Failed Decisions Continue to Haunt Canes Organization
By Glenn Brewer
The seemingly continuous carousel of Carolina Hurricanes minor league players continues with prospect, Jamieson Rees, being re-assigned to the Charlotte Checkers. Having been with the Springfield Thunderbirds, Rees and the Canes made the move to create a better playing opportunity. Charlotte is the Florida Panthers affiliate and currently sits in fifth place in the AHL's Atlantic Division.
It has been well-documented how the Canes and their former AHL affiliate separated at the end of last season. The Chicago Wolves have played this season without an NHL affiliate, while the Canes prospects have been placed in other organization's affiliates. Rees will not be the only player in the Carolina system to play for two AHL organizations this year.
No matter what the outcome of this NHL season is for the Canes, Waddell made a complete failure of a decision with the minor league system. It sends a bad message to the players in the system and has put a strain on the development of prospects like Rees. Even Pyotr Kochetkov has been bounced around, now being the number one goalie in Raleigh.
Rees, a former second-round draft choice in 2019, had his best season as a professional last year in Chicago. It was a huge step for the player and his potential seemed to be coming to fruition. Now this year, Rees has just 3 points in 30 games with Springfield and more importantly no goals.
Last year in Chicago, Rees had 14 goals and 42 points. This needs to be the last player in the Canes system to be negatively affected by the poor decision by management and Waddell.