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2018-19 Canes Prospect and Calder Cup Winning Charlotte Checkers Thread

Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

Canes draft picks and prospect stats through 4/7/2019. Just 2 low draft picks are still playing (unless you count Mattheos with Charlotte).
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Jesper Sellgren LHD (6th round 2018 SweHL Lulea) Playoffs 6 Games 2 Goal 2 Assists *** Lulea is down to Frölunda 0-1 in their SemiFinal Matchup (Game 2 is going on as I type this).

Ville Rasanen LHD (7th round 2017 USHL Lincoln/Chicago): ** USHL Regular season finishes up this week. Chicago will be in the playoffs which start next week
With Lincoln 8 Games 0 Goals 0 Assists Even
With Chicago 42 Games 1 Goal 4 Assists +4

Jacob Kucharski G (7th round 2018 USHL Des Moines/Omaha Hockey East Providence College Fr.): *** I'm going to call his season over. It looks like he is already at Providence College (where he didn't play any games). Seemed strange that he even played some USHL games this season as well. Anyhow, we will see how things go at Providence next season. This kid is a complete long shot...he is a big kid (6'4")
With Des Moines 1-0-0 5.00 GAA .815 Sv%
With Omaha 2-4-1 3.87 GAA .861 Sv%

**************** Players whose seasons ended in previous weeks **********
Jack Drury C (2nd round 2018 ECAC Harvard Fr.)
Luke Henman C (4th round 2018 QMJHL Blainville-Boisbriand)
Lenni Killinen RW (4th round 2018 Liiga Assat)
Brendan De Jong LHD (6th round 2017 WHL Portland)
Eetu Luostarinen C (2nd round 2017 Liiga KalPa)
Luke Martin RHD (2nd round 2017 Big 10 Michigan Jr.)
Stelio Mattheos RW (3rd round 2017 WHL Brandon) - We will watch to see if/when he plays a game with the Checkers
Matt Filipe LW (3rd round 2016 Hockey East Northeastern Jr.):
Max Zimmer LW (4th round 2016 Big 10 Wisconsin Jr.)
Lying Sack of SH%$ RHD (trade ECAC Harvard Jr.)
Luke Stevens LW (5th round 2015 ECAC Yale Jr.)
David Cotton C (6th round 2015 Hockey East Boston College Jr.)

Eetu Makiniemi G (4th round 2017 Mestis Kiekko-Vanta/Lliga Jr A. Jokerit/KHL Jokerit)
Jack LaFontaine G (3rd round 2016 BCHL Penticton)
 
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Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

OK ... recapping contract status, and correct me if I'm off on any of these:

Fox (Harvard, lying sack, RHD) ... limbo, unlikely to sign
Cotton (BC, Jr, C) ... limbo, unlikely to sign
Mattheos (WHL Brandon, RW) ... signed, training with Checkers
Drury (Harvard, Fr, C) ... unsigned, reported to be returning for Soph year


Everybody else appears to be status unknown, but Carolina is potentially losing the rights to several 2016 and 2017 picks. None of whom appear to be actual NHL prospects, so ... meh. Please update as we find out more.
 
Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

Checkers Contract and Status Update ... just for a reminder, and because I spoke to my Charlotte guy last night.

UFA after the season:
Poturalski, Brown and Renouf ... Poturalski and Brown are veteran leaders on the club, but only fringe NHL prospects at 25 and 26 years old respectively. Renouf is not a serious NHL prospect.

RFA after the season:
Nedjelkovic, Bishop, McKeown, Carrick, Wesley .... Neds is going to be tricky. He's a legit prospect but I've been told that the Canes consider the jury to still be out on his NHL readiness. Bishop had a fairly successful callup this year and is a solid grinder on both levels, but nothing more. McKeown and Carrick are solid stay at home Ds who are stuck in the organizational logjam behind the core group in Raleigh ... although Carrick can provide some point production at the AHL level. It could be tough to extend both without offering more opportunity for advancement. Wesley will likely be cut loose this summer after being demoted to the ECHL this season.

Other notables:
Aleksi Saarela is pushing 30 goals and has been a force for the Checkers all season. He made a bad impression on Brind'Amour in camp last fall and will be looking to redeem himself and make a run at a roster spot in the next camp.

Martin Necas settled in to the AHL grind eventually and is posting decent numbers with just under 50 points. He often flashes the skill level that makes him a real prospect but has found consistency to be a problem. He also struggles with the physicality of the North American game. I know Carolina REALLY wants him to bring a shot of offense to the big club next season, but there's a lot of doubt about his readiness.

Morgan Geekie has really impressed in his first pro season. He's just under 50 points but plays a polished two way game and is perceived to have a ton of offensive upside. Others who will come to fall camp hoping to move up following solid seasons ... Gauthier, Kuokkanen, and Bean. I've been told that Bean is every bit the equal of Fleury at the AHL level and that he's likely to push him HARD if there's an open roster spot on the left side in the fall. Other young guys who have impressed early in limited duty ... Spencer Smallman, Stelio Mattheos. One guy who has stalled a bit in his development ... Nic Roy. He needs to produce offense, given his skill set and he's juts not forcing the issue. It doesn't help that he was invisible in his callup this season.

Bottom line ... the Checkers clinched the best record in the AHL for good reason. They're absolutely loaded with quality all over the roster. Carolina will be in good shape in the fall with several players being legit candidates to make the NHL roster depending on open spots. Sadly, if there's any real weakness in this group it's at Center (at least in terms of playmaking) and that's where the big club needs help the most.
 
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Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

On Saarela, I don't have any sort of insider telling me this but I suspect that once a guy like that gets on the wrong side of things with Brindy they are effectively a goner in this organization. See Jeff Skinner and Valentin Zykov. I'm fully expecting Saarela is going to be traded this offseason.
 
Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

cmaleski2 said:
On Saarela, I don't have any sort of insider telling me this but I suspect that once a guy like that gets on the wrong side of things with Brindy they are effectively a goner in this organization. See Jeff Skinner and Valentin Zykov. I'm fully expecting Saarela is going to be traded this offseason.
Click to expand...

Yeah ... my guy is telling me that the kid really wants another shot, so we'll see. If nothing else Saarela has posted the kind of AHL season that makes him valuable trade bait. He's ready to step into SOMEBODY's NHL roster.
 
Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

It will be interesting. We were able to put Svech right in the NHL, Foegele, Manalanen, and McKegg were able to come up and play effectively for the Canes AND we lost Zykov to waivers and we still have a pile of prospects down in the AHL to consider for the NHL roster next year (or for trades).

Its a bit too early to think about next year's roster as its quite possible the Canes do make a Dman for Forward trade that ends up filling the spot we expect Ferland to vacate. I can't see any chance that Justin Williams isn't back. McKegg has one of the 13 roster spots currently, he may or may not be back. If we don't trade for an NHLer to fill Ferland's spot, I think the Canes would love one of the kids to grab one of those roster spots. Which kid? That will be an interesting battle if there is a roster spot there for the taking.
 
Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

It wouldn't shock me if they decided to swap Brown or Bishop in for McKegg ... younger, hungrier, a bit faster, more likely to help on PK ... down on the grunt line. He's a free agent after the season and let's face it - the guy is what he is at this point. He's not going to get better. He's only going to get slower. And by my reckoning, Carolina probably has two top 6 wing spots to fill. Yeah, they're likely to re-sign Williams but I'm not sure you want to ask a 38 year old to continue to play first line minutes. And Ferland's situation is what it is. Common sense dictates a D for Wing trade, but you've still got that one slot for Necas, Gauthier, Kuokkanen, Geekie and Smallman to battle it out for. And don't forget Foegele has a LOT of room to grow as an offensive player. I don't think he's far away from taking a major step up in class as his finishing catches up with the rest of his game. And out of all these mess, I still think the Canes need to upgrade at center if they're going to keep improving as a team.

Bottom line ... the Canes are getting close to HAVING to move some of that talent in Charlotte, either up the ladder here or on for other opportunities.
 
Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

Adam Fox and David Cotton will each captain their teams next year.


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Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

Checkers wrapped up the regular season in style:

Apr 11 @Cleveland W 4-3(OT) Ned with the win. Saarela, Jurco, Gauthier and Brown with the goals.
Apr 12 @Cleveland W 2-1. Tokarski with the win. Jurco and Gauthier with the goals.

Checkers will open their playoff series @Providence this Sat/Sun. They finished with a record of 51-17-8.

Andrew Poturalski finished 5th in the AHL with 70 points. He was 7th with 47 assists.
Trevor Carrick was 18th in assists with 38. He was 17th in Goals by a Dman with 9. 4th in assists by a Dman. 6th in points by a Dman with 47.

Alexsi Saarela was 12th in goals with 30

Jake Bean was 8th in goals by a Dman with 13 16th in assists by a Dman with 31 and 12th in points by a Dman with 44

Roland McKeown was 7th in the AHL in +/- with a +30.
Morgan Geekie was 15th in the AHL in +/- with a +24.

Now for the goalie....

Ned led the AHL in GAA at 2.26.
Ned led the AHL with 34 wins
Ned was 9th in the AHL in Sv% at .916
Ned played more games for more minutes than any other AHL goalie
 
Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

Canes draft picks and prospect stats through 4/14/2019.
================================================== ========

Jesper Sellgren LHD (6th round 2018 SweHL Lulea) Playoffs 9 Games 3 Goals 3 Assists *** Lulea is down to Frölunda 3-1 in their SemiFinal Matchup

Ville Rasanen LHD (7th round 2017 USHL Lincoln/Chicago): ** Chicago has a first round bye for the Clark Cup playoffs
With Lincoln 8 Games 0 Goals 0 Assists Even
With Chicago 42 Games 1 Goal 4 Assists +4

**************** Players whose seasons ended in previous weeks **********
Jack Drury C (2nd round 2018 ECAC Harvard Fr.)
Luke Henman C (4th round 2018 QMJHL Blainville-Boisbriand)
Lenni Killinen RW (4th round 2018 Liiga Assat)
Brendan De Jong LHD (6th round 2017 WHL Portland)
Eetu Luostarinen C (2nd round 2017 Liiga KalPa)
Luke Martin RHD (2nd round 2017 Big 10 Michigan Jr.)
Stelio Mattheos RW (3rd round 2017 WHL Brandon) - We will watch to see if/when he plays a game with the Checkers
Matt Filipe LW (3rd round 2016 Hockey East Northeastern Jr.):
Max Zimmer LW (4th round 2016 Big 10 Wisconsin Jr.)
Lying Sack of SH%$ RHD (trade ECAC Harvard Jr.)
Luke Stevens LW (5th round 2015 ECAC Yale Jr.)
David Cotton C (6th round 2015 Hockey East Boston College Jr.)

Jacob Kucharski G (7th round 2018 USHL Des Moines/Omaha Hockey East Providence College Fr.)
Eetu Makiniemi G (4th round 2017 Mestis Kiekko-Vanta/Lliga Jr A. Jokerit/KHL Jokerit)
Jack LaFontaine G (3rd round 2016 BCHL Penticton)
 
Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

Worth noting that the Checkers first round playoff matchup is set. They get the baby Bruins of Providence.
 
Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

Reported by @CanesProspects... backfill for the Cherkers I presume?:

Canes Prospects
@CanesProspects
·
1h
Looks like the Hurricanes have signed Jacob Pritchard, a 24-year-old forward that just finished his season with UMass. He had 16 goals and 47 points in 41 games this season.
Click to expand...


Edit: Ah, just read that this was a "starts next year" signing. Guess I was assuming it came with a "will report to Charlotte on ATO for rest of season" thing....
 
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Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

He was a 20 point player on 3 meh teams at St. Lawrence before exploding this year at ZooMass. He’s 6’, 193 lbs. Neiter Hockydb or the UMass roster indicate whether he’s a right or left shot.
 
Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

andyt said:
Adam Fox and David Cotton will each captain their teams next year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Matt Filipe will be an alternate captain at Northeastern.
 
Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

I'd be surprised if the tandem next year isn't Mrazek and Ned.

Ned also led the league in games played for a goalie. I'm guessing that's by design at least in part to see how he would hold up if he were pressed into service as a #1.
 
Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

Yeah ... I still think they'll want Ned to earn it in pre season but if they're going to get him signed to a new contract I'm pretty sure an NHL slot is going to have to be on offer. The kid has done everything asked of him and more this season.
 
Re: 2018-19 Canes Prospect and Cherkers Thread

Sending Velluci to Charlotte was what got Ned back on the right track. After he finished in juniors, Ned was floundering and was really struggling. Vellucci has made sure a lot of those prospects are coming along-- nice job. He's more effective behind the bench than in an office in Raleigh.
 
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