Warren Foegele carried his Charlotte Checkers bag out of the visiting locker room and insisted he hadn’t yet earned an upgrade.Foegele needs a new bag now because he beat the odds and made the Carolina Hurricanes‘ opening night roster with an impressive preseason. Only reigning Art Ross Trophy winner Connor McDavid and last year’s rookie of the year Mathew Barzal had more preseason assists than Foegele San Jose Sharks T-Shirts Authentic , the top surprise player to make an NHL team out of training camp.“I just came to camp, just put my head down and tried to work hard and tried to make good plays,” Foegele said. “I’m a hard-working player and I think I can fit anywhere in the lineup. I think I can grind, I think I can make plays, but I think the work ethic is what I really take a lot of pride in and that’s what I try to show.”With seven points in eight preseason games — only nine players around the league had more — Foegele beat out other forwards on one-way contracts to make Carolina’s roster. He’s a Rod Brind’Amour kind of player because the coach said Foegele is always around the play and “even if he doesn’t produce points or whatever, you just feel like he wins his shifts.”Foegele was at his best against the defending Stanley Cup champion Capitals when he forced turnovers and set up a pair of goals. The late-blooming 22-year-old who went from the University of New Hampshire to the Ontario Hockey League to the American Hockey League doesn’t stand out with his skill but can do a little bit of everything.“He really can skate and also he can score some goals,” Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho said. “He’s not just a grinder. I think he can really make some plays, too.”Foegele will get that chance this season.Here are some other players who surprised by making NHL season-opening rosters:MIKHAIL VOROBYEV, FLYERSThe 6-foot-2, 194-pound Russian center didn’t just challenge for a spot with Philadelphia. General manager Ron Hextall said the 2015 fourth-round pick broke down the door and forced the organization’s hand.Vorobyev led the Flyers with seven preseason points and has stood out since Day One of training camp.“It’s what you’re looking for with your young players: Come in and make an impact San Jose Sharks Hoodies Authentic , and he did,” Hextall said. “He’s a real good two-way player. He’s not a young guy that you’re afraid to put him out there because of the defensive side of the puck.”MATHIEU JOSEPH, LIGHTNINGAn injury to forward Tyler Johnson opened up a role for Joseph on Tampa Bay’s third line and second power-play unit. Joseph’s quickness is his most noticeable attribute, and he made the Lighting in large part because he led them in preseason scoring with eight points on four goals and four assists.“Speed is probably the big thing,” coach Jon Cooper told reporters Monday. “What we really liked in the preseason: He was finishing a lot.”DILLON DUBE, FLAMESIt would have been very easy for Calgary to keep Curtis Lazar, but GM Brad Treliving knew Dube would play for the Flames someday. The 20-year-old made sure it was now.Dube had four goals in the preseason and could open the season on the third line with Derek Ryan and free agent signing James Neal, giving him an opportunity to put up plenty of points when the games count.JESPERI KOTKANIEMI, CANADIENSIt’s no surprise the top two picks from June’s draft, Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and Carolina forward Andrei Svechnikov San Jose Sharks Hats Authentic , are in the NHL right away. So maybe it shouldn’t be a shock about Kotkaniemi, but Montreal seemed to take him third as a long-range investment.Instead, the Finnish center was one of the Canadiens‘ best players in exhibition action and never looked out of place. In an organization short on big centers, Kotkaniemi is a welcome addition right away. COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two teams at or near the top of the division standings who have each gone 6-3-1 in their last 10 games meet Tuesday night when the Calgary Flames visit the Columbus Blue Jackets.The Flames (16-9-2) will be looking to extend their winning streak to three games after a 3-2 victory in Chicago over the Blackhawks on Sunday. Sean Monahan, Elias Lindholm and Derek Ryan each scored goals for Calgary.The Blue Jackets (15-9-2) were knocked out of the top spot in the Metropolitan Division after a 3-2 loss on the road Saturday night at the New York Islanders in Nassau Coliseum.Article continues below ...Returning home should benefit the Blue Jackets. They’ve 4-0-1 in the past five games at Nationwide Arena and have won three in a row. Nine of their 14 games in December will be played at home.The Blue Jackets feel fortunate to have defenseman Ryan Murray available against the Flames after he blocked an Islanders shot in the third period and left the ice Saturday night.During Monday’s practice, he showed no ill effects from what could have proved to be a serious injury.“It’s coming right down main street. You’re right there. You’re not going to move out of the way,” he told the team’s website. “You’re hoping for the best. It could have been a lot worse.“We got X-rays. Everything looked good. I thought for sure it was broken, honestly. I was pretty fortunate in the end.”Fueling the Blue Jackets’ recent success is their power play, which ranks 15th in the NHL at 20.0 percent but has converted eight of its past 28 attempts (28.5 percent).The leader of the attack in recent games is right winger Cam Atkinson Custom San Jose Sharks Jerseys , who with an assist on Saturday night established a career high with a point in 10 consecutive games. He has 10 goals and six assists during that streak, which is tied for the second longest in franchise history behind a 13-game streak by Ryan Johansen in 2014-15.Atkinson’s linemate, center Pierre-Luc Dubois, has kept pace with seven goals and eight assists in the past eight games. Nearly a third of the way through the season, Dubois has 13 goals and 25 points.Their other lineman, left winger Artemi Panarin, leads the Blue Jackets with 27 points (seven goals, 20 assists).Forward Markus Hannikainen has contributed five points in the last eight games and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has experienced success against the Flames in the past, posting a 7-2-2 record with a 1.88 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage.The Flames, who have won three of their past four games www.officialblues.com , are led by dynamic forward Johnny Gaudreau’s 31 points (10 goals, 21 assists). Sean Monahan is right behind with 29 (15 goals, 14 assists) and defenseman Mark Giordano has accumulated 21 points (three goals, 21 assists).Flames coach Bill Peters was undecided on Monday after practice whether Mike Smith (8-7-1) or David Rittich will start in goal. Smith made 22 saves in the win at Chicago and Rittich has an 8-2-1 record this season.“We’re very lucky,” Peters said, according to the team’s website. “We’ve got both goaltenders dialed in well, making big saves at key times, and it feels like the decision you make, as a group, when you put the goaltender in St. Louis Blues T-Shirts Authentic , it feels like you’re going to win the game no matter who you go with.”Peters was certain that former Blue Jackets forward Dalton Prout will be in the lineup after he was recalled from the American Hockey League. Prout has played in one game for the Flames this season.“Prouter will be in for sure,” Peters said. “He played real well when he went down to the American League and he’s come back so we want to get him in some games, get him into a rhythm. They’re a big strong team, a heavy team, a lot of o-zone grind time … he defends real well, a heavy body up front. We’ll get him in and get him going again.”Austin Czarnik also will see ice time in a return to the Calgary lineup. In 17 games, he has one goal and four points.