The Hurricanes made their final round of cuts Saturday, sending forwards Brock McGinn and Derek Ryan and defensemen Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce to Charlotte.
The move comes after Carolina’s final preseason game and gets the Hurricanes’ roster down to 22. Slavin, Pesce and Ryan all appeared in three of the Hurricanes’ six preseason games, while McGinn played in two. All four were healthy extras in Friday’s preseason finale against Pittsburgh.
Rookies Slavin and Pesce impressed the coaching staff enough from prospect camp on to earn long looks throughout training camp. Slavin in particular showed some promise, providing an offensive spark on the Carolina blue line in his appearances. Both are now poised to begin their pro careers in Charlotte, where they will look to emulate Trevor Carrick’s impressive rookie campaign from a year ago.
McGinn and Ryan battled for a possible shot at cracking the Hurricanes’ offensive lineup, but the additions of Kris Versteeg and Joakim Nordstrom made things pretty tight and seemed to stack the deck against them. Still, the extended look is a positive sign for the second-year player and the North American rookie, respectively.
All four will now report to Charlotte, where they will jump into the second half of training camp before the team hits the road to kick off the season in Iowa. The Checkers’ roster currently sits at 27, including the addition of the four from Carolina as well as yesterday’s assignment of Daniel Altshuller, Anthony Peters and Matt Willows to the Florida Everblades.
More cuts are expected from Checkers camp in the next few days as head coach Mark Morris looks to narrow his team down to reflect what his opening night roster will look like.
