Hey Checkers fans - Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great holiday season and have kicked off 2023 in exciting fashion. On the ice, well it’s been a frenzied start to the new year for the Charlotte Checkers. We’ve had plenty of unique story lines, stats, and some roster moves.
Let’s take a couple quick laps and head In The Trapezoid with some of my thoughts on the first two weeks of 2023.
Hallånder’s Health
Anyone who was watching or listening to the game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on January 6 never expected the game to end the way it did. With 1:12 left to go in the third period, a collision caused Penguins forward Filip Hallånder to buckle and fall to the ice. Immediately play was stopped as trainers for both teams and local EMS rushed to Hallånder’s aid. Ultimately, the fifth-year pro was stretchered off the ice and taken to a local hospital. After the incident, it was obvious that neither team was comfortable with the event, and American Hockey League officials, as well as both teams, moved to end the game with the final minute-plus still remaining on the clock and the Checkers out in front 4-2.It was a hard scene to watch unfold, especially with all the attention on players’ health following the scary moment in the NFL with Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills. To see it happen in a Checkers game truly hit home. Thankfully, Hallånder was evaluated and released from a Pennsylvania hospital in the early morning hours of Saturday. The Checkers family continues to send well wishes to Hallånder on his recovery.
Riley Nash The All Star
In his 13-year career, Riley Nash has seen all kinds of accolades come his way. From the early days of his hockey playing life where he was named the BCHL Rookie of the Year to being a ECAC Champion in college. For the first time in his 200+ games played in the American Hockey League, Riley Nash is an All-Star. Selected as the Charlotte Checkers’ lone representative for the mid-season event held in Laval, QC, next month, Nash was an obvious choice. At the time of this writing, Nash leads the team in goals, assists, points, and several other offensive categories. He’s stepped up as the leader in the locker room in the absence of Zac Dalpe. Nash absolutely deserves the honor and we look forward to seeing him represent the Charlotte Checkers in Canada.8,500!
What a turnout for Hockey 101 this past Tuesday. We are so grateful to have welcomed fans experiencing their first Checkers game, longtime season ticket holders and everyone in between. It was a bummer that the Checkers couldn’t get the victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack, but if there’s one thing to take away from that game it’s how incredible the Charlotte community is in support of this team. It was the largest crowd I’ve ever called a game in front of, and the energy was through the roof. Thank you fans! You’re the best in the league and this is another feather in the cap.Deni And Hepo
Grigori Denisenko and Aleksi Heponiemi have been the driving force behind the Charlotte Checkers offense lately. Thanks to a couple of huge games for Denisenko, the Russian-born forward is averaging a point per game in his last seven. Heponiemi is right there with him, racking up nine points in his last nine games played. This is a pair of guys who have been in this system for a few years now, are NHL prospects and are coming into their own this season. With the absence of some players called up to the NHL and others injured, it’s really fallen on the shoulders of Denisenko, Heponiemi and a couple of others to shoulder the offensive workload - and they’ve certainly stood out in the last few weeks.Lack Of Levtchi
One of the hardest things to do for players coming over from Europe is adjusting their game to the North American style, something I think we’re seeing with Anton Levtchi, who hasn’t registered a goal since Nov. 18. Call it growing pains, because in reality, that’s what it is. This is a temporary bump in the road and I expect to see him lighting the lamp regularly very soon.Penguins Parity
Even though the Checkers and Pens squared off just under a week ago, things have shifted a great deal in the AHL landscape making this upcoming series for the two teams a crucial mid-year matchup. Since that game on January 6, the Checkers have won one and lost two, earning only two standings points out of a possible six. On the other hand, the Penguins have won both of their games. They managed to knock off Hartford and Hershey, both in overtime. That pulls the two teams even in standings points with 39, tied for third place in the Atlantic Division. A closer look at the two squads shows us a couple other similarities between the two teams including nearly identical power-play percentages (18.3% for Charlotte, 18.4% for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) and similar goals for (97 for Charlotte, 98 for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton).It’s going to be a tightly contested series with so much hanging on the line, and with the Checkers having dropped their last two while the Pens have won their last couple, I have no doubts that Charlotte will come out ready to go and retain third place in the division.
At The Midseason Mark
Saturday’s game is the Checkers 36th on the season, marking the official halfway point of the year. As we experienced first hand last season, there are a lot of changes that will happen between now and the postseason. In 2021-22, the Checkers got hot right around this time and didn’t slow down, barreling over teams en route to their Atlantic Division Championship. We saw the exact opposite happen with the Wolf Pack, who sat in first place during the early days of February only to fall out of a playoff position and miss the postseason. It’s times like these where I like to stop and remind myself that everything I think I know, I don’t know anything! Crazy things are always happening and the best thing any team can do is continue to take the schedule one game at a time. So the two most recent losses for the Checkers, forget about them. The fact that they’re 6-4-0-0 in their last 10 games? Forget about it. The fact that they’re missing key players due to injury or call-up? You guessed it. Forget about it. There is so much season left and the fun is only about to begin.Nineteen More
That’s how many home games the Checkers have during the regular season at Bojangles Coliseum. Each and every one has something unique to experience and we’d love to have you join us for some, if not all, of those contests. So many fun promotional nights are on the way including Hockey is For Everyone, North Carolina Night, Stick it to Cancer, Military Appreciation, and so much more.There’s some varying start times ahead, with a few 4 p.m. puck drops coming during upcoming weekends, so the Checkers are even more accessible than ever! Head to charlottecheckers.com to check out the promo schedule, explore our mini-plans and flex packs, and c’mon out to the biscuit! I can’t wait to see you and if you see me, say hi! Let’s make a memorable push for the postseason.
