A total of nine players on the roster for the expanded summer session at PNC Arena this week have already played for Charlotte, with a handful of others likely to make their debuts next season. In some ways, it’s almost as if training camp has arrived a few months early, though coach Jeff Daniels still can’t be sure which of these players he’ll end up having at his disposal.
Participants with Checkers experience range from rookies like Victor Rask, Brendan Woods, Danny Biega and Ryan Murphy, who all played just a handful of games last season, to third-year pros Justin Shugg and Rasmus Rissanen. Even though it remains unclear which players will start in the AHL, the limited amount of NHL jobs mean that, in any scenario, several of Daniels’ core players are on display this week.
Take Rask, for instance. With Riley Nash, Brett Sutter and Jeremy Welsh all candidates to make Carolina’s team, it’s not much of a stretch to say that the talented Swede, who impressed during a brief AHL stint before going back to Calgary to conclude a prolific junior career, could be Charlotte’s first-line center in a few months’ time.
“We definitely got an idea of what he can do, and there’s a good chance he would have been with us all season if not for the lockout,” said Daniels of Rask, who scored five points (1g, 4a) to go along with a plus-7 rating in 10 Checkers games last season. “If he’s with us, he’s a guy that we’ll really lean on.”
Murphy and Biega could also be key members of a defensive corps that will be much younger than last season. Murphy, the Hurricanes’ first-round pick in 2011, is one of the players to watch going into Carolina’s camp and will provide an offensive element from the blue line that neither Carolina nor Charlotte would have an abundance of in his absence.
“He’s not going to make or break the season if he makes the team (out of training camp) or not,” said Daniels. “It’s a matter of getting a first impression and getting a step up on systems stuff they’re trying to incorporate in practice throughout the week so that come September and early October he can go out and play and not overanalyze.”
For returning players, there’s the opportunity to take on more responsibility as they continue their careers. If the season were to start today, there’s a good chance that Shugg and Brody Sutter, each of whom started last season in the ECHL, would be top-six forwards.
Sutter, a 22-year-old previously projected as a depth center, may have more momentum than any player going into the new season, having ranked second on the Checkers in playoff scoring with five points (2g, 3a) in five games. Hurricanes General Manager Jim Rutherford mentioned Sutter by name as a player that made significant strides last season.
“He’s earned the chance for a bigger role,” said Daniels.
“I had a pretty decent playoffs, so I just need to build off that and keep things simple. That’s my game,” said Sutter. “I’m not a guy that’s going to toe drag and walk around a d-man. I’ve got to use my size, protect the puck, bring it to the net and make things happen.”
Another summer of conditioning should only help in that regard, with Daniels noticing improved physiques from both Sutter and Shugg, the latter of whom averaged 40 goals in each of his last two seasons of junior hockey and is as good of a bet as any to enjoy a breakout offensive season.
“A couple of guys got caught up in the lockout, but he seems like he's gotten stronger because from where he was in April to now, the difference is noticeable,” said Daniels. “He’ll challenge for a spot (in Carolina), but if he ends up with us he’s a guy that we’ll need to produce offensively.”
As those players and others continue through camp, which concludes with a final scrimmage on Saturday afternoon, they’ll be looking to impress the collection of front-office members watching closely and improve their confidence entering training camp and, subsequently, the new season. In doing so, they’ll continue a process that, for many participants, began in Charlotte.
“It was a really good experience,” said Biega of joining the Checkers at the conclusion of his college career at Harvard in March. “I was fortunate enough to meet all the guys and get to know everyone for some time before my contract officially started. I’m grateful for that opportunity because I’m much more comfortable in this camp and I’m going to be that much more comfortable going into big camp.”
