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Carolina Hurricanes: Why To Be Keen On Joey Keane

By Alex Ohari

LONDON, ON - MARCH 09: Joey Keane #7 of the London Knights skates with the puck in the third period during OHL game action against the Saginaw Spirit at Budweiser Gardens on March 9, 2019 in London, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
LONDON, ON - MARCH 09: Joey Keane #7 of the London Knights skates with the puck in the third period during OHL game action against the Saginaw Spirit at Budweiser Gardens on March 9, 2019 in London, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
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PETERBOROUGH, ON – FEBRUARY 21: Joey Keane #7 of the London Knights skates with the puck against the Peterborough Petes in an OHL game at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on February 21, 2019 in Peteborough, Ontario, Canada. The Petes defeated the Knights 3-1. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
PETERBOROUGH, ON – FEBRUARY 21: Joey Keane #7 of the London Knights skates with the puck against the Peterborough Petes in an OHL game at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on February 21, 2019 in Peteborough, Ontario, Canada. The Petes defeated the Knights 3-1. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

His Pro Development

On the ice, Keane has been an extremely effective player with the Hartford Wolf Pack, which is the Rangers’ AHL affiliate. Keane, who’s an AHL rookie at age 20, was voted into the All-Star Game and has an impressive 8 goals (which leads AHL rookie defensemen!) and 30 points in 49 games thus far.

A Rangers writer, Adam Herman, had made an argument that Keane was maybe the most important skater for the team, and had “anchored” Hartford’s defense. Obviously, that’s quite high praise for a 20-year old rookie.

Herman offered the following on Keane’s progression:

"“…it’s Keane’s defensive game that has been [most] impressive. He’s been a stalwart, defending some of the better AHL players in a manner beyond his years. His in-stride speed is phenomenal, making him an asset on backchecks and transition plays. And while he’s not the biggest defenseman, he is strong and knows how to leverage his body to steer puck carriers out of danger.”"

Seeing reports like that make me extremely excited about Keane, as he seems to be able to offer a brand of physicality and ruggedness that the Hurricanes D core lacks, while not sacrificing anything offensively nor defensively in the process. He’s a good prospect, and if he continues to blossom could be a real key piece for the Hurricanes.

He’s still got some developing to do, but Keane was actually re-called by the Rangers last week and was slated to potentially make his NHL debut at some point. At 20, he’s arguably already on the verge of breaking into the NHL, and with poise far beyond his age, he’s a guy that seems closer to contributing for Carolina than Julien Gauthier was.

As far his role at the NHL level, scouts have pegged Keane as a potential #4 or #5 defenseman, which would make him a perfect fit behind Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce and Dougie Hamilton, and potentially a partner for one of Haydn Fleury or Jake Bean (imagine a Bean-Keane pairing!!!!) in the not-so-distant future.

Keane is definitely on the edge of breaking into the highest level of hockey, and should Trevor van Riemsdyk continue to struggle, we could see Keane sooner rather than later.

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