Rod Brind’Amour didn’t spend Thursday morning locking in his opening-night lineup. He spent it doing what training camps are for: sorting through options, watching bodies, and seeing which players can handle more responsibility as the Carolina Hurricanes get rolling.
After the NHL group’s 9 a.m. practice, Brind’Amour spoke with reporters and was asked about two names that matter right away in camp - goaltender Brandon Bussi and forward Eric Robinson.
Bussi is entering his second season with the Hurricanes after being claimed off waivers from the Florida Panthers just days before the start of the 2025-26 season. What followed was a huge year in net.
He finished 31-6-2 with a 2.47 goals-against average, an .895 save percentage, and two shutouts. He also begins the first season of the three-year, $5.7 million extension he signed in February.
Asked what the team wants to see from Bussi this season, Brind’Amour kept the focus on growth.
“No different than any player, we just talked about [Jackson] Blake or any younger guy that’s new to the league. You’re constantly looking for them, probably with the most upside, to get better because there’s a lot to learn still.
You’re looking for all of the little things for him as a goalie. Whatever the things he needs to get better at, Paulie [Schonfelder] is working with them.
Just keep sharpening, and hopefully it shows in the way he plays.”
That answer fits where the Hurricanes are headed in goal. Schonfelder, the team’s goaltending coach, had to juggle three goalies last season in Bussi, Pyotr Kochetkov, and Frederik Andersen. This year, the workload appears simpler, with Bussi and Kochetkov looking like the tandem heading into the season.
Bussi, for his part, will likely just keep taking the same approach day by day and wait for his opportunities. The bigger question is whether he can show last season was no one-off and push himself into hardware conversations this year.
Robinson is another player whose status has already become relevant in camp. Back at the end of June, the Hurricanes said he would miss six-to-eight weeks after lower-body surgery, though there was still a chance he could be ready for the start of training camp. On Thursday morning, he was out there.
That matters because Seth Jarvis is also working back from surgery and was given a four-to-six-month timeline for his return. With Jarvis unavailable, Carolina has an opening on the wing, and Robinson has gotten a look with Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov through the first two days of camp.
Brind’Amour cautioned against reading too much into the early line combinations, but he also made it clear Robinson has earned this chance.
“I wouldn’t read into the line, and we know Jarvis can’t take the brunt of the practice. We’re just filling spots.
But if Robbie happens to be there, we know what he can do; he can move up and down the lineup. He’s got great speed; he scored a lot of big goals.
If that’s what ends up happening, maybe. I’m sure we’ll try a lot of different things if that’s how it shakes out.
He has earned the right to kind of get that first look.”
He added, “We’re not even at that point to even be considering kind of game one, of what we’re going to look like,” he concluded.
The takeaway for Carolina is pretty simple: Robinson is healthy, Bussi is being pushed to keep climbing, and camp is only just beginning. There’s plenty left to sort out, but these are exactly the kinds of early storylines the Hurricanes want to see take shape.
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Brandon Bussi Faces Carolinas Biggest Pressure Point This Season
Brandon Bussis first season in Carolina already read like a turning point. Claimed off waivers last summer, he settled in quickly, stacked up a noteworthy rookie campaign and helped the Hurricanes reach the Stanley Cup finish line, moving from backup duty in the playoffs into a much larger role by the time the Finals arrived. For a goalie who came in with little fanfare, the year was a reminder of how fast trust can grow when the results are there.
Now the conversation shifts from surprise to expectation, and that is where the pressure changes shape. Carolina is asking Bussi to carry more of the load than he has before, and the standard for a team with championship ambitions is never gentle on the netminder. The question is no longer whether he can help the Hurricanes win games, but whether he can hold up as the one they lean on most when the season starts to stretch and the spotlight gets brighter. [Read more 🡒]
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There is also a bigger-picture element here for Kochetkov, who enters the season with motivation to reestablish himself at a key position for the Hurricanes. With this being the final year of his contract, every chance he gets now carries a little more weight, and preseason is where he can start reminding Carolina what he can bring when the games begin to matter. [Read more 🡒]
Hurricanes Bubble Battle Starts Fast Against A Much Tougher First Test
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For Carolina, the eye test matters as much as the box score in these games, especially with Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Bradly Nadeau, Juha Jaaska and Juuso Valimaki among the names worth tracking. It also puts a spotlight on just how much the younger group can handle against a tougher opponent right away, with the Panthers set to provide a far more demanding first look than most preseason openers usually offer. [Read more 🡒]