Since rejoining the team from a prolonged stint with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades on Jan. 4, forward Alex Aleardi has scored nine points (5g, 4a) in 12 games. During that time, only team points leader Chad LaRose has scored more, which is saying something considering that Aleardi missed games as a healthy extra and most of his teammates have played four more times since his recall.
A 22-year-old who the Checkers signed to an AHL contract over the summer, Aleardi is coming off two impressive games in which he had a hand in three of the Checkers’ four total goals scored in Lake Erie (2g, 1a).
“We’re looking for offense any way we can get it,” said coach Jeff Daniels, whose team ranks 30th in the AHL with an average of 2.10 goals per game. “He was a big factor in both games and very noticeable.
Speed was indeed the key ingredient in two of the Checkers’ goals that involved Aleardi last week. On Tuesday, he used it to gain the zone and draw the attention of two Monsters’ defenders, leaving Phil Di Giuseppe open for a tap-in off the centering feed. On Thursday, his sudden burst in the neutral zone caught the Monsters flat-footed, setting the stage for an opposite-corner snipe.
Both of those dynamic efforts, the kind the Checkers have struggled to produce with regularity this season, opened the scoring in their respective games, helping the Checkers set an important early tone. Of active Checkers, only Justin Shugg (0.58) has a higher points-per-game pace than Aleardi (0.56) does this season.
Aleardi didn’t necessarily get faster during his time in the ECHL this season – speed has always been the 5-foot-9, 169-pound forward’s best attribute – but that experience seems to have given him the confidence to utilize it effectively.
“I learned how to use it as a dynamic push for you that works,” he said.
Being able to score points at a rapid rate during his time away – he totaled 19 points (8g, 11a) in 16 ECHL games this season – also helped.
“I got a lot of ice time and it’s a good team down there,” said the native of Farmington Hill, MI. “They made me a better player, definitely. Once they start going in for you, you stop gripping the stick so tight and make the plays you know you can make.”
Daniels, who has dressed Aleardi for eight consecutive games with no signs of stopping soon, said that he’s noticed a more simple game.
“I think he was fighting it at the start of the year with trying to do too much and make a big impression, and as a result his game struggled a little bit,” said Daniels. “He went down to Florida, just relaxed and got back to the player he can be.
“We knew his track record was that he could score goals and create offense with his speed,” added Daniels of Aleardi, who finished his five season junior career as a point-per-game player with Plymouth and Windsor in the OHL before going on to do the same as an ECHL rookie with Evansville last season. “Since he’s come up he’s been a real good player. “
Despite entering the season already knowing a handful of Checkers from playing with or against them during his junior days (defenseman Beau Schmitz captained Plymouth while he was there), Aleardi admits to feeling more comfortable as time has passed.
“Once you get to hang out with the guys and play a few games, it’s a lot more fun,” he said.
One of Aleardi or LaRose has recorded a point on every Charlotte goal since Jan. 30. Of course, that's only seven goals in six games, underscoring both the importance of Aleardi's breakout and the need for others to provide support.
“It’s good to have a guy that can provide that, but we need a few more guys going like him,” said Daniels.
Update: Aleardi extended his goal streak to three games with another tally on Feb. 15, tying him with LaRose for most points on the team since Jan. 4.
