The Carolina Hurricanes lost 6-4 to the Nashville Predators in their fourth preseason game of the year on Wednesday night at the Lenovo Center.

While Carolina built mostly on prospects, Nashville brought the big guns to town, and it showed on the ice.

The biggest story of the night, however, was the fact that the Hurricanes raised nearly $300,000 for Hurricane Helene relief efforts.

After the game, Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour, along with Felix Unger Sorum, Bradly Nadeau and Brendan Lemieux spoke to the media. Here’s what they had to say:

Related: Hurricanes raise nearly $300,000 for Hurricane Helene relief efforts in 6-4 loss to Predators

Rod Brind’Amour

About the money collected: Obviously that’s the most important thing coming out tonight. I think if everyone comes together, anything can help. What’s going on down there… it’s just fun. They’re dealing with real problems, so anything we can do to help is great.

Among the standouts: I think overall it was a difficult start for the group. But you still saw a lot of resilience in some guys. Could have gone the other way. We fought hard all night, but were clearly outmatched. I think we persevered and you take the little positive aspects with you. There were a few guys that definitely held up a lot better than others and performed well.

About the insights from the game: I don’t have to get involved in it. I have to watch the game again. There was one team that was clearly better than the others, so it’s hard to really get a good feel for it. But we did some good things and I think we ended up winning second and third overall. So take with you the little positive aspects that we didn’t give up. It could have easily gone the other way and I have to give Yaniv (Perets) credit for that. A couple of tough goals early in the game is not the way you want to start the game, but he fought back and made some nice saves as the game went on.

Regarding the penalty shootout: Yes, that is positive. You didn’t score on the power play, right? You probably looked that way, but I appreciate you bringing that up. That’s good. They were what, 0 for 5? 0 against 4? That is definitely positive.

On Charles-Alexis Leagult’s fight: Listen, this kid, ever since he showed up here, he’s been trying to prove himself and show that he belongs and that he’s doing a good job.

About Felix Unger Sorum: He is fearless. He’s just a kid and he’s learning a new position and so on. He’s right here, right now, and I think there’s still a lot of room for growth as he gets naturally stronger and understands the game a little bit, because he still asks a lot of questions and he should. We are thrilled with him.

Regarding his willingness to take part in shipboard battles: He is competitive. I don’t know how many board fights he wins out there against those guys, but it’s not for lack of effort. Like I said, once he gets a little more strength and understands the game a little better, he’ll be a really good player.

If it is difficult to judge the game in a mismatch like the one it was: Nope. Some of the goals we scored were aimed squarely at getting it exactly how we needed it, and some of their goals weren’t exactly that. A couple of turnovers in the neutral zone when we had full possession of the puck, and when you play against a real NHL team you just get paid for it, and that’s basically what happened in the first period. Take a few of these off the board and the game might be a little different. I don’t think the outcome would have been much different, but it would have looked a little different.

On his message to the boys after the first third: You just have to start over. We’re not making this up. So let’s just try to win the next period. We drew the next shift and then I think we won the third. So it was just a matter of focusing on the next shift and trying to do the best you can. Like I said, considering we got smoked in the first half, we regrouped pretty well.

Felix Unger Sorum

About his goal: Of course it was fun to score a goal. It was nice to score the first goal there, but we lost, so that’s what it is.

How he thinks the transition to the middle went: I just try to learn as much as I can. It’s new to me but I’m just trying to make the best of it and just take tips from everyone and everything. It’s been fun so far.

On playing against what is essentially a real NHL team: It was really fun. I was really excited before the game. It was really cool. It was fun.

How he thinks the team performed: It was a tough first period, but we won the second and third periods, so that was good. I thought we fought well out there, but we lost like that…

On whether he felt he learned something playing against an experienced NHL team: I actually don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it yet. I just got off the ice, but of course you’re constantly learning on the ice, especially now that I’m new at center. So I just try to learn every day, watch a lot of players and see how they do their game and try to take tips.

On how he feels he came along at the face-off point: I don’t know if I was good, but I practiced after training. It’s something really new for me. I haven’t done it much since I was 13 or 14, so I try to get a lot of tips from a lot of players here. I work on it every day.

How he thinks the camp went: It was fine. As I said, it’s a new role for me and I’m trying to learn every day. I just go out there and play my game, but still try to act mature and make the right decisions. Don’t be the last to cheat and stuff like that.

Among the biggest adjustments: It’s a lot of board game. Compared to Sweden there is a lot of fighting on the boards, so this is really new for me. Lots of dump-ins and rims. That’s what I’m trying to learn.

Bradly Nadeau

About the game: I think it was a tough fight. Obviously they had most of their lineup and we had a lot of younger players, but I think we fought hard in the last two periods of the game and I think we played more like we know how to play. We didn’t win the game but I think there are a lot of positives.

About meeting some well-known players: We obviously played against players that you watch growing up and I think it’s fun to do that, but of course you’re playing against them so you have to play hard. You can’t be friends with them on the ice.

How the training camp went: I think it was pretty good just getting out there. Every player just worked hard, played a few games and tried to show what they could do and I think it was pretty good.

How he felt about his performance: I think I gave 100% every time I was on and off the ice. Work hard. Obviously, sometimes setbacks happen and sometimes they don’t. If you do your best, you can’t complain afterwards, no matter what the results are. We’ll see what happens after camp.

For the biggest eye opener: Obviously they know where to go. If you make a mistake, it will probably end up in the net. So when you’re out there, all the little details are important and make sure you stay with your man and don’t let him play.

Brendan Lemieux

On the effects of Hurricane Helene: My mother is from Vilas, just outside of Boone, and our family is from there. My grandfather and grandmother are buried there and we feel for all the people of Vilas and the surrounding areas. Western Carolina just got hit so hard. Honestly, I just don’t think there’s been enough attention given to the issue and it’s sad because I was just talking to a friend on the phone today and they were talking about how people are still missing and there are still hundreds of missing people , who are presumed dead And you hardly hear about it, and it’s overwhelming to me that something like this can happen in our country, and of course I understand how remote and how difficult it is for people to help, but it’s scary and something we can all do Come together, no matter what side of the aisle you are on, and commit to supporting these people who desperately need help. That’s why I’m looking forward to my first chance to get out there and help. I prayed for these people. My family was very lucky to be safe, but the videos we saw from our own porch alone are frightening. I have never seen anything like this near a hurricane with flooding of this magnitude. It’s very scary.

About the game: It was a great evening for many of the boys. It was a big challenge for these guys to play against an experienced team, but it’s exactly what they need. It was good for me too. I enjoyed playing with these guys and they were able to show off a lot of their skills. The future is bright here in Raleigh. There are a lot of great players coming and I was happy to be part of the game. It was fun and I’m looking forward to building on it. For me, there were a few things that I need to clean up, and for our group, I think there are still some things that we need to clean up, but we’re excited to get it going here.

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