The Checkers’ goaltending situation this past season didn’t exactly stick to the script.
At the start of the 2015-16 campaign, Charlotte was outfitted with the tandem of veteran Drew MacIntyre, back after a handling a record-breaking load of games the year before, and rookie Rasmus Tirronen. The ECHL duties for the Florida Everblades were to be handled by the duo of second-year prospect Daniel Altshuller and AHL-signee Anthony Peters.
But it didn’t take long for things to start shuffling.
With MacIntyre preparing to head to the Spengler Cup, Altshuller was brought up in mid-December to fill that void in the meantime. And after beating the Iowa Wild in his AHL debut on Dec. 17, Altshuller was immediately locked in. He would go on to start 11 of the next 13 games for Charlotte, logging a staggering 9-1-1 record to kick off his AHL career.
Granted, he was no slouch at the ECHL level – Altshuller joined Charlotte as the reigning Goaltender of the Month and was leading the league in goals-against average and save percentage – but the young netminder’s immediate impact was impressive nonetheless.
“I was playing a ton in the [ECHL] and then came here and played a bunch so it didn’t really change workload-wise,” said Altshuller at his exit interview. “It’s great for your confidence to be able to step in and contribute right away. I think it was just controlling the play, whether it was freeing pucks or moving them and just dictating the play.”
Altshuller helped spearhead a franchise-record point streak that had the Checkers roaring up the standings.
“There’s something about having that warrior mentality that gets you motivated to battle through it and push yourself beyond your comfort levels,” said Mark Morris, who served as head coach in 2015-16 before accepting the same position at St. Lawrence University earlier this offseason. “For [Altshuller] in particular, you could see that when things were going great, he was very, very good.”
While Altshuller was experiencing a fiery start, MacIntyre was going through his fair share of struggles. The veteran was injured in the first game of the Spengler Cup and was sidelined for the rest of the tournament. Upon returning over a month later, MacIntyre couldn’t seem to regain his footing in goal, and he would play in just eight more games with the Checkers after his return before being dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks organization at the NHL trade deadline.
Needing someone to partner with Altshuller, the Checkers turned to a familiar face, and their goaltending situation took another turn.
The Checkers reacquired John Muse, who, despite being the franchise leader in several categories, had had served as a backup in 2014-15 and had fallen to third goalie status in Texas, making it easy to assume that he would again be slotted as the number two behind Altshuller.
But after making his Checkers season debut in relief on March 4, Muse took over the crease. As the sinking Checkers saw their playoff hopes fading fast over the home stretch, the coaching staff turned the keys over to Muse, who played 17 of the final 20 games of the regular season and went 9-6-1, while Altshuller stumbled to a 0-4-1 record over his final six appearances spanning March and April.
Reflecting on the final portion of the season, Morris acknowledged the difficulty of the goalie situation for Charlotte, especially with a young prospect like Altshuller.
“That’s a delicate one for coaches and players alike,” said Morris at the team’s exit interviews in April. “This can be a brutal game at times. We had discussions back and forth about being more consistent. We’re here to develop but we’re also in the business of winning. Things that were out of his control, he needed to just soak that experience in and use that as fuel for the next time he gets his opportunity. That was the gist of our conversation this morning. There was a question as to who was going to start and who was going to sit, so you’ve got to use those as motivation and also learn from it and move on.”
Despite all the turnover and changes that the season brought with it, Altshuller is the lone piece locked in with the organization’s future. Muse and Peters (who joined the Checkers for one game this season but otherwise was in Florida) are both unrestricted free agents as their AHL contracts expire, while Tirronen’s entry-level deal is also up.
For the 21-year-old, his rookie season was a success, despite its up-and-down nature.
“I thought it was a great experience,” said Altshuller. “I learned a lot from the coaches. It’s all positive.”
In terms of learning the ins and outs of the pro game, Altshuller certainly went through a baptism by fire, going through his fair share of highs and lows.
“It’s part of the game,” he said. “There’s going to be stretches where I go on runs and there are going to be stretches where I’m not playing, so you just have to accept it and work hard in practice and focus on becoming a better goalie.”
Battling through those struggles is something the young netminder has discussed as a key area to work on moving forward.
“We talked about his mental toughness and being able to battle through the times when the puck maybe wasn’t hitting him as much as he had hoped or we had hoped as a group,” said Morris. “There were times where he struggled because he lost his structure and got a little rattled.”
Altshuller’s strong play was rewarded by being tapped for two NHL recalls during the season. Despite not playing during either stint, the call ups served a big purpose for the netminder.
“It’s a confidence boost for sure because you kind of know how you fit in the organization,” said Altshuller. “[Canes Assistant GM] Mike Vellucci told me to work on my leg strength and also catching pucks. So I have a few months to work on that stuff and hopefully be able to impress them next year. I want to use that for next year.”
While it proved to be quite the roller coaster between the pipes in Charlotte this season, the (somewhat) surprising emergence of Altshuller is a great glimpse of what the future hopefully holds for the organization at that position. With another high-end goaltending prospect, Alex Nedeljkovic, likely on his way to Charlotte soon after another standout season in junior, Altshuller now has a season to build upon over his competition. And with so much thrown his way this year, he’ll have plenty to draw from.
“He’s come a long way in a year, based on where people tell me he was at a year ago,” said Morris. “I think that as he refines the structure in his game, he’s going to find the game easier. But I think as he goes through these hard lessons, it’s only going to serve to be that experience that he needs to battle through in the future.”
