The Checkers will begin the AHL franchise’s fifth season by squaring off against the Milwaukee Admirals.

For the fifth time in as many years, Charlotte opens their season on the road, with the first of four regular-season matchups against Milwaukee. Friday’s tilt marks the beginning of the Checkers’ first three-in-three, one of only two on the season.

Charlotte is looking to record its third straight opening night victory after dropping the first two in the AHL franchise’s history.

Charlotte

After splitting a pair of preseason games with the Norfolk Admirals (a 3-2 overtime win at Extreme Ice Center and a 4-1 loss on the road), the Checkers will begin the 2014-15 regular season with hopes of returning to the playoffs after falling just six points shy of the cut last season, armed with plenty of new blood on the roster.

There was quite a lot of turnover during this offseason, with six of the top 10 scorers from a year ago not on the roster. Reigning AHL goals leader Zach Boychuk returns and will most likely carry the bulk of the Checkers’ offense, but the team will also look for contributions from a young group of forwards including rookies Brock McGinn, an OHL standout, and Phil Di Guiseppe, who has shown some offensive spark during the preseason.  There is also Greg Nemisz, aiming to build on his 11 points in 14 games last season, and Alex Aleardi, who shined in the ECHL last season, putting up a point per game in 23 appearances in the ECHL. The addition of longtime Hurricane Chad LaRose should also benefit the team offensively, as LaRose was a consistent producer at the NHL level.

Defensively, the Checkers look much more familiar than they do up front, returning four defensemen from a season ago. Michal Jordan and Rasmus Rissanen will once again anchor the blue line, while Keegan Lowe and Danny Biega come in with another year of experience under their belts. Rookies Trevor Carrick and Dennis Robertson will both be counted on to step in and make an impact right away as well.

One of the team’s biggest moves this off-season was the acquisition of free agent goalie Drew MacIntyre. MacIntyre, who led the Toronto Marlies to within one game of last seasons’ Calder Cup final, is an 11-year AHL veteran, and will bring that experience to the Checkers crease. Alongside MacIntyre is the Checkers’ all-time wins leader, John Muse, who will begin the season at the AHL level for the first time after beginning each of his last three seasons in the ECHL.

Milwaukee

Last season, the Admirals finished as the sixth seed in the Western Conference before being ousted in the first round by the Toronto Marlies. They head into this campaign without the likes of Taylor Beck, Filip Forsberg and Calle Jarnkrok, all of whom were significant contributors to last season’s success and will begin the season in Nashville. But Milwaukee has a formidable group of young forwards returning in Austin Watson, Colton Sissons and Miikka Salomaki, the three leading goal scorers from a season ago. In addition to those players, they will boast Pontus Aberg and Brendon Leipsic, both of whom possess immense offensive firepower.

On defense, Anthony Bitetto, who is coming off a 36-point year, returns to lead a young defensive corps featuring prospects Jonathan-Ismael Diaby and Mikko Vainonen. In goal, the Admirals are likely to turn to the duo of Magnus Helberg and Marek Mazanec, who posted save percentages of .911 and .914 last season, respectively.        
  
Scouting a team at the beginning of the season can be a difficult task, but based on his past experience, Daniels has an idea of what to expect from Milwaukee.

“They’re a hard team to play against, they’re big and they’re strong,” said Daniels. “You have to wonder if they’ll change their system a little bit with the new coach up in Nashville, but from a body standpoint, they can grind it out and get in on the forecheck.”

That new coach in Nashville that Daniels referred to is Peter Laviolette, who was the head coach of the Hurricanes 2005-06 Stanley Cup winning team that featured Daniels as an assistant coach. Whether that familiarity is beneficial remains to be seen, but what Daniels does know is that his team will have to come out strong against the Admirals.

“It’s a tough building to play in and we’ve got to be ready to play.”

Checkers Notes

Against Milwaukee

The Checkers have an all-time record of 9-10-1 against Milwaukee dating back to the 2011-12 season when Charlotte joined the Western Conference. Last season, the two teams squared off four times, splitting the season series. Of the 20 games played all-time between the two clubs, 12 have been decided by two or more goals.  

Getting Started

The Checkers begin their season on the road for the fifth time in as many years. After dropping its openers in the team’s first two seasons, Charlotte has won its last two, including last season’s 3-2 victory over Oklahoma City.

Moving On

Six of the top 10 scorers from last season’s squad are no longer on the Checkers’ roster. Chris Terry and Victor Rask made the Hurricanes out of training camp, Aaron Palushaj and Mark Flood signed with Medvescak Zagreb of the KHL, Philippe Cornet signed with the Hershey Bears and longtime captain Brett Sutter signed with the Minnesota Wild. That group combined for 107 of the 230 total goals scored by the Checkers last season.

Fresh Faces

This season's team will feature many new names, with 10 of the 23 players making their first full time appearance on the Checkers' roster. That list includes five rookies (three out of juniors and two out of college) and five offseason signings. Should they play, Trevor Carrick and Carter Sandlak would be making their professional debuts. Of the returning players, just four suited up for Charlotte during the inaugural 2010-11 season (Zach Boychuk, Michal Jordan, Rasmus Rissanen, Jared Staal).

New Leadership

The Checkers named defenseman Michal Jordan as the third team captain in team history on Thursday. Jordan, who ranks second in team history with 267 games played as a Checker, takes over for Brett Sutter, who signed with the Minnesota Wild after holding the role from 2011-14. Ben Holmstrom and Greg Nemisz will serve as new alternate captains, taking over for Nicolas Blanchard (St. John's) and Chris Terry (Carolina).

Been So Long

After signing with the Checkers in the offseason, Chad LaRose will suit up for an AHL contest for the first time since December 3, 2005, with the Lowell Lock Monsters. The veteran of 508 career NHL games, all with the Hurricanes, is attempting a comeback after not playing professional hockey last season. The Stanley Cup champion has 83 points in 125 career games at the AHL level.

Three in Threes

Charlotte opens the season with a three-in-three, with the first game in Milwaukee and the other two in Chicago. With only two instances, this is the lowest number of three-in-threes that the AHL franchise has seen in a season, down from as many as eight in 2011-12. The Checkers hold an all-time record of 46-29-9 in three-in-threes, including a 33-22-7 record on the road.

Milestones

• Trevor Carrick and Carter Sandlak set for AHL/professional debuts
• Alex Aleardi, Trevor Carrick, Kyle Hagel, Ben Holmstrom, Chad LaRose, Drew MacIntyre and Carter Sandlak set for Checkers debuts
• Ben Holmstrom is seven shy of 400 AHL penalty minutes
• Justin Shugg is three shy of 150 AHL games played
• Zach Boychuk is four shy of 300 AHL games played
• Brody Sutter is four shy of 100 AHL games played

Transactions

Incoming

• Oct. 6 - (LW) Zach Boychuk assigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)
• Oct. 6 - (RW) Chad LaRose assigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• Oct. 6 - (C) Patrick Brown recalled to Carolina (NHL) from Charlotte
• Oct. 6 - (G) Daniel Altshuller assigned to Florida (ECHL) from Charlotte