RALEIGH, N.C. - The season is in full swing, and the newest members of the Carolina Hurricanes are settling in nicely.
As the team wraps up a successful first road trip of the season - a two-week jaunt from Pennsylvania to the West Coast and back that saw the team win five of six games - one of those new Canes, defenseman Sean Walker, pulled back the curtain on his experience with the team so far and offered up some insight into a few of his favorite things.
How are you settling in in Raleigh?
"Good, me and my wife are feeling really comfortable here. We love the area and we're definitely getting settled. The team's made it very easy on us."
You had a whirlwind of a season last year, how nice is it to know you have the stability of being in one place for the next few seasons?
"It's good, I think that was something that was really important to me in free agency, that I wanted a long-term deal and hopefully get to put some roots down. And we love the area, love the team, love the culture here so want to be here for a long time."
Did you have a "Welcome to the NHL" moment?
"I think my first game, when I was up with the Kings, there were a lot of guys that I grew up watching. (Ilya) Kovalchuk was there, Dion Phaneuf was there, (Anze) Kopitar, (Dustin) Brown, (Drew) Doughty, all these guys. So just being able to be around those guys and play a game with them was pretty special."
Describe your defensive partner Shayne Gostisbehere in three words.
"Offensive...player...I'll just say good guy. I won't be mean."
If you could play on a defensive pairing with any NHL player, past or present, who would it be? You can say Shayne Gostisbehere.
"I would definitely say Shayne Gostisbehere, but Bobby Orr."
