Carolina Hurricanes All-Star Break Report Cards: Forwards

Canes Playing As Expected

Warren Foegele – (B) – Foegele is a guy that, in my opinion, is developing on track. He is on pace for 16 goals and 35 points. I think he could flirt with 40 points on a seasonal basis, but it’s clear his role is more of a high-energy disruptor. He is tied for the league lead in shorthanded goals (3). He clearly thrives in big moments, but it’s hard to ignore that he has four separate goalless droughts of at least five games this season.

This has no bearing on his performance so far this season, but I got a kick out of it. If you look up Foegele’s rate metrics from his brief call-up in 2017-2018, you’ll see that his points per 60 minutes was 7.5 and his shots per 60 minutes was 15.1. Impressive and completely unsustainable.

Brock McGinn – (C+) – I love what McGinn brings to the table. You know you’re getting 110% effort, responsible penalty killing, and sandpaper. He’s got 17 takeaways to only 8 giveaways. However, his production has fallen off so far this season. McGinn is goalless in his past 13, and he’s got only two assists in that same time frame. I don’t expect him to be a 40-point guy; I don’t think anyone does. He should be able to manage 25-30 points like he did the past two seasons.

Ryan Dzingel – (B-) – I hesitate to say Dzingel is underperforming, but he’s also not been as electric as I know he can be. A couple things stand out. His aTOI is down over three minutes from what it was in Ottawa last season.

Less opportunity equals fewer chances. Worth noting is that for the first time in his career he’s rocking a CF% above 50% (53.1%). Yet, a player as offensively-inclined as Dzingel is only starting in the offensive zone 47.2% of the time. His 9.8% shooting percentage is a career-low, and I have to figure it’s mostly bad luck. He shoots from the right places. Hopefully he gets going down the stretch.

Erik Haula – (B-) – I think most of us were pumped when the Carolina Hurricanes acquired Erik Haula. Things haven’t been great of late. Between trade rumors, his 5-game pointless drought, being a healthy scratch and his noticeable lack of effort on the defensive side of the puck at times, a cloud has formed over his Carolina Hurricanes tenure.

Aside from all the noise, his play on the ice has been generally good. His 11 goals and 19 points in 30 games is solid. At this pace, he projects to finish the season with 39 points if he stays healthy. With a goals per 60 minutes of 1.4 and an a/60 of 1.0, he’s nearly as productive as he was in Vegas in 2017-2018. He is also shooting at 17.7%, which is a career best.