Carolina Hurricanes Prospects: Deadline Moves Create Opportunity

Trading away a handful of prospects at the NHL deadline, several newly created opportunities now exist within the Carolina Hurricanes’ organization.

While many Carolina Hurricanes fans were caught off-guard, and a bit disappointed with the news that Julien Gauthier had been traded earlier this week, his departure to Broadway was just the start of several deals to come. Now, after the NHL trade deadline has passed, there appears to be several holes on the Charlotte Checkers’ roster.

In a one for one swap for 20 year-old defenseman Joey Keane, the Carolina Hurricanes moved on from one of the only right shot forwards in the organization. What was likely a move to give the man nicknamed “The Goat” more of a chance in the NHL, the Charlotte Checkers lost a massive piece of their team.

At the time of the trade, the former first rounder was among the AHL leaders in goals (tied for fourth). Finding the back of the net 26 times in 44 games, he was by far the Checkers’ best goal scorer.  With eight of his goals coming on the man advantage, Charlotte is going to have a difficult time replacing his production both during 5v5 play and special teams.

In addition to leading the Checkers in goals,  Gauthier lead the team in both shots, 126, and points per game, .84, while being among the top overall point-getters. In addition to the offense, the 22 year old used his big 6′ 4” frame to his advantage, providing them with a physical presence each time he stepped on the ice.

Well on his way to crushing his previous career highs in almost every statistical category, he earned a brief look up in Raleigh earlier this season. Appearing in five games, he registered his first and only NHL point, an assist, against Calgary back in December. Averaging only a little over seven minutes of ice time in those five NHL games, he wasn’t given much of shot.

Departing as Charlotte’s third all time goal scorer, an opportunity exists not only at the AHL level today, but in the near future with the Carolina Hurricanes. Other Hurricanes prospects like Morgan Geekie and Dominik Bokk now have a chance to step up and take his former place on the depth chart.

Other Departures

In addition to Julien Gauthier, the Charlotte Checkers lost a handful of other pieces alongside the Carolina Hurricanes. In their first transaction of the day, the Canes acquired Vincent Trocheck in exchange for Erik Haula, Lucas Wallmark, Chase Priskie and Eetu Luostarinen.

The former second rounder, Luostarinen, was in his first season in North America. Adjusting to the smaller ice surface and more physical style of play, the rookie had 25 points in 44 AHL games. Seeing a brief stint up in Raleigh, the Finnish forward was among the prospects likely competing for a depth role next year.

Also departing in the Florida deal, Priskie has had a solid start to his professional career. Entering the organization this summer as an unsigned college free agent, the addition of Joey Keane made him a bit redundant. With 31 points from the back end, his production is going to have to be replaced as well.

Departing in the Sami Vatanen deal, Janne Kuokkanen leaves as the Checkers’ top point-getter this season. With 42 points in 52 games, he was well on his way to set new career highs in every statistical category. His loss, like Gauthier’s, is going to be extremely difficult to replace.

Signed during training camp, Fredrik Claesson became a nice depth piece for the organization. This season he has been one of the better shut down defensemen in the AHL. With some NHL experience, he was one of the leaders on Charlotte’s roster. The intangibles he brought are going to be rather difficult to replace.

Bokk and Geekie

Bokk and Geekie have both been singled out here because, like Gauthier, they are right shots. When you look at the way the Carolina Hurricanes’ roster was constructed, all but two forwards, Justin Williams and Martin Necas, shoot left. The addition of Trocheck makes it three, but it is always nice to have options.

While Necas is a key piece of the Carolina Hurricanes’ future core, Williams is bound to hang up his skates for good in the very near future. With that in mind, many fans were lead to believe that Julien had an inside track to a full time NHL spot next season. Now with him gone, that attention turns to both Geekie and Bokk.

Geekie, a former third round pick, elevated his game during the Checkers’ Calder Cup run last season and hasn’t looked back since. In his sophomore campaign, he has established himself as one of Charlotte’s more consistent players. With points in fourteen straight games, a Checkers record, earlier this month he’s becoming an all situations guy.

As an all situations guy it is easy to single Geekie out as one of the guys who will benefit from the departure of Julien. With 18 goals on the year thus far, he ranked third on the team at the time of the trade, only behind Gauthier and Steven Lorentz (who we will get to a bit later). Of those 18 goals, seven of them have come on the power play.

So far this year, the Checkers’ forward lines have been a bit of a revolving door, with players constantly moving up and down the lineup depending on injuries and matchups. Because of this, Morgan has spent a good amount of time as their “third line” center. Now with “The Goat” gone, he’ll likely see an increase in ice time and with that hopefully an increase in production.

Although playing in Sweden right now, it is possible we could see Dominik Bokk join Charlotte for their playoff push once his SHL season ends. If this ends up being the case, his impact would instantly go a long way in replacing some of the offense the Checkers are going to lose with Gauthier gone.

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Off to a bit of a slow start, Bokk appears to have regained his confidence since returning from the World Junior Championships in January. Scoring from impossible angle after impossible angle, the former first rounder, acquired in the Justin Faulk deal, looks to have the makings of a future NHL sniper.

Mentioned here more so as someone who could challenge for third line right wing spot next season, Bokk moves up a bit in the depth chart after the trade. He likely would had been competing with Julien for an open spot, but now that he’s gone, Dominik now has a better chance should he earn it in training camp. More likely than not though, it won’t be for another season or two before he takes his talents to the NHL in a full time role.

Future Options

Looking  ahead, there’s a few options playing in college that could benefit from the recent departures. Jack Drury, currently playing at Harvard, has taken huge steps in his development this season. With 32 points in 24 games, he has been one of the most consistent players in the college ranks.

As a sophomore it is highly possible that he will go back to school for another season or two, but the Canes should do everything to get him to sign this offseason. The Charlotte Checkers took a huge hit to their roster this week, and he would be a nice addition for them next year and down the stretch.

Another option in college is David Cotton. Captaining Boston College, he has shown improvement each and every year. The former 6th rounder has done enough to earn his entry level deal this spring, and should join Charlotte for their playoff run. His leadership abilities are going to go a long way in the room. He will be one of the prospects competing for a depth role with the Carolina Hurricanes as soon a next year.

Lastly, Matt Filipe, playing at Northeastern, has been one of the more under the radar prospects in the system. As one of the captains durning prospect camp, Cotton the other, Don Waddell is likely to sign him to his entry level deal upon the conclusion of his senior year this spring. He will see a fair amount of playing time with the Checkers and will be a key piece for them going forward.

At the end of the day, we’ll never know who won the trade between the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes for a couple of years. The only thing that is for certain is that Gauthier, Kuokkanen, Priskie and Luostarinen are all going to get their chance to prove they have what it takes to be a full time NHLers. None of them were among the top ten prospects for the Hurricanes, which boats well for the now and the future.

The remaining players in Charlotte are going to see more of opportunity now that all of these players have moved on. They saw a fair amount of turnover from their Championship team this offseason, but after the deadline, they find themselves with even more holes.

In addition to the players touched upon, it looks like Charlotte has signed two players, Blake Winiecki and Mark Cooper,  to tryouts to help fill out their roster. Something to keep an eye on is the AHL trade deadline, which is March 2nd, and we could see some more moves between now and then.

Question for CC readers: What prospect do you think has the best shot at stepping up and filling the void created by all the Checkers’ departure both now and in the future?