Hurricanes let him hang around the team during last spring’s playoffs. He was off in a dressing room away from the team, him and Bradly Nadeau, kids observing but not participating.
Being an actual part of it was surely a few years down the road. Even Blake thought so then.
“I always had a big belief in myself,” Blake said Saturday. “I wanted to be here. But to be doing this, it’s so surreal. It’s crazy.”
Eleven months and 17 NHL goals later, Blake is an essential part of the Hurricanes’ lineup, a top-six forward who hasn’t exceeded expectations so much as smashed them, in part because there were basically none.
“I wouldn’t say live up to it, because I don’t know what kind of expectations we had with him, coming in as a young kid,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Obviously, you knew there was a lot of talent there, but man, coming into the NHL is a whole ‘nother level. He’s just gotten better and better, as you’ve seen, throughout the year. I guess the way I put it is, he’s earned his way up the ladder. He clearly deserves to be where he’s playing.”
Blake walked into the NHL on his first attempt, and had the skill to keep up with better players and the savvy to keep up with more experienced players. Over the course of the season, he played his way all the way up the lineup.
And as the Hurricanes opened the playoffs against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday afternoon, it’s hard to imagine them without Blake, whose hands and hockey sense have enabled him to thrive in a way no one saw coming, yet anyway.
Blake included.
“The last 11 months, it’s gone fast, honestly, but slow at the same time,” Blake said. “I’ve definitely been taking it all in. First year in the league. It’s been special. I guess if you told me this a year ago, I don’t know if I’d believe you.”
After he signed out of North Dakota and played in the Hurricanes’ meaningless 82nd game last season, the plan was just to let Blake (and Nadeau) get a sense of things. They were both likely to spend the next season in the AHL, but there’s value in letting two young players coming from college hockey see how the professionals handle things, especially at the most important time of the year.
And at the time, that’s all Blake was hoping to get from it.
But he stayed in Raleigh over the summer, following the conditioning plan Hurricanes strength coach Bill Burniston set out for him, getting stronger. In training camp, he made himself impossible to cut. Despite his lack of experience, he never looked out of place. He had a similar sense of determination to his father Jason, an undrafted free agent who ended up playing 871 games in the NHL.
“He’s got great smarts and he understands the game and he understands the timing of the game, when to make plays and when maybe not to,” Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said. “And he’s got all the skill everyone’s seen. What surprised me is how hard he is on pucks and how he’s not afraid to get into corners and use his shiftiness and create a gap.”
The Hurricanes drafted him in the fourth round because they hoped his skill level would outweigh his lack of size. That’s exactly what happened, but it took a lot of hard work on Blake’s part to get here, and maybe some unfortunate circumstances. That 82nd game last season certainly wasn’t meaningless for Jesper Fast, who injured his neck so badly he hasn’t played since. But Fast’s absence may have opened up the roster spot Blake claimed, accelerating his timetable and giving him an opportunity he has gamely seized.
“It’s been crazy,” Blake said. “That was a great experience last year, coming in and kind of getting a little feel for everything. Seeing the playoff games in person, that was an unreal experience. And now this year, it’s probably going to be the most fun hockey of my life, honestly, playing in the playoffs.”
Nadeau ended up having a strong AHL season for the Chicago Wolves, making the all-rookie team and leading all rookies with 30 goals going into Saturday night’s final game of the regular season. He’ll be here soon enough. Blake is here now, sooner than even he expected, not a moment too late for the Hurricanes.
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This story was originally published April 20, 2025 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Even Jackson Blake can’t believe where Jackson Blake is now with the Hurricanes."
