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Carolina’s three in-house options for 2C next year

By Conor Power

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 14: Vincent Trocheck #16 of the Carolina Hurricanes looks on during the third period in Game Seven of the First Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Boston Bruins at PNC Arena on May 14, 2022 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 14: Vincent Trocheck #16 of the Carolina Hurricanes looks on during the third period in Game Seven of the First Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Boston Bruins at PNC Arena on May 14, 2022 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
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NEWARK, NJ – JANUARY 22: Jesperi Kotkaniemi #82 of the Carolina Hurricanes during the National Hockey League game between the New Jersey Devils and the Carolina Hurricanes on January 22, 2022, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ – JANUARY 22: Jesperi Kotkaniemi #82 of the Carolina Hurricanes during the National Hockey League game between the New Jersey Devils and the Carolina Hurricanes on January 22, 2022, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Getty Images) /

Jesperi Kotkaniemi

After his first season with the Carolina Hurricanes, we saw Jesperi Kotkaniemi take a few steps this year toward becoming a fully pledged dominant centerman in the National Hockey League. With the Finnish centerman signing an eight-year extension worth $4.82 million, it is presumed that the former third overall pick is going to be taking on a more important role within the organization going forward.

We know that the Hurricanes’ newest centerman has asked for a bigger role within the team. It was again something that was made public in Kotkaniemi’s end-of-season press conference. Kotkaniemi got chances to play in the top six as a center during the year and proved effective in that limited sample size.

At the beginning of the year, Kotkaniemi was a winger and was wildly inconsistent outside of his natural center position. Carolina’s offer sheet target was not quite the ultimate winger. It became apparent after he was moved back to the middle of the ice for the game in Vegas that Kotkaniemi was far more comfortable playing center, even in a fourth-line role for the organization, so they left him in a position to succeed.

With the pedigree of being a third overall pick behind him and the new eight-year deal that he signed with the organization, Kotkaniemi is likely to receive some preferential treatment from fans in this regard. We know that under this coaching regime, Kotkaniemi will have to earn everything he gets on the ice, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t be given the nod in the event of a split decision.

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