Hurricanes’ Daniels constant as Brind’Amour’s right-hand man

RALEIGH Jeff Daniels starts each practice the same way.

The Hurricanes assistant coach comes down the tunnel from the locker room, plucks a stick of gum from a bin near the bench door and steps onto the ice.

He takes a stride toward the red line and flips the wrapper into the area between the benches.

Its a noticeable ritual for a longtime member of the Hurricanes family who is often in the background but is now on hockeys biggest stage.

Much is made of BrindAmours ties to the franchise.

Acquired in a trade by Carolina nearly 2612 years ago, BrindAmour has become synonymous with the Hurricanes and Raleigh.

He captained Carolinas lone Stanley Cup team in 2006, married the daughter of an NC State icon and has reaffirmed his legendary status over the last eight seasons by revitalizing the franchise and leading it to the Stanley Cup final.

Daniels has even longer ties to the franchise.

He was with the Whalers in 1996-97 and played two games for the Hurricanes the following year in their first season in North Carolina.

He returned to the franchise in 1999 and has been part of it since: as an assistant coach on the 06 Cup team, an AHL head coach and general manager in two cities, and a scout.

When BrindAmour was hired in 2018, one of his first moves was to bring Daniels back to the Hurricanes bench.

I was scouting the game in Charlotte, and he was down to watch it, and we talked a little bit up the stands, Daniels said.

And I think we both were on the same page on how he wanted to do things, and I completely agree with it.

I jumped at the opportunity to get back here and work with Roddy.

Like it was for BrindAmour, it was more than a job for Daniels to get the Hurricanes back to relevance.

Weve been through some good times, Daniels said.

We won a Cup, we saw the team struggle a bit.

We both call Raleigh home, so it was personal for us to get it back on track.

During BrindAmours eight seasons, all playoff berths, the one constant at his side on the bench has been Killer.

The story behind the nickname for the genial, soft-spoken Daniels he also goes by JD goes back to COVID-19.

A couple guys had it, so they had to get skated, and I think it was (Brett Pesce) and Nino (Niederreiter), Daniels said.

Great players, great people they didnt want to get skated.

So I had to skate them.

...

So I dont know if it was Pesh or Nino who started calling me Killer, and the guys just stuck with it.

Jeff Daniels played briefly with the Whalers and then the Hurricanes before becoming a fixture in the organization in 1999.

(Stan Gilliland for North State Journal) Its an ironic nickname for a coach who seems to be universally adored by the Carolina players.

I love dealing with him every day, Seth Jarvis said.

He puts up with me a lot, which is amazing.

But the work he does with the forwards, the video, the stuff you guys dont see behind the scenes, the after-practice work, hes awesome.

Svechnikov, who has worked with Daniels since being the second overall draft pick in 2018, echoed that sentiment, calling him an unbelievable person, just fun to be around.

Jarvis and Svechnikov are among several of the Hurricanes players who have benefited from working with Daniels, who BrindAmour says is responsible for molding young players into polished NHLers contributors who have helped lead the team back to a Cup final.

Hes the guy thats really brought along all these young players, BrindAmour said.

He sits with them every day, goes over everything.

Svechnikov, since hes been here eight years, every day.

Every game sitting with him and Jarvis and (Jackson) Blake.

He takes all the guys and works with him.

Its a role Daniels has embraced.

Thats the most enjoyment for me is just working with those young guys, Daniels said.

Daniels, a few weeks shy of his 58th birthday, spent seven seasons as a head coach with Carolinas AHL affiliates in Albany and Charlotte teaching younger players, but the role of an NHL assistant is often also about being a positive sounding board.

As an assistant coach, youve just got to follow up, Daniels said.

When the head coach has those conversations, whether its one on one or calls a guy out in a group setting, just follow up and just be that good cop or just that positive mindset.

Hey, it happens, over and done with.

Lets move on, and lets be great the next day.

Jordan Martinook said Daniels is always there, be it on the bench, at practice or in the film room.

I feel like him and Roddy really bounce a lot of stuff off each other, and hes just dialed in on the bench, Martinook said.

Daniels was there when BrindAmour the player lifted the Stanley Cup in 2006.

Two decades later, hes again with BrindAmour trying to do it again.

He bleeds Carolina Hurricanes because hes been here for so long, Eric Robinson said, and I think that passion shines through..

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