I Have Never Been More Confident in Saying This...| Carolina Hurricanes News

I have never been more confident in saying not only has this one player been the driving force on the Carolina Hurricanes, but also one of the best players in the NHL showing exactly why he completely unlocks this offense heading into not only their next game, but this season ahead we are going to break down key details on Sebastian Aho the Hurricanes fans we might have missed and updates heading into their next game but before we get into that i need you to like share comment subscribe oh i'm jeff testanero welcome to hurricanes digest like share comment subscribe when you do subscribe click that notification button so every time i jump on your screen into youtube whatever's i pop up on your phone i tell you hey we got more coming also we're over on x at canes digest click follow for more over there as well trust me you'll be glad you did because it's a lot of fun and i have a lot of fun and i just want to thank all of you who have subscribed we're very close to becoming the number one hurricanes dedicated hurricanes channel on youtube across the internet and i thank all of you for that so tell your grandma tell your aunts tell your cousins tell everybody hurricanes digest click follow you'll be glad you did i promise you that let's start with some numbers through carolina's first six games of the 23-24 season Sebastian Aho has five goals and four assists that's nine points in six games nine points in six games he's averaged one and a half points per game and he is currently riding a five game point streak now put that into perspective Aho finished last season with 27 goals and 53 assists for 80 points in 79 games that's a little more over than one point per game this season he's producing at an even higher rate and that's significant because Carolina needs Aho to be its offensive leader he's not just another forward on this roster he's the number one center he's the player Rod Brind'Amour trusts in every single situation and when he's playing at this kind of level the entire Hurricanes offense becomes more dangerous than they are normally now look at how Aho has started the season we're not talking about one incredible performance that's inflating his numbers we're talking about consistent offensive production across multiple games and that's just a part of this streak that matters because in the NHL anybody can have one great night a player can score two goals pick up a complete a couple of assists and suddenly his numbers look fantastic but doing it night after night man that's different that is totally different that's what separates a good offensive player from somebody who can consistently drive a team forward and Sebastian Aho is doing just that what's interesting is that this isn't you know something that we haven't seen before we've watched Aho carry this team and this offense for years he's the face of the franchise we've seen him score 30 goals we've seen him approach 90 points we've seen him deliver in the postseason but there's something about this particular start that feels important that feels organic because Carolina is getting production from multiple players and Aho doesn't really have to do everything himself following the Canes victory over Chicago Aho described the team's performance with two words Hurricanes hockey Hurricanes hockey because Carolina isn't just winning because one player is getting hot they're winning because they're playing the style of hockey that Rod Brendamore has built this organization around aggressive forechecking relentless pressure responsible defensive play and contributions throughout the lineup Carolina has now won four consecutive games and during that stretch the hurricanes have outscored their opponents 21 to 10 think about that 21 goals in four games that's more than five goals per game and when you're getting that kind of offensive production while continuing to play carolina's aggressive defensive system you're going to be hard to beat you're going to be totally tough to beat and when you're getting that kind of production it's and carolina's just they're just really hard to beat game in game out um so here's the big picture five game points beat five game point streak four five goals nine points four consecutive carolina victories sebastian aho is doing exactly what you want your number one center to do he's helping you set the tone he's absolutely helping you set the tone now can he maintain this pace can he maintain the pace i think he can i absolutely positively think he can and so should you because i said so sebastian aho has scored five goals this season but according to the x expected goal data we're using the quality and quantity of his shot would typically produce about 2.1 goals. That means Aho has scored almost three more goals than expected. Now what does that actually mean? Expected goals measure the likelihood that a shot will become a goal based on factors such as shot location and other characteristics. It doesn't mean Aho got lucky and it doesn't mean his goals somehow count less. What it tells us is that Aho is finishing his opportunities at an exceptional rate he's converting chances that an average NHL shooter wouldn't necessarily convert and that's something elite offensive players are capable of doing but here's the important distinction there's a difference between a player getting lucky for a couple of games and a talented offensive player taking advantage of his opportunities Aho has demonstrated throughout his career that he's an excellent finisher he's an he's intelligent with the puck he understands how to find space and he knows how to attack dangerous areas of the ice those skills don't disappear they don't even if his shooting percentage eventually comes down the process behind his offense can remain strong and we're not the only ones noticing something different about Aho's game Seth Jarvis recently offered an interesting observation about why Aho has been effective I love Jarvis quotes they're like one of my favorite things that and Branda More quotes Rod quotes are the best too Jarvis said he's just been so direct with the puck that's a simple quote but i think it's an incredibly important one as well because sometimes the biggest difference in a player's production isn't that he's suddenly becoming more talented it's that he's making quicker decisions he's attacking more directly he's not overthinking his opportunities and when a player with Aho's skill level starts playing that way good things are going to happen i'm going to tell you at the end of this video i'm going to tell you in a minute or two why i think Aho is so dynamic this season and there's one reason for it anyway remember Aho is coming off an 80 point season 27 goals 53 assists he was already one of the league's most productive centers so this isn't some unexpected breakout from a player who's never produced before this is an established offensive star finding another level early in the season you know it's just he's just he's just out of control right now he's just that there's just no other way to put it and i think there's about three reasons behind it i know there's one major reason behind it first he's being more direct with the puck second he's finishing his opportunities at an exceptional rate and third he's staying consistently involved in carolina's offense now will he continue to score at that pace probably not he's probably gonna be slowing down but he really doesn't need to because if Aho continues generating opportunities and making smarter offensive decisions, the Hurricanes are going to benefit whether he's scoring every night or setting up his teammates or not. This is a very, very, very scary thing for the NHL. Now, here's why I think the story is bigger than Sebastian Aho because while Aho is putting together an impressive start, Logan Stankoven is making a statement of his own, and that's, well, that's exactly what Carolina needs at this point. Stankoven has four goals and five points throughout Carolina's first six games. And, of course, three of those goals came at an incredible performance against the Vancouver Canucks. His first career NHL hat trick and a performance that showed everybody just how much offensive upside this young player promises possesses but here's the thing carolina doesn't need Stankoven to replace Sebastian Aho they need him to complement Sebastian Aho think about what that means for opposing teams if you're preparing to play the Hurricanes Sebastian Aho who is obviously one of the biggest stars on the ice because you can't go without him you need to account for him you need to defend against the lane you need to prevent him from creating dangerous opportunities but now you got Logan Stankoven emerging as another legitimate offensive threat and suddenly Carolina becomes much more difficult to defend you know to match up against because you don't you can't devote all of your defensive attention on just one player you really can't so you know without Jarvis it really kind of hurts it really really really kind of hurts but they're making up for it and when Jarvis gets back this is going to be a very very scary offense now let's compare the two players Sebastian and Aho five goals nine points Logan Stankoven four goals five points and the Hurricanes four consecutive victories now I'm not saying Aho and Stankoven are competing against each other quite the opposite i think their success is connected to Carolina becoming a more balanced offensive team Aho is the established star he is the face of the franchise we all know that Stankoven is the emerging offensive weapon and when both are producing the Hurricanes become much much more difficult to play against and a much more dangerous opponent i can't wait to see what they do coming up tonight reminder we're over on the socials on X at Canes Digest click follow for more there we're running over a bit but that's fine tonight the Hurricanes are playing the Flyers in Philly Philly has uh no wins so far uh that's very very interesting um they do have that one point after taking Carolina into overtime their first time around so let's hope uh we don't have to do that another big win would be great watch Aho I'm expecting him to do big things and why is he playing at this level because he's relaxed he looks for the first time in his career since becoming the star in Raleigh that he is relaxed and why is he more relaxed because he has his Stanley Cup ring finally if anything else comes down i'll be the first to let you know until then for Hurricanes Digest I'm Jeff Testinero Let's go, Canes.