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Carolina Hurricanes: Five Bold Predictions for 2019-20

By Matthew Nidiffer

RALEIGH, NC - MAY 16: Fans of Justin Williams #14 the Carolina Hurricanes celebrate during pregame warmups in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Third Round against the Boston Bruins during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 16, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - MAY 16: Fans of Justin Williams #14 the Carolina Hurricanes celebrate during pregame warmups in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Third Round against the Boston Bruins during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 16, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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CHARLOTTE, NC – JUNE 01: The bench high fives Charlotte Checkers defenseman Roland McKeown (3) after his goal during game one of the Calder Cup finals between the Chicago Wolves and the Charlotte Checkers on June 01, 2019 at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte,NC.(Photo by Dannie Walls/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC – JUNE 01: The bench high fives Charlotte Checkers defenseman Roland McKeown (3) after his goal during game one of the Calder Cup finals between the Chicago Wolves and the Charlotte Checkers on June 01, 2019 at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte,NC.(Photo by Dannie Walls/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Multiple Checkers Called Up to Full-time NHL Roster

The Charlotte Checkers are currently tied with the Chicago Wolves in the Calder Cup Finals (at the time of writing) at one game apiece. The Checkers have been absolutely stellar this season on multiple fronts.

A huge part of the Checkers’ success is their elite prospect talent, most of which have a solid shot at making the Hurricanes’ roster full-time next season. A few names that come directly to mind are Alex Nedeljkovic, Jake Bean, Aleksi Saarela, Patrick Brown, Julien Gauthier, and Martin Necas.

This isn’t to say these players are the only ones that have a shot at making the NHL next year. These are just a few names out of many that come to mind when contemplating future NHL talent. As seen below, the Checkers have a plethora of solid young players waiting in the wings.

Quite a few of these players have seen time with the Hurricanes, most notably Alex Nedeljkovic and Patrick Brown. Nedeljkovic won his first ever NHL start, and is widely considered to be one of the most NHL-ready goaltenders in the AHL. Alongside Nedeljkovic is Patrick Brown, who was called up to the Canes’ roster for a good chunk of the postseason.

The offseason development of the Checkers players that are close to making the transition as well as preseason performance will ultimately determine who gets the call for good, but I have no doubt that even if Waddell does keep the Hurricanes’ core together, quite a few Checkers will see solid ice-time in the NHL next season.

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