Today saw a reasonably predictable move in the Canes calling up Brendan Woods to get the forward count back up to 12 after yesterday’s return to the AHL for Derek Ryan and Brock McGinn. Today also saw a couple of unusual AHL-level trades/loans that saw AHL veterans Zach Boychuk and T.J. Hensick leave and a couple players come back.

 

Zach Boychuk and T.J. Hensick traded/loaned

To be honest, I am not sure what to make of the Boychuk and Hensick moves. These AHL-level trades happen but are not that common and seeing 2 on the same day feels like something more than random. Best guess is that Francis is just looking to shake things up in Charlotte to see if he can find a burst of energy that gets the struggling team headed in the right direction while the playoffs are still a possibility. It is also possible that this is an early start on cutting ties with a couple players who are not in the organization’s future plans though it is a little bit out of the ordinary not to just wait until the season ends.

 

Brendan Woods joins Hurricanes

News closer to Raleigh had the Canes recalling Brendan Woods. Woods will likely play in his third NHL game on Tuesday night and will be the next player to get a tryout look with the big club as Francis and Peters work to assess what they currently have as relates to building the team for the 2016-17 season.

 

Possible role for Woods at NHL level

At a basic level, Brendan Woods fits in a role similar to the 1 currently occupied by Brad Malone. Woods is a big body and physical presence with a willingness to drop the gloves and handle the rough stuff when needed. But here’s the thing – my bet says that the Canes will not go out of their way to put a player in this role for next season. On a team that will probably be heavy on youth and question marks at forward, I think Francis and Peters will want to spend as many of the 12-13 forward slots that they have on players who might prove capable of being a top 9 forward with scoring capability. So while I do think Peters would like to add another bigger, rugged power forward or 2 to the lineup, I do not think it will happen at the expense of being capable of contributing offensively.

Therein lies the challenge for Woods. I think his mission to make an impression is to play with a bull in a China shop power forward style of play but equally importantly prove capable of matching NHL pace and kicking in scoring-wise. I think the possibility is there. My impression of him in the summer 2014 was that he just was not mobile enough to play in today’s NHL at the time, but the key caveat was that he was just coming off of a significant knee injury and likely playing at something less than 100% while he got back up to speed. This summer, Woods looked faster and fresher and earned a long look in training camp because of it.

 

Evaluation checkpoints for Woods

So my checkpoints for evaluating Woods as a potential 2016-17 NHLer are these:

1) Can he match the NHL pace? A big, powerful,…insert another 5-6 great power forward words player who just cannot keep up will not cut it.

2) Can he contribute enough offensively? I actually think that Brad Malone has had a good season in his limited role. As noted above, the issue is that I do not think the Canes will have room to carry a player exclusively for that limited role next season. Woods put up 30 points in 68 games last season. I think the path to him winning an NHL job would require a passing grade on #1 combined with showing a potential to score at a decent clip (25-30 points) in a fourth line role.

3) Can he use physical play to be a noticeable difference-maker? In noting the pace and scoring requirements, I do not mean to discount the value of physical play. There is value in adding another player who is difficult to play against but only if coupled with more.

 

With the Canes only having 12 healthy forwards right now, the expectation is that Brendan Woods will hop straight into the lineup and get his chance to make an impression on Peters and Francis for building out the 2016-17 roster.

 

Go Canes!

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