It wasn’t that long ago that Carolina Hurricanes fans were bemoaning their lack of a true #1 pivot. It all happened rather quickly, but Sebastian Aho’s incredible season has already cemented his position as the team’s number one center.
For the entire 2018/19 season a certain portion of the fan base known as “Complainiacs” have moaned and groaned about the Carolina Hurricanes’ need for a top line center. Yet it would be impossible to gripe and complain about trades not made without overlooking one glaringly obvious fact: the team already has a first line center, and his name is Sebastian Aho!
I know Aho broke in as a winger and that outside of centering a Finnish line during the World Juniors his experience in the middle was minimum, but the 2018/19 season has served as a coming out party for the Carolina Hurricanes. That party’s guest of honor has been their new number one center, Sebastian Aho!
At the time of this writing Sebastian Aho is the teams pace setter in goals (30), assists (47) and points (77). To further solidify my point, out of the team’s 207 goals scored this season Sebastian Aho has been involved in 37.1% of them. Aho averages bang on 20:00 per game of ice time – ie, one third of the team’s TOI – but produces above that. He’s a true superstar and an elite talent.
While I do not proclaim to be a prolific hockey expert with all encompassing knowledge, I know enough to say when you have a center, regardless of natural position, contributing on just over one-third of your team’s goals, that you do in fact have a “true” number one center!
Aho’s play has also earned the trust of Rod Brind’Amour, who in many ways has molded the young center into becoming a player that fits his system. The position change has allowed Sebastian Aho to reach a career high in goals of 30 with 13 games still to play; to put that into perspective, the two best centers (and hockey players) in the world – Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid – have 31 and 34 goals respectively.
While both Crosby and McDavid are outpacing Aho significantly in assists, it is a fair assumption to say that they are blessed with far more superior line-mates in Jake Guentzel and Leon Draisaitl on their wings. While Aho played well with Teuvo Teravainen and, when he wasn’t hurt due to reckless play, Michael Ferland, those duos bring nowhere near the firepower of the two aforementioned pairings. That fact alone makes the 47 assists Aho has managed all the more impressive.
Now allow me to address the elephant in the room: Matt Duchene will be a free agent on July 1st. The Carolina Hurricanes fan base has clamored for Duchene to be acquired since he announced his dissatisfaction in Colorado. Since he was traded out of Colorado he has been a hockey nomad, playing on two teams, and will hit the open market for the first time on July 1st. This fact alone has the Carolina Hurricanes fan base clamoring for him once again.
Yet, when you look at the numbers, Matt Duchene is not needed in Carolina. Since entering the league Sebastian Aho has outpaced Matt Duchene in scoring each year. Given that, along with the fact that Matt Duchene is 28 years old and will want to deal carrying him into his mid-thirties, this should hopefully be enough to deter GM Don Waddell from going after Duchene. Couple that with the handling of his departure from the Avalanche and the infamous Uber video from this season, and one must ask would you really want that potential cancer in your locker room?
The most exciting thing about Sebastian Aho is the fact he is just 21 years old and is being taught first hand by one of the greatest two-way centers of the past 30 years in Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour. The influence is plain to see in Aho’s +25 rating, and his effectiveness while playing on the Canes’ penalty kill. One of the most under-rated aspects of Aho’s center game is his fearlessness to go to the dirty areas or corners to make plays happen. At a generous 6 foot tall and 180 pounds, he often plays much bigger when needed to make a play.
There is an old saying that goes: “If you are waiting for the float with Miss America on it, then the whole parade is going to pass you by.” The parade is in full swing as the Carolina Hurricanes “surge” (pun intended) to the playoffs for the first time in ten years – led by their number one center, Sebastian Aho.
While one would be foolish to assume that depth centers are not a necessity coupled with a seasoned wing or two that is not north of 35, or the porcelain doll on skates that has been Michael Ferland, Carolina Hurricanes fans should rest assured that for the first time since the departure of Hurricanes Legend Eric Staal, the team has a bonafide number on center in the 21 year-old Sebastian Aho.