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A Look At The 5 Carolina Hurricanes Pending College Free Agents

By Alex Ohari

LOWELL, MA - JANUARY 17: David Cotton #17 of the Boston College Eagles skates against the Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks during NCAA men's hockey at the Tsongas Center on January 17, 2020 in Lowell, Massachusetts. The Eagles won 3-2 after trailing 2-0 in the first period. (Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images)
LOWELL, MA - JANUARY 17: David Cotton #17 of the Boston College Eagles skates against the Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks during NCAA men's hockey at the Tsongas Center on January 17, 2020 in Lowell, Massachusetts. The Eagles won 3-2 after trailing 2-0 in the first period. (Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images) /
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Max Zimmer, Wisconsin Badgers (Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Max Zimmer, Wisconsin Badgers (Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

F Max Zimmer (Wisconsin)

The first domino to (sort of) fall, the Charlotte Checkers announced on Monday that they’d signed Max Zimmer to an amateur try-out contract for the remainder of their season. That’ll give the Hurricanes brass a chance to get a look at Zimmer in the pros before deciding if he’s worth an NHL entry-level deal.

Zimmer just wrapped up his senior season at Wisconsin, where he missed significant time with injury and had an underwhelming 11 points in 21 games. He did come on strong towards the end of the season when he was healthy though, and set a career high with 8 goals. Wisconsin coach Tony Granato said Zimmer was deserving of his ATO:

"“He finished strong enough to deserve an opportunity, in my opinion,” Tony Granato said of Zimmer. “I think he’s positioned himself to be ready for his chance.”"

Zimmer, though, will really need to make a strong impression. The Hurricanes liked him enough to take him 104th in the 2016 draft, but Zimmer’s development hasn’t taken the next step since then. He scored just 19 goals and 45 points in 115 college games, and never emerged as a real consistent top-6 threat.

Injuries and opportunity has played a factor, but Zimmer is definitely a longshot. He has blazing speed (think like, Martin Necas fast) and decent size at 6’0, 190lbs. He has some serviceable NHL traits, but he’s still raw and at 22 years old, looks like his upside is at best as a fourth-line NHL energy guy.

Zimmer is confident in himself, and is looking for a fair shot:

"“The ultimate goal right now is to play hockey [professionally]” Zimmer said recently. “If I have an opportunity, awesome. If I can honestly tell myself I did everything I could and got the most out of each day, then it is what it is.”"

Zimmer will get his chance to prove himself with Charlotte as their season unfolds over the next couple months, but I would be quite shocked if he’s awarded an ELC before August 15th. It’s entirely possible that he may not get an ELC with any other team either, and could certainly sign an AHL contract with Charlotte next year, should Carolina hope to continue developing him.

Regardless, Zimmer is unlikely to ever shift the balance in the organization, and at this point looks like a guy who’s got a long road ahead of him to make the NHL.

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