The Hurricanes’ assistant general manager dropped a few interesting notes.

The Carolina Hurricanes hosted their annual development camp last month with many of their recent draftees in attendance.

Following one of the on-ice sessions, Hurricanes assistant general manager Darren Yorke spoke with the media in attendance.

Here’s what he had to say:

On what stands out among the returning prospects: I think with most, you can see the natural strength progression with a lot of guys. I don’t know if I want to single anyone out in terms of how well they’ve done because in general, everyone has gotten bigger, stronger. That’s the point of this. We’ve put in programs to help them. We do a lot of the jump data and match that up with the on-ice data to provide a specific program to get them bigger, stronger, faster. So these guys have really done tremendous work. It’s a lot in the summers to get to this point and they’ve done a great job.

On Cam Abbott: He doesn’t need to learn how to be a head coach. He’s had great success in Sweden. Getting an understanding and building relationships with Rod and the players and staff to really understand what we expect of our players but at the same point, it’s very natural to how he goes about coaching. There’s a lot of similarities between Rod and Cam in not just how they take care of themselves, but how they communicate and how they build relationships and how they generally want to play hockey. So how Cam played in Rogle is very similar to what we want with our players in Carolina and what we want with our players in Chicago.

On when it became clear that Abbott was the guy the organization wanted: I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t pretty early. I didn’t have a relationship with Cam before this process, but we started writing down all the different qualities you want out of a coach and the goal for the interview process is to try and see how he’s able to hit those and it became clear very early on that he hit everything. So we’re lucky that we’re able to get Cam because I’m sure he had other options as well.

On how development camp has evolved over the years: I think the biggest thing isn’t so much how the game has evolved but what the athletes expect. We have to provide the why in why they’re doing these things and how we think it can help them long term. I think, especially now with just the culture, is providing them with as much examples in how they’re going to be able to achieve their goals.

On the importance of developing talent: It’s important to have players that you are able to draft and turn into NHL stars. I think with this camp itself, no one’s making the NHL team today and it’s communicated very clearly that this isn’t about making the NHL team, this is about getting better each and every day and understanding what they need to work on because on July 9, they have a lot of time in their summer to continue to work on these things and get prepared when training camp opens up.

On Dominik Badinka: We don’t talk really talk about rounds, it’s just that we got him on the second day. But in terms of talent, you’re talking about an incredibly mobile defenseman that is hard to get around. To close in on skaters and play fast defensively versus the rush is a huge strength of his. Get him in zone and he can stay tight. There’s no hesitation when guys turn around and cut back. He’s able to read where their routes are. Then put him with the puck and he sees his options. He has the poise to accept the forecheck and look through the progressions, so he really has the tools that are needed to be a strong defenseman in the NHL.

On protective equipment: The NHL has different rules with their CBA in terms of what NHL players are required to use. Obviously it’s recommended that they take their safety to another level in terms of what’s happened in year past. We obviously don’t want anyone getting hurt in July. That’s not what this is about. It’s about trying to get them better and get them to September and if they happen to have an accident this year, shame on us if we didn’t do whatever we could to protect them.

On Felix Unger Sorum: He is staying in North America. His commitment to Leksands is over.

On what made it the right time for Charles-Alexis Legault to turn pro: I think it’s really just the progression. I think you go back through to where he was the first time around when he could have bene drafted and then where he was once we drafted him and then stepped another year further in college and he’s just been able to adapt that game and again, similar to what we talked about with Badinka. The ability to play fast defensively, the ability to end plays off the rush and then the ability to get up in the play and get going. This is exactly what we want out of our defensemen and we felt like he’s done everything he’s needed to in college and that he’s ready for the next challenge.

On Allie LaCombe: She’s an incredibly gifted skater and is able to clearly communicate to the athletes on what they need to do. It comes with a very strong presence of again, making the corrections when they need to — because the drills aren’t easy and some of the players are going to struggle and need a bit of coaching and she has fit seamlessly in with that.

On the progress of Bradly Nadeau and Felix Unger Sorum: The jump from Penticton to the NCAA is honestly probably a bigger jump than what he’s going to do next. No disrespect to the leagues that he played in previously, but that’s a huge jump. And going from Penticton to the NCAA and showing every single asset that he’s had previously, it’s incredible and it’s a credit to him and the style that he plays with and the ability to not be afraid to continue to try and make plays. With Felix, it’s the same thing and maybe even a bigger jump going from the J20 league to the SHL and then going from the SHL to the World Championships. His steep progression is incredible, but it’s really a credit to how smart he is, how competitive he is and the other thing that I think we really have to be reminded of is just how young he is. But you say all these things and it just gets you excited because there’s so much growth that still can happen with both of them, but especially with Felix too.

On if there’s any changes with his role with the new organizational hierarchy : There’s no new pressures. That’s not changing. In terms of different responsibilities, some of this will still get fleshed out but in the mean time, I’m concentrating here on development camp and making sure we do whatever we can do to make sure these players get better.