As we come off an exciting NHL All-Star Game weekend where we saw our ‘home-town’ Metro Division take home the $1 million check, we look at who on the Canes roster may fill an all-star spot in the years to come.
Sebastian Aho put on the show that all Carolina Hurricanes fans knew he was capable of in Saturday night’s All-Star Game, earning his share of a nice-sized check. The Canes’ leading point scorer showed that he belongs amongst the league’s best, and likely put his name in the heads of NHL fans everywhere over the course of the All-Star weekend. This being said, fans can expect to see Aho back as the Canes’ All-Star representative multiple times – pending his (fingers crossed) extension gets done. The young superstar shows no signs of slowing down and is only continuing to improve. Fans should expect to see the All-Star weekend become a normality for Seabass.
With the current format of likely only one player from each team making the All-Star roster, I find it hard to genuinely believe Aho will be dethroned any time soon, barring injury. But if the worst did happen, who could represent the Canes at future All-Star Games?
Teuvo Teravainen
This is an easy call in terms of players that we might see representing the Carolina Hurricanes at future ASGs. Teuvo Teravainen was up for the last-man-in vote this year, so his potential is already there. Coming off a nice contract extension that puts Turbo in Raleigh through the 2023/24 season, he is riding a solid 3-game point streak – putting him at 43 points through 50 games this year. That is good for .86 points a game – the irony, am I right?
Anyways, keeping that pace will see number 86 end up with 71 points this year. This would set a new career-high for the second year in a row, surpassing last year’s total of 64. If this pace continues for Teravainen, it is not out of the realm to think he has the potential to become a point-per-game player for the Canes. It is this sort of potential and already-proven skill that may lead Turbo to All-Star weekend in the future.
Jaccob Slavin
I believe this is also an easy call for future All-Star Game representation – and I am sure Canes’ fans will agree with me. However, it is likely not an easy call for the league office (or whoever picks the rosters) as Jaccob Slavin‘s popularity does not stretch extremely far past Raleigh.
It should. Slavin is without a doubt the Carolina Hurricanes’ top D-man and figures to be for quite a while. He is constantly matched up against the opposing team’s top line and is rock solid way more times than not. He gives fans peace of mind when he is on the ice, and leaves us in shock when he makes even the most minuscule of mistakes. To me, this has the makings of an All-Star without a doubt.
Let’s not stop there. Yes, Slavin is a great shut-down D-man. But he also possesses quite a flashy skill set that may be unbeknownst to the majority of the hockey world. Carolina Hurricanes fans that watch intently have seen this skill set that I mention. We have seen number 74 take the puck coast-to-coast, carving through almost the entire opposing team with ease – and multiple times.
He has great hands and a very underrated shot that Canes fans have grown to love. He has showcased some silky moves and has been electric with his trademark backhand in past shootouts. Moves like these have made Slavin a fan-favorite in Raleigh. I would like to think these fans agree with me that Slavin has the potential to make an ASG; if he does, he would be a lot of fun to watch.
Andrei Svechnikov
My last pick for a future Carolina Hurricanes All-Star is the coveted 18 year-old rookie, Andrei Svechnikov. Now, if Svech is ever to make such a roster, it will likely be more than a few years down the road. The teenager has a lot of developing his game to do before such consideration will happen. This being said, there is no doubt that the potential is there – on pace for just under 40 points in a rookie campaign is nothing to sneeze at.
Svech was picked number two overall for a reason, and he has shown flashes of that reason in his debut season. When he plays with confidence and gets top 6 minutes, he has shown the ability to be a productive scorer for the Carolina Hurricanes. He has great skating ability with an elite level wrister that he has showcased a few times this year.
Svech also possesses the ability to make superstar plays against some of the league’s best, like the time he slid by Shea Weber and undressed Carey Price en route to a slick top-shelf backhand goal – which fans around the league know is no easy feat. These flashes, along with some aspects of his game already being at an elite level, is what leads me to believe that Svechnikov will not only be a Canes All-Star in the future, but a superstar for the franchise for a long time to come.
Question for CC readers:
Who else do you think has the ability to make the ASG for the Canes? Have we missed someone really obvious?