Carolina Hurricanes: Three Prospects That Should be on Standby

With the Checkers season officially over, these three Carolina Hurricanes Prospects need to be ready to play in Raleigh if the season returns.

The AHL is done. Their season is officially over. That means that the Carolina Hurricanes now have full access to their prospect pipeline as needed if and when the season returns.

This means several things. It means that the team can carry extra players as needed. It also means that if players decide not to return to play for family reasons or any other reason there are a plethora of options to dig into.

How that would look like as far as money and contracts go is still up in the air. The NHL-NHLPA Return to Play Committee is discussing things this afternoon and we may have an answer for the season soon enough:

For many prospects, this means very little. They are still years away from being called up to the NHL. But for these three players, the opportunity can be closer than they think. They need to be prepared to play for the Carolina Hurricanes as soon as the season returns.

Morgan Geekie

Geekie was already a welcomed surprise to the NHL and the Canes right before the season came to a grinding halt. But he was sent back down during the hiatus. Assuming that Ryan Dzingel is back and healthy, a safe assumption, then Geekie would be an extra forward.

But to be fair, Geekie has outplayed most of the forwards on the roster. He plays Brind’amour hockey. Do not be surprised if he is called up the second hockey returns. He should be treating himself as an NHL player because frankly, he is.

I would expect him to be playing again once the season returns. Expect Coach RBA to rotate players to try and avoid injury during crucial playoff hockey. Geekie will allow that.

Clark Bishop

If an injury does strike the forward lines, this man is the next in line. Bishop also plays a tough grinding RBA brand of hockey that has kept him in the Carolina Hurricanes pipeline for a while now. As a center, he is also a crucial part of the depth in Carolina. After the loss of Lucas Wallmark and Erik Haula in a trade to Florida, Jordan Martinook took the center position on the fourth line.

If another center is needed, Bishop is just the man to turn to. He isn’t a stranger to playing the position in Carolina either. With 27 NHL games under his belt, including two playoff games, as well as a goal and three assists, Bishop is the smart call up if another forward is needed in Raleigh.

Jake Bean

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• The Southeast Rookie Showcase Will Be a Good Look at Carolina’s Future
• Noesen Ready To Provide Depth For Canes

You almost feel bad for Jake Bean. He has proven himself over and over again, but the logjam of defenders in Carolina continues to grow. Now there are eight healthy defenders on the roster and doubtful that Don Waddell will bother to carry more. The financials of keeping all eight will be an interesting juggle, but as of now, only Brett Pesce isn’t cleared to play.

But defenders in Carolina have a bad habit of getting injured. After all, there was a reason Carolina went ahead and added two more to their roster at the deadline. Sami Vatanen has yet to play for the team and Dougie hasn’t been seen on the ice since January. If anything were to happen, god forbid, to these players Jake Bean is the next man up.

Let’s hope that we don’t need him this season. Not what he would like to hear, but he should still stay ready nonetheless.

Question for CC Readers: What other prospects should be prepared to make the leap to Raleigh?