Burnside: Necas, Svechnikov Continue To Grow Together

RALEIGH, NC. -The two skilled European players met as though children on the first day of school at a new school.
A little awkward. A little shy.
It was the first day of development camp and Martin Necas opened the door to the room he was sharing with Andrei Svechnikov.
And, well, that was pretty much it.
Sorry, Hollywood.

"We were roommates and I was walking into the room and that's how we met each other. He opened the door and he was just there, so it was kind of funny. That's how we met," Svechnikov said with a grin.
"We were roommates, but we didn't really talk to each other then because our English wasn't great and we didn't know each other at all," Necas added during a recent conversation. "We were just trying to go on the ice and, you know, on the ice you don't have to talk as much. That was the first time I think we met."
"Since then, we've become way closer," Necas said with a smile.
It goes without saying that building a roster capable of winning a Stanley Cup is a complex thing. Imagine the inside of a watch, all whirling cogs, and wheels combining to complete its important task.
The relationships within an organization are like the inner workings of such a mechanism. The task cannot be completed unless those relationships work and mesh with the others.
Maybe it's over-simplifying things, but it's hard not to draw a line from the ascension of the Hurricanes to elite status to the kinship that has blossomed from those quiet first moments at development camp to what exists now between Svechnikov, the second overall pick in the 2018 draft, and his almost perpetual sidekick Necas, the 12th overall pick in 2017.
And, again at the risk of oversimplifying something that is far from simple, without that friendship, without the bond that has seen the two support each other in riding out significant early career challenges and setbacks, who can say what this team looks like today?
Here's a moment.
Veteran broadcast analyst Tripp Tracy recalled being at the rink in Seattle on an off day earlier this season. The rink was quiet except for a handful of players crowded around assistant coach Jeff Daniels looking at a tablet and going over plays from a recent game. The meeting and on-ice session came at the behest of Necas and Svechnikov.
Here's another.
A few years ago Svechnikov and Necas took advantage of the team's winter break to vacation together in Mexico. But they returned ahead of their teammates and began skating on their own in preparation for the second half of the season.
"My first point of admiration that jumps out the very most is the mental toughness of both guys," Tracy said.
He recalled a tough stretch for Svechnikov during his third season in the NHL that coincided with the end of his entry-level deal and looming talks on a long-term extension.
"He wasn't himself," Tracy said.
But the team believed and Svechnikov ended up signing an eight-year deal. He started the following season, 2021-22, on fire and finished with career highs in goals and points whereas sometimes younger players exhale after signing a big deal.
"It just spoke to his mental toughness and character," Tracy said.

Necas' situation was "slightly different but it's equally admirable," Tracy added.
After a difficult 2021-22 season and the end of his contract coming up, there were some candid discussions in the off-season about where or if Necas fit with the organization. But Necas signed a two-year deal that stands as one of the most important moves made by the organization since Rod Brind'Amour took over as head coach under owner Tom Dundon in the summer of 2018.
As of this writing Necas, 24, leads the team with 69 points, far and away a career-best. He is a critical part of a penalty-killing unit that is once again among the NHL's best and he leads the team in power-play points.
"He not only used the experience (of last season) to grow and to grow very sizably, but he also parked it," Tracy said.
In short, a tough shift or tough game, or tough stretch of games hasn't derailed what is a true breakout season for Necas.
"It's been much better than last year," Necas acknowledged. "I think I can still improve a lot but definitely it's been much better. Obviously, you're way happier when you're playing well and the team's playing well when things are going your way."
After signing the two-year deal that solidified the team's commitment to him, Necas returned with a new determination for the start of this season.
"I was excited about the season right away. I was excited to prove lots of people wrong," Necas said. "It gave me a chance to try to turn it around from last season and so far it's been pretty good."

To try and define what makes a friendship tick or why two people connect in the way that Svechnikov and Necas have is akin to trying to explain why colors are, or where the waves come from, or why liver tastes bad.
Some things just are.
"We're kind of the same age group, right? Kind of have similar humor," Necas said. "We always laugh. He's always making jokes. We play with each other on the ice too so we try to talk even about the game off the ice. Lots of different things. We're pretty close. It's obvious. But I can't really explain why it is."
Home or away, the two, along with the other younger players on the Hurricanes, gravitate to each other. Steak and sushi are favorites. Shopping, too, given the commitment to style both possess. There are occasional meals at each other's homes, although Svechnikov's home is currently under renovation.
"We got to know each other very well and we like to hang out with each other. Kind of the same age, he's a great guy," Svechnikov added. "I think the one thing, the best thing about him is that he's kind. He's very kind. Polite as well. He always cares about the boys."
Certainly, the ability to support one another when times have been difficult has been a big part of the evolution of their relationship.
"Oh yeah. Big time to be honest," Svechnikov said. "Whenever you don't play really well, or it really doesn't go your way, you always want to talk to someone, I feel Nech is one of those guys who I can talk to. And I would say 'Oh, my game is so bad tonight.' He would always support me. He would say all those kinds of things when you need them to stay positive. I support him as well, every time. That makes our relationship, for sure."
Before suffering his unfortunate,
season-ending ACL injury
, Svechnikov endured a long goalless drought but continued to make offensive contributions and hone his evolving two-way game.
Necas has continued to show consistency and maturity in his game that frankly seemed like it might not be possible especially after last season, when all concerned agreed that much more was expected from Necas.
No one has been happier for Necas's dramatic breakthrough season than Svechnikov.
"Yeah. It's huge. Last year it was a good season for him, but it was a hard season. This season, every shift you see he's buzzing around and he's very confident," Svechnikov said. "Whenever you're confident you know what to do on the ice, so that's most important. I'm very happy for him that he's done that and he's just got to keep going."

What impressed GM Don Waddell most in working with Necas on a new deal was that Necas wasn't looking to offload blame on others.
"What I really like is he accepted that he needs to be better. Not all players do that," Waddell said. "They blame the coach, they blame (others), but he accepted he needed to be better and you could tell when he came to training camp. He was focused not just physically, but mentally, on being the best he can. So I give a lot of credit when a player recognizes what he needs to work on and then goes out and does it and then gets rewarded for it. That's a good feeling for me watching this player. I think a lot of it is maturity. We forget how young they are. The maturity part starts to play a factor. I can't say enough good things about him. Hopefully, it continues throughout the rest of this year for us because we're going to need him for sure."
Waddell sees what everyone else sees when it comes to the relationship between the two players and agrees it has been an important part of what has propelled both players forward at a critical time for this team.
"Yeah, I would agree with that. They're both not from (the United States), they're both finding their way in North America," Waddell said. "We all rely on people, for whatever walk of life you're in, that's just the way it is. Right now these guys, they hang together, they spend a lot of time together. They're always talking. You go down in that turf room (the workout area in the locker room) when they're warming up and there are six or seven guys. Those two guys are always there talking about how they can be better and how they're going to make our team better. I think that bond is real and I think it's good for both of those guys."
Jeff Daniels, who handles the team's forward corps, has had a bird's eye view of the growth and maturity of both players.
"I think just how much they love being at the rink and love the game. Practice is practice, but after practice, they're out there fooling around working on stuff. Joking around the locker room after practice and before. Just the love for the game," Daniels said. "They hang out together, all that kind of stuff. It's nice to see them grow into almost veterans almost now. They're four, five years in the league all of a sudden. Both play with a lot of confidence and seem to be taking the next step."
While it's a shame the Hurricanes won't have Svechnikov for their Stanley Cup Playoff chase this time around, the two are expected to play a crucial part in the team's chase over the new few seasons, as the club is built to be contenders for years to come.
"The way I look at our team, we don't have an Auston Matthews. We don't have a superstar. We have guys that are top-end players so we're going to need all those top-end players to be good for us to have success as a team," Waddell said. "We need these guys to be at their best if we're going to have success not only in the regular season, but going into the playoffs. We need these guys to be at the top of their games."
Now, cue the 'Friends' theme.