During the season, Checkers broadcaster TJ Chillot checks in with a weekly blog highlighting everything Checkers hockey, presented by Charlotte Eye Ear Nose & Throat Associates!
This past week, the AHL offices released the first official Calder Cup Playoff Primer. What does that signal? We are officially in the home stretch of the regular season with the postseason closer than you might think! For the Charlotte Checkers, they’re sitting in third place in the Atlantic Division and looking to make a run for one of the top two seeds and a first-round bye. For this week’s edition of In The Trapezoid with TJ, I’m going to take a look at the first leg of their six-game road trip, preview the postseason, and look ahead to the upcoming regular season games at Bojangles Coliseum.
Lucas The Leader
Lucas Carlsson has 31 points on the season and is only two points away from tying his career high in pro hockey. He set his high-water mark with 33 points during his rookie year with Rockford in 2018-19. More recently, Carlsson has five goals in his last five games, and has been playing some of the best hockey of his career. With his most recent goal, a coast-to-coast snapper against Springfield on Sunday, Carlsson has set the record for most goals in a single-season by a Checkers defensemen with 14. Need more? Carlsson also leads all defensemen in the entire league in goals with his 14. It’s no surprise with his play as of late that he’s been named the Independence Fund Defenseman of the Month (again) logging three goals and six assists in 11 games during the month of February.
On The Decline
The Checkers penalty kill has been sliding as of late and is certainly an area of improvement going down the home stretch. Charlotte has given up at least one power-play goal in their last five games, and seven total during that time. In the 26 total power plays over that stretch, Checkers opponents netted seven goals, meaning that in those games Charlotte’s PK conversion rate is 73.1%. A small sample size for sure, but something to monitor as the team prepares for the postseason. With the limited selection of players, and we’ll get to roster shuffles in a later bullet-point, it’s going to come down to faceoff wins, intelligent clears, and trusting the systems to get back on the right track. The upcoming six-game stretch will be a test as the Checkers play the AHL’s fourth-ranked power-play team in Springfield, and the fifth-ranked power-play Bridgeport three times.
ROSTER SHAKE UP
With the NHL deadline drawing closer, many AHL teams are dealing with roster shakeups as players have been included in NHL trades, called up to fill holes due to those trades, and other scenarios. For the Checkers, the roster shakeup has been a little bit more traditional. The Checkers are dealing with NHL callups to Zac Dalpe, Alex Lyon, and Grigori Denisenko. Also, Givani Smith remains with the Florida Panthers while Chris Tierney, who was placed on waivers with the intention of sending him back to the AHL and the Checkers, has been claimed off waivers by the Montreal Canadiens. So with all that, Charlotte and Sr. VP of Hockey Operations Derek Wilkinson has been very busy trying to fill corresponding holes on the Checkers roster. In response to the recent moves, the Checkers have added Oliver Chau and Xavier Cormier from the ECHL’s Florida Everblades, while also signing NHL and AHL veteran Cory Conacher to a Professional Tryout Contract.
J-EFFING Berube
Can we talk about how well the veteran netminder has performed in spot starts throughout the season? It’s not an easy task to be a spot starter in the American Hockey League, tasked with coming in sparingly, sometimes months apart. J-F Berube has done it with incredible poise all season long for the Charlotte Checkers. With Alex Lyon currently in the NHL, Berube is part of the Checkers everyday rotation alongside Mack Guzda. Since Jan. 11, Berube has a team-best .928 save percentage while going 3-1-0-1 in six games played. I have to tip my cap to Data Scientist Nick Niedzielski for that stat nugget. Meanwhile, we know that Berube is a tried and true veteran, that there’s not much that he hasn’t seen in his career and therefore, not much is going to ruffle his feathers. The Checkers will need that composure and leadership down the stretch, not only to serve as a mentor to the rookie Guzda, but to also help this team compete and win important games. I mean just look at this save!
MAYHEW MAYHEM
Last season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Gerry Mayhew registered 16 pts in 24 games played. The season before that, 18 points in 19 games played with the Iowa Wild. The season before that, he was named AHL MVP with 61 pts in 49 games. To say that Mayhew has found a resurgence in his career after relocating to Charlotte is no understatement. The Michigan-born forward has 17 goals and 13 assists through 51 games this season for the Checkers. With 10-points in the month of February, propelled by the team’s only hat trick thus far, Mayhew has stepped up as the offensive leader and is helping showcase the Checkers’ depth.
HEPO'S HELPERS
Riley Nash had been the team’s leader in assists for most of the season until Aleksi Heponiemi came to take over the top spot. The Finnish forward has 25 helpers this year, including nine in the month of February alone. Heponiemi is on pace to top his offensive numbers from a year ago where he finished with nine goals and 30 assists for 39 points. If he continues at his current pace, Heponiemi would finish the year with 13 goals and 36 assists for 49 points.
THE WEEKEND THAT WAS
The Checkers stood tall this past weekend as they embarked on their first of two straight three-in-three weekends on the road. Making these back-to-back-to-back games even harder, the Checkers aren’t playing the same opponent in consecutive nights. Last weekend, it was Providence on Friday, Bridgeport on Saturday, and Springfield on Sunday. Charlotte battled out a grueling comeback game against the Bruins, ultimately tying the game late in the third period thanks to Matt Kiersted and forcing overtime. Though they lost in the 3-on-3 period, they managed to earn a point against the Atlantic Division’s top team. The following night they imposed their will against the Bridgeport Islanders winning 5-2. On Sunday, it wasn’t the result they were hoping for when they fell behind Springfield early and found themselves trailing after one period of play, 4-1. Even still, three out of a possible six points on a three-in-three against divisional opponents with travel involved after every game? That’s a success in my book.
THE WEEKEND THAT WILL BE
And now the Checkers get the opportunity to do it all over again! This time, the Checkers will start in Utica on Friday night to wrap up their season series with the Comets. Then it’s a rematch with the Springfield Thunderbirds on Saturday, a chance for the Checkers to earn some points against the team directly behind them in the standings. To wrap it all up, Charlotte meets Hartford in a 3 p.m. matinee. Utica and Hartford are two teams that will look wildly different from the last time the Checkers saw them, mainly due to the NHL Trade Deadline that I mentioned above. Recently departed from the Comets are Andreas Johnsson and Nikita Okhotiuk, both of whom have been traded, and Utica is also currently missing Graeme Clarke who was recalled by New Jersey. Hartford, as the top affiliate of the New York Rangers, saw seemingly thousands of moves affect their roster. Gone are forwards Zach Jordan and Austin Rueschhoff, defensemen Andy Welinski and Braden Schneider, but recently added are former Lehigh Valley Phantoms Cooper Zech and Adam Clandening. What does that all mean for the Checkers? Don’t expect the same outcome in games against Utica and Hartford.
WE MISS THE BOPLEX
It’s true, these road games are hard on the soul. We miss the Boplex! The good news is, now that the calendar has flipped over to March, we’re that much closer to games at Bojangles Coliseum! The Checkers are back on March 8, 10, and 11 all against the Bridgeport Islanders as part of a pivotal divisional series. On March 8, it’s another Winning Wednesday/College Night but with some added flair as we honor International Women’s Day. Select members of the Checkers front office, AHL office, and referee Elizabeth Mantha will be part of a pregame panel talking about their respective roles in the world of hockey, business, and beyond. On March 10, it’s Superhero Night presented by Piedmont Natural Gas. Ticket packages are available where fans can receive admission to the game as well as a Checkers chain necklace for only $45. Finishing out the series, we’re hosting 90s night including a jersey auction, ticket packages with a throwback Checkers sweatshirt, and a 90s cover band performing BEFORE and AFTER the contest. If you don’t have your tickets yet, make sure you head to CharlotteCheckers.com and be here for all the fun in a week!
