Carolina Hurricanes 2016-2017 Potential Breakthrough Forwards
By Jenny Lana
Carolina Hurricanes have a few potential forwards likely to make a name for themselves in the NHL.
The Carolina Hurricanes organization is so full of talent. Barring any injuries to the starting 25 man roster, we could see some of the young/veteran talent up in Raleigh. Now I know that we all have our favorites who we want to see succeed, and whilst I like all of the Charlotte Checkers, I feel that a few select few should get rewarded with call ups to the Carolina Hurricanes. I would love to see every one of those talented players up at some point this season, however based on contracts and how they play this season, it may not happen. This is based on their play this season and waiver stipulations. Some of the Checkers have one way contracts, and therefore can only play for the Charlotte Checkers this season.
I have seen a majority of the Charlotte Checkers team play in person and I can tell you what some of them can bring to the Carolina Hurricanes, should we need them. Now I can’t a test for this season as it hasn’t started as of yet, unfortunately. We all know that a select few forwards-Brody Sutter, Brendan Woods, Derek Ryan, Brock McGinn have all had some NHL experience. Given their experience no matter how little or how much they have, it won’t come as a surprise if at least one of these players make the opening night roster as a part of the 25 man roster for the Carolina Hurricanes. Unfortunately, the one thing these guys all have in common, is that they all signed one year contracts; therefore they will all be either restricted or unrestricted free agents.
Brody Sutter
Brody Sutter is of course one of the famous Sutter family. Brody had a career-best 13 goals while anchoring one of the Charlotte Checkers’ most consistent units with Brendan Woods and Patrick Brown. He appeared in a career high eight NHL games for the Carolina Hurricanes. Assuming Sutter begins the season with Charlotte, he would be the longest tenured Checker, with 211 games under his belt, as well as being the 10th leading scorer in franchise history. While he is with the Checkers, he creates a veteran presence that the rookie’s turn to. However, I think he just may crack the Carolina Hurricanes roster for more than a few games this season.
http://www.gocheckers.com/articles/1733-sutter-woods-robertson-lowe-and-murphy-all-sign-with-carolina
Youngest McGinn only current Checker with most NHL experience.
Brock McGinn
Out of all of the current Charlotte Checkers, not including those the Carolina Hurricanes just signed with free agency, the youngest McGinn has the most NHL experience. With 21 games under his belt, he has 3 goals, 1 assist, and 10 penalty minutes. While that isn’t ideal, I believe that with the chance, he will be an asset to the Carolina Hurricanes. With all of the talent the Carolina Hurricanes have this season, it’s very possible that McGinn gets overlooked.
http://gocheckers.com/players/774-brock-mcginn
Brendan Woods
Brendan Woods returns for his fourth season with Carolina. As a result of the more physical role that he took this past season, his offensive numbers dropped with only 9 goals, 11 assists and 39 penalty minutes. His previous season’s numbers were 13 goals, 17 assists, and 101 penalty minutes. Woods established himself as a key piece on the Charlotte Checkers, helping lead a strong penalty kill unit. Brendan Woods has proven that he will do anything to help his team, even if it means fighting to get the team going. I believe that given the chance, he could earn himself a spot onto the Carolina Hurricanes roster as well as a spot on the one of the penalty kill units.
Checkers Captain Derek Ryan oldest player to make NHL debut.
Derek Ryan
He is known as the Captain of the Carolina Hurricanes. However, he was the oldest player to make his NHL debut with the Carolina Hurricanes. Ryan proves he can play when he is needed, whichever team he is needed on. He played five games in six days, in four different cities. By doing this he proved that he can keep up and not show fatigue. Derek tied a franchise record with four assists in a 7-3 Carolina Hurricanes win against the Chicago Blackhawks. Ryan extended his point streak to seven games (5 goals, 7 assists) between the recalls and returns between Charlotte and Raleigh. However when he was recalled for the last home game of the Carolina Hurricanes, sadly Derek Ryan suffered a season ending injury. Barring any injuries, he is a versatile player.
http://gocheckers.com/players/1236-derek-ryan