Carolina Hurricanes: Top 5 Checkers Who Could Be Hurricanes Next Season

The Charlotte Checkers have plenty of talented young players. Here are my top 5 choices of which of them could make the Carolina Hurricanes roster next season.

THe Carolina Hurricanes have arguably the best AHL affiliate in the league in the form of the Charlotte Checkers. For the third year in a row they are seeking the Calder Cup and each year they seem to get further along.

The Charlotte Checkers are currently playing the Toronto Marlies in the AHL Eastern Conference Finals. At the time of writing this article, the Checkers are tied in the series 1-1 after a phenomenal 3rd period comeback in Game 2. The Checkers have come a long way this season along with the Carolina Hurricanes, and look to continue their playoff berth in the coming days.

There are quite a few talented young players on the Checkers’ roster, many of which have played in quite a few NHL games this season. Most of them have found success with the Hurricanes, so this list was quite difficult to narrow down.

The Carolina Hurricanes have a bright future ahead with the prospects lined up to transition to the next level in the coming months. The three that I chose for this list have contributed at an extremely high level in their current role(s) this season, and have a solid shot at cracking the NHL roster for 2019-20.

This list by no means is meant to downplay any particular player’s contributions or success. Transitioning to the NHL from the AHL is no small feat. The players featured in this list, in my opinion, have a strong chance at making that transition this fall.

Jake Bean

Jake Bean is a tremendously talented left-shot offensive defenseman. Bean has put together a career season this year, tallying 13 goals and 31 assists for a total of 44 points in 70 regular season games played.

Jake Bean was drafted 13th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Since then, he has developed strongly over the course of the two seasons he has spent in the AHL.

Bean is a fast, highly intelligent skater, and rarely finds himself out of position. With quite a few defensive mistakes throughout the Hurricanes’ season, Bean could bring a solid, trustworthy presence at the blueline for the Canes next year.

Bean has spent some time traveling back and forth this season between the Charlotte Checkers and Carolina Hurricanes rosters alongside fellow Checker Patrick Brown.

Mentored under, and even paired with, other veteran high-profile offensive defensemen like Dougie Hamilton, Jaccob Slavin, and Brett Pesce, Bean has every chance to develop into an absolute shutdown offensive defenseman and could even tremendously improve upon the Carolina Hurricanes’ ailing powerplay.

Aleksi Saarela

If you couldn’t tell by now, the Hurricanes have a plethora of talented young forwards chomping at the bit to make the roster this fall. Aleksi Saarela is no exception, and has a very good chance at making it.

Saarela is yet another Checker having a career year. The young center finished out the AHL regular season with 30 goals and 24 assists for a combined 54 points in 69 games played. Saarela has a rocket of a slapshot, and a laser of wristshot.

Paired with shutdown winger Jordan Martinook or Justin Williams, Saarela could see great success right off the bat as a third or fourth line center in the 2019-20 season. On top of his stellar offensive numbers, Saarela is as disciplined as they come. The young Finn only registered 12 PIM in the AHL this past season.

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Saarela would also be a great compliment to budding forward Warren Foegele. Both of these forwards are young, fast, and heavy-hitting, and could build great chemistry as a tandem shutdown/scoring line. Look for Saarela to run with his inevitable look at the Hurricanes roster this September.

Andrew Poturalski

Andrew Poturalski is a leader, both on and off the ice. The Checkers have relished in having him on the roster this year, and the Hurricanes could soon be doing the same.

Poturalski finished out the AHL regular season with 23 goals and 47 assists, totaling in 70 points in 72 games played. Poturalski is a solid netfront presence, and is extremely skilled at finding the open man in any given offensive situation.

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Poturalski is tremendously versatile, and could pair well with Sebastian Aho, Warren Foegele, and even Teuvo Teravainen. The young forward could provide the playmaking skills that could lead to even more offensive chances (and hopefully goals) by both Aho and Teravainen. I personally draw many playing style comparisons between Poturalski and Hurricanes’ winger Nino Niederreiter, as evidenced by the video clip above.

Andrew has been seen as a top prospect for some time, but has struggled the past few season at making the transition up to the NHL. I believe we are about to see that trend come to a close this fall.

Alex Nedeljkovic

My (quite obvious) #1 pick is Alex Nedeljkovic. A phenomenal goaltender, Nedeljkovic is all but guaranteed to draw into the Hurricanes’ roster this season as a backup to either Petr Mrazek or Curtis McElhinney. The goaltender finished out the regular season with a 2.26 GAA, and a save percentage of .916 in 51 games played.

The Hurricanes have a bit of an offseason puzzle to solve in the crease this summer. Mrazek and McElhinney have both been stellar all throughout the season and postseason for the Hurricanes. Both have played their hearts out, and both have provided the Hurricanes with the confidence they’ve needed in a consistent goaltender for so long.

Both are also unrestricted free agents this offseason. While I would personally love to see both of them return for the 2019-20 season, this scenario is highly unlikely, opening the door for Alex Nedeljkovic to begin his NHL career.

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Nedeljkovic has been awarded the Aldege ‘Baz’ Bastien Memorial Award for Top Goaltender, as well as CCM/AHL Goaltender of the Year, and was also named to the First All-Star Team in the AHL this season. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love both Mrazek and McElhinney, and will be sad to see one go, but we can rest easy knowing Nedeljkovic is waiting in the wings to take up the mantle as a backup, and future goaltending superstar.

The Hurricanes have all the missing pieces to fix what went wrong this postseason. A bright future lies ahead, and I think I speak for all of us when I say I am so excited to welcome it. On top of potential free agent signings (*hint,hint* featured in a future article), the Hurricanes are set to be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

Question for CC Readers: Do you agree with my picks? Who would be your Top 5 Checkers to crack the Hurricanes’ roster next season?