Three Early-Season Stars for the Carolina Hurricanes

With the Carolina Hurricanes off to the best start in franchise history, let us take a moment to recognize some players who have loomed large early on.

The dawning of a new NHL season brought heightened expectations to Raleigh.  Rewarding the faith of their fanbase, the Carolina Hurricanes hit the ground (ehm, ice) running, winning their first five games and six out of their first nine.

Things haven’t gone without trouble, as familiar bugaboos (poor passing, flaccid power play) have reared their heads at times.  Thankfully, there has been plenty of good to offset the bad.  Where the power play has fallen off a cliff, the penalty kill has improved from the first week of the season.

The offseason additions that general manager Don Waddell brought in have integrated well with Rod Brind’Amour‘s system.  The goaltending tandem of Petr Mrazek and James Reimer have, for the most part, been solid.  Rookie Martin Necas, following a bland preseason, has posted two goals and three assists and he’s looked good doing it.

And, let us not forget, defenseman Haydn Fleury notched his first NHL goal:

So, let’s forget about that California trip (except for Fleury’s first!) and take a look at three players who have been invaluable to the Hurricanes’ early success.

3rd Star (tie): Erik Haula and Andrei Svechnikov

Yep, right off the bat, I am going with a tie.  Why?  I can’t in good faith keep either of these guys off of the list.  Both players have served the team extremely well so far this season and without their contributions, the Hurricanes would not have experienced their historic start.

Let’s start with a look at Erik Haula:

Shrouded in uncertainty after a gruesome knee injury cost him 67 games in 2018-19, Haula has acquitted himself incredibly well with his new team.  Three of his team-leading seven goals have come on the power play where Haula sets up shop in front of the opposition net.

Haula’s speed has also been key in meshing with the Hurricanes’s system, showing no ill effects of last season’s injury.  On top of that, he’s won 54.9% of the faceoffs that he’s taken, a number that places him first on the team among players who have taken at least ten draws.

While his 28% shooting percentage will inevitably fall off, Haula has already proven himself a perfect fit with the team.  If he settles in around his career shooting percentage (13.2%), continues his modest shots per game (2.77), and stays healthy, Haula projects to score 26 goals over the remainder of the season.

Not too shabby.

https://twitter.com/Canes/status/1183168973765931008

Now, let’s take a look at our other third co-star.

How do you follow up a 20 goal rookie season?  Well, if you’re Andrei Svechnikov, you start the season on pace for 73 points.  Okay, okay, the young Russian will likely experience some highs and lows during his sophomore season, nothing controversial there.  It is, however, worth noting that just nine games in and Svechnikov is 41% towards his assist total from last year.

Another interesting tidbit is that his current shooting percentage (4%) is well below the 10.6% mark he posted in his rookie year.  Were he to get back around that mark and keep up the pace with shots, he could very well finish the season with 22-25 goals.

We’ll carefully bypass the fact that his one goal so far was an empty netter, if for no other reason than he hasn’t slowed down and has continually found ways to contribute.

2nd Star: Teuvo Teravainen

Following a career year in 2018-19, Teuvo Teravainen has picked up where he left off.  Starting off at a point-per-game pace is impressive enough, but when you look at the offensive quagmire that’s swallowed up his linemates, Teravainen’s production is remarkable.  The Helsinki native has been making the best of his time on the power play, where he has racked up five of his seven assists so far this season.

Another item working in his favor is the fact that his current shooting percentage (10.5) is dead-on with his career average.  The flipside, of course, is that Teravainen is a very unselfish player.  As such, he has barely averaged two shots per game.  If he gives in to his killer instinct and starts firing more pucks on net, he could surpass last year’s 21 goals.

Or, he could get some more sweet deflections:

Teravainen is on pace for 18 goals, 64 assists, and 82 points, of which the latter two would mark career highs.  Food for thought.

Honorable Mentions

Ryan Dzingel

Another offseason addition, Ryan Dzingel has delivered early on.  With two goals and five assists, the slick-skating winger is on pace for an 18 goal, 46 assist season.  His two goals came in a 6-3 win over the Florida Panthers, including the game-winner on the power play.

Joel Edmundson

Yeah, you’d better believe I’m putting Joel Edmundson here.  We’ll get the ugly out of the way: his turnover against the Panthers was cringe-worthy, no two ways about it.  Aside from that, Edmundson is tied for the team lead in blocked shots (19) while adding 18 hits.

More from Cardiac Cane

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• Derek Stepan Ends His On Ice Career As A Hurricane
• The Southeast Rookie Showcase Will Be a Good Look at Carolina’s Future
• Noesen Ready To Provide Depth For Canes

He endeared himself to the fans when he squared off against Josh Manson after the Anaheim defender knocked Erik Haula out of the game with a hard hit.  His physicality and defensive acumen has been a perfect fit on the Carolina blueline.

Martin Necas

After much fanfare, Martin Necas finally appears to be in Raleigh for good.  The touted Czech forward didn’t make much of an impact during the preseason, registering a single assist in three games.

Once the regular season started, we began to see the promise.  Necas notched a power-play goal in the season opener and netted the game-winner against the Los Angeles Kings.   The young playmaker is on course for an 18 goal, 46 point season if he maintains his early pace.

What do you think of my list? Who would you add?  Who would you omit?