Forwards
Last season, the Checkers’ anemic offense was arguably the weakest aspect of the team. This year is shaping up to be quite the opposite.Two weapons were added over the offseason in the Hurricanes’ signing of forwards Derek Ryan and T.J. Hensick. Ryan, although unproven as a pro in North America, turned in a dominant season last year in the top Swedish league, showing his scoring touch amongst elite competition. Hensick is an established scorer at this level, having finished in the top 10 in scoring in the AHL four times in the last five seasons. Those additions alone help elevate the Checkers’ scoring punch significantly from a year ago.
“These are guys that have been consistent scorers throughout their careers and there’s no reason to believe that they won’t be again this season,” said head coach Mark Morris. “We’ve got every reason to believe that these guys will help produce some offense and provide some leadership.”
While the newcomers are an exciting step in the right direction, it’s the play of the returning players that could really push the Checkers this season. Last season’s extremely young roster has had a year to grow and adjust to the pro game and will be poised to break out this season. Brock McGinn got an extended look at Hurricanes’ training camp this year, showing that the staff saw something that caught their eye. McGinn was a force in his rookie season, but struggled through some lengthy scoring droughts along the way. If he can come in this season and focus on capitalizing on those chances, he could be in for a big year. Brendan Woods and Justin Shugg each took great strides in terms of their offensive production last season, and now that they have more support around them, look for them to be equally successful this year.
Several Checkers ended the season hot and will be looking to carry that over into the beginning of this season. An injury sidelined Brody Sutter for an extended period of time early last season, but as the year progressed he found his touch and ripped off 15 points in his last 17 games, while Phil Di Giuseppe turned it on toward the end of the year and wound up ranking second among team rookies in scoring with his offensive flair really starting to bloom as the season wore on.
Stylistically, last season’s team focused on being a physical, grind it out type of team. This season, Morris is looking to create a more fluid outlook in terms of their style of play.
“I think good teams can play it any way you want to play it,” said Morris. “If it gets rugged out there, you’ve got to find ways to find a will to battle. If it’s a high-end skill game and it’s fast-paced, you’ve got to think on your feet and match blow for blow. I’d like to think that we’ll become a team that can play with grit and tenacity but also speed and have an aggressive attitude to be on the attack.”
That up-tempo speed game should help benefit the likes of Di Giuseppe and incoming rookie Sergey Tolchinsky, who each possess some high-end skill in the open ice.
All in all, the Checkers have a very deep pool of scorers on their roster, on paper at least. It’s hard to predict how things will go once the puck is dropped, but all signs point to Charlotte having a top-tier attack this season.
Defense
It’s no secret that the Hurricanes organization has really put a focus on building a deep prospect pool of defensemen, and the Checkers should be a prime example of that.The Charlotte blue line will once again be very young. Rasmus Rissanen’s four full seasons make him the resident veteran, while Danny Biega and Keegan Lowe enter their third pro seasons. But playing alongside equally young teammates has primed them to be leaders, and all three have stepped up as the foundation of the defensive corps. Aside from those three, every other defensemen on the roster is in either their first or second pro seasons.
That youth isn’t a negative, however, as those young blue liners have all impressed. Keep an eye on Trevor Carrick as he looks to progress from a historically strong rookie campaign, while rookies Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce have impressed from prospect camp on and are highly-touted as they enter their first pro seasons out of college.
While there isn’t a lot of experience among a large portion of the defensive corps, there is a strong feeling that everyone on the blue line is ready to step in and contribute.
“[Assistant coach] Geordie Kinnear works with those guys,” said Morris. “He knows the position very well and takes a lot of pride in his work. He’s done a lot of work with our guys thus far with teaching them concepts and then also doing a lot of video work to get these guys up to speed with the American Hockey League level. I’m confident that he’ll do a great job with them.”
The Checkers’ blue line could also be poised to produce offensively as well. Carrick wowed with his productivity in his first year, while Pesce and Slavin have both been praised for their ability to carry the puck and jump into the attack. Add in depth players like Jake Chelios, a former forward who prides himself on his ability as a two-way defenseman, and the Checkers’ back end could be a real threat this season.
Goaltending
Drew MacIntyre returns to the crease after turning in a strong performance a season ago. The veteran was a workhorse last year, handling the bulk of the Checkers’ slate and ranked second in the AHL in saves. Currently number nine on the league’s all-time wins list (and feasibly on track to make his way into the top five this year), MacIntyre has established himself as a top goalie at this level.Added into the fold for this season is rookie netminder Rasmus Tirronen. The native of Finland appeared in one game last season for the Checkers and earned the victory. A product of Merrimack College, the 6-foot-3 Tirronen has beaten out Anthony Peters and Daniel Altshuller to earn the number two spot in Charlotte. While MacIntyre appears to be a clear number one option, the privilege of having two strong goalies should help the team immensely.
“I saw [Tirronen] in the prospects camp and he had some real strong outings there,” said Morris. “He’s got a history of being a winner. I like what I see and hopefully he can push MacIntyre to be the best he can be. That¹s the best scenario you could ever ask for is to have two goalies who are battling for playing time with mutual respect and are pulling for one another.”
