One of the realities of the AHL is that teams have to deal with two sets of problems – their own problems and those of their NHL parent club.
The Charlotte Checkers, last season’s Calder Trophy finalists, know this reality.
The back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers are dealing with a growing list of serious injuries that is having an impact on their AHL affiliate. panthers captain Alexander Barkov He was sidelined for an extended period due to a knee injury suffered in training camp. Matthew Tkachuk’s A groin injury kept him out for the start of the season. The same goes for moving forward Thomas Nosek and his knee injury. Upper body injury sidelines defenseman at start of regular season Dmitry Kulikov long. Yes, this Florida team has been to the Stanley Cup Finals three years in a row and the wear and tear is getting more and more games. Sometimes injuries are just unfortunate.
2025 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. Charlotte Checkers
Charlotte already has to deal with offseason roster losses. When the Checkers were head coach Jody Kinnear’s As the team skated on the ice at Bojangles Arena after Game 6 of the Calder Cup Finals last June 23, everyone knew it would be the last time this team would play together. While the visiting Abbotsford Canucks celebrate their Calder Cup championship on Charlotte ice, the Checkers must be content with a long and painful experience in the Calder Cup finals, falling just two wins away.
Sure enough, these changes happened quickly. Sniper John Leonard brings his 36 goals to the Detroit Red Wings. defensive player Matt Kiersted (Minnesota Wild) and primary goaltender kapo kahkonen (The Montreal Canadiens) found free-agent opportunities elsewhere. Three days after a season-ending loss to Abbotsford, dexterity forward Justin Soldif was traded to the Washington Capitals. Goaltender Ken Appleby plays for the Toronto Marlies. Rasmus Asplund, Oliver Ocuellarand Jesse Puljujarvi All found jobs in Europe. Kyle Criscuolo, Will Lockwoodand CJ Smith And there is no job yet. team leader Zach DalpHe retired after missing most of last season due to injury.
The same goes for the AHL. The arrival of the offseason upends all that work when a head coach is finally able to establish a team’s system, structure and identity. Rookies are coming in, free agents are coming in. The prospect has taken another step forward. Or lagging behind in some cases.
But the top defender Trevor Carrick Came back and took over as captain of the team. The return of the 31-year-old Carrick both gives the Checkers a high-end No. 1 blueline player and provides Charlotte with a top-notch leader and a big brother-like figure for its rookies and young players. Keep Mike Benning He’s also a proven talent for Kinnear’s defense.
Furthermore, this is not an organization that is sitting idle or hoping for the best. Hope was not the plan for the Florida-Charlotte partnership. When an injury, poor performance, or some kind of surprise occurs, both sides take action. Last season they acquired Pujujarvi from the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the 2016 third overall pick ended up becoming an important contributor to Kinnear’s lineup. Needing more net revenue, Florida acquired Kahkonen from the Winnipeg Jets at the NHL trade deadline.
When last season’s talent exited, the team quickly got to work. forward Brian PinhoThe 25-goal scorer for the Bridgeport Islanders came to Charlotte on an AHL contract. forward Jack Stadnicka After a 45-point season with the Ontario Reign, he signed with Florida. The same goes for forwarding Nolan Footewho should be able to deliver 20 goals. Florida State President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Zito His staff has been actively searching for undrafted talent from Europe. They brought Timla up front Anton Lundmark Enter into a one-year agreement. Another goalkeeper signed during the offseason Brandon Buseycould have become Charlotte’s No. 1 net worth player. Instead, he went off waivers from the Carolina Hurricanes. Still, maybe he’ll return to the team at some point to help the goalies. At least now, the Checkers have gone out and brought in Kevin Mandolis As a professional option for some additional insurance cooper black.
Youth has also arrived. forward Gresyn Sochin2023 second-round draft pick who has turned pro with the Checkers. defensive player Marek Alsher and Mikulas Hovolka Now has gone through the rigors of the Calder Cup chase. Another SHL product, Defender Ludwig JanssonLast season he won the championship with Luleå and came to North America. forward Jack Devine, Brett Joskand Ben Steves The Checkers played an extra two months of high-pressure, high-stakes hockey last spring, and everyone gained valuable postseason experience. The same goes for defenders Eamon Powell. forward Mackenzie Entwistle and defenders Mickey Vander Samper They are back in the starting lineup after missing most of last season due to injury. Wilmer Skog and Sandys Vermanis More help up front. hunter st martin Is the new face of the WHL.
The moves have barely slowed down, either. Ben Harpur, Hunter Johannes, Cole Krygier, Jack Livingstone, Josh Lopina, Robert Mastrosimon, Daniel Walcottand Andy Welinski All received opportunities with NHL and/or AHL organizations during training camp. Livingstone has remained with the Checkers, while Johannes, Lopina and Mastrosimone have all gone to their ECHL affiliate, the Savannah Phantom Pirates, where they could become solid AHL recall players. Krygier had just been recalled from Savannah.
Last week brought PTO (85 AHL games) and forward to Mandolese Brett LeesonSpent last season with the Anaheim Ducks. Showed up two days later Tyler Mott on the power take-off. The 30-year-old, who went to training camp in Florida last month, has 454 NHL games under his belt.
All these new faces mean the Checkers are very much a team in transition. It’s not just about getting systems and identities in place. For now, it’s more like putting names on all these new faces. But it takes time.
Still, the Checkers look strong so far. They’re off to a 3-1-0-0 start, beating the Iowa Wild 10-3 last weekend and allowing the visitors a franchise-record 12 shots on Saturday. Steeves has a goal in each of his four games, Charlotte has been strong in every game so far, and Sochin has a point in each of his three games so far.
A tough test awaits this weekend as 5-0-0-0 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton visits Bojangles Arena for games on Friday and Saturday. this AHL FloHockey Games of the Week Saturday’s game will be streamed for free on all FloHockey social platforms at 6 p.m. ET.
Kinnear is pleased and encouraged by the effort so far.
“As a team, we’re going to need some time to figure out how we’re going to play,” Kinnear told the team’s website after last Saturday’s win. He added that he’s not paying attention to Iowa State at all because his players have so much to do. “We talked about ourselves and how we wanted to play. We knew we had a lot of work to do so we wanted to get to the way we wanted to play. We’ll start worrying about the other team in due course, but now is not that time.”
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