When Carolina Hurricanes fans discovered that management had traded fan favorites Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm, most were upset at both the loss of two great young talents and the addition of a seemingly middle six forward, Micheal Ferland. Time heals all wounds, as that same Micheal Ferland currently leads the Carolina Hurricanes in goals scored this season.
As the dark horse in the Hanifin trade Micheal Ferland has been a pleasant surprise at the beginning of his Carolina Hurricanes career. He currently leads the team in goals, fresh off scoring his 10th of the season in Sunday night’s win over the New Jersey Devils, and is now almost halfway to last season’s career-high of 21. With a team featuring the likes of Sebastian Aho, Jordan Staal, Justin Williams and Andrei Svechnikov, it’s both a disappointment and a pleasant surprise that Ferland leads the team.
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Despite featuring on one of the league’s worst powerplays, Ferland has scored 4 of the Canes’ 11 PP goals this season (36%), and has more than half of the PP goals scored by Canes forwards. Teuvo Teravainen, with 2, and Aho are the only other Canes forwards with PP goals. Let that sink in for a moment, as it’s a clear indication of what’s wrong with the PP. Going back to the weekend, Sunday’s even strength effort against the Devils showed how strong Ferland’s hockey IQ is – he positions himself perfectly for Teravainen to feed him the puck for the easy finish:
The #Hurricanes extend their lead to 2-0 over the #Devils just 30 seconds into the game after Teuvo Teravainen set up Micheal Ferland for his 10th goal of the season. pic.twitter.com/Y5lwP6z9gW
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 18, 2018
Not many players on this team have the on-ice awareness to find the right position at the right time. That’s a skill that can’t be taught.
Honestly, I don't remember the last time that the Hurricanes had a player that could finish around the net like Micheal Ferland can. He's not the only player who goes to the net consistently, but he is the only one with the hands to actually put the puck in the net.
— Brett Finger (@brettfinger) November 19, 2018
One of the many good things about Ferland’s game is that he spreads his scoring. His ten goals are all single-goal games, and his longest goalless streak is four games. He scores consistently, and for a team that struggles to post consistent offense, that’s a great asset. All 21 of his goals in 2017/18 were single-goal efforts, and his 52 regular season goals have seen just one two-goal game. Of his four assists, two were primary assists and two secondary, all four involving Teravainen.
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Moving forward, Ferland need not change anything in his game. If he keeps shooting as often as he does, keeps driving the play, and keeps getting into position on the powerplay, he’s going to easily surpass last season’s career-high of 21 goals.
While he was seemingly the makeweight for Elias Lindholm, Ferland is proving to be a much more rounded player than we could have hoped for, and has certainly made up for the perceived loss of Lindholm. Could the Hanifin/Lindholm-Hamilton/Ferland trade actually end up being a win-win trade for both teams?
No matter what happens, Micheal Ferland is already proving to be one of the most exciting players on this Carolina Hurricanes team, and is now a bonafide top six forward. Let’s hope he keeps scoring those goals.
Question for CC readers:
Being honest, what did you originally expect from Ferland – has he exceeded those expectations? And what can he become for this franchise?