When one considers the Carolina Hurricanes roster and difference-makers for the 2018-19 season to date, one of the things that jumps out is the number of players who were not expected to be part of the NHL mix at all but are instead playing key roles
Curtis McElhinney
Top of the list of surprise difference-makers is Curtis McElhinney. He was not even on the roster toward the end of training camp but was added via waivers when Scott Darling was injured. Right now, the Hurricanes are three games above .500. Scott McElhinney is five games above .500. It is difficult to say where the Canes would be if they were instead still trying to convert Darling into a serviceable NHL goalie.
Replaced: Scott Darling
Lucas Wallmark
Wallmark had a strong preseason but still seemed destined for a return to the AHL if not for Victor Rask’s injury. Fast forward to today, and Wallmark is filling the difficult match up line role usually filled by Staal who is out with an injury. The jury is still out on whether he can find a higher gear offensively as he settles in at the NHL level, but regardless, Wallmark is already playing a significantly larger role than expected.
Replaced: Victor Rask initially and then later Martin Necas (though indirectly).
Greg McKegg
Despite being in the Hurricanes organization heading into training camp, Greg McKegg seemed very unlikely to factor in at the NHL level. Right now, the sample size is small but McKegg’s Canes debut and short burst of four points in seven games is worth watching.
Replaced: Jordan Staal who is out with an injury.
Saku Maenalanen
As with McKegg, the sample size at the NHL level is tiny for Maenalanen. But also just like McKegg, Maenalanen has seized the opportunity when presented with it. After scoring twice on Tuesday, Maenalanen suddenly has four points in only nine games.
Replaced: Phil Di Giuseppe
What say you Canes fans?
1) Which of these players would you consider to be the biggest surprise so far for the 2018-19 season?
2) Is there another player that you would add to this list of difference-makers who would have been expected to contribute before the season started?
3) Which of these players do you expect to have the biggest role going forward?
Go Canes!
1) Maenalanen. Though I thought he would be called up, I didn’t expect him to get 4 goals (actually 5 points in 9 games). His shot looks good enough to think he can continue to score in the NHL.
2) Clark Bishop. While he hasn’t contributed on the scoresheet like McKegg and Maenalanen, he set the tone for the other call-ups. His speed and aggressiveness were evident every shift. Even in Charlotte he didn’t score much, but his determination always seemed to make his line mates put forth their best efforts.
3) Wallmark. The odds are he will find his scoring touch. I think a good comparable is Frans Nielsen (not so much style as trajectory) who was picked outside the first two rounds, took a while to make it to the NHL, and had very little production the first two partial seasons (a total of 5 points in 31 games). Beginning at 24, Nielsen became a dependable 15 goal 30 assist center with strong two-way play. That is how I see Wallmark–I just don’t know if the offense will appear the remainder of this season or next.
It’s really the first time since Pesce and Slavin were called up in Nov ’15 that unexpected players contributed at this level (although not at their level).
It would be more than awesome if Wallmark turned into a Frans Nielsen-type of player but I think that may take a while; I do think his primary responsibility has been to replace Staal as our shut-down Center – and he’s done a great job stepping up – so maybe he’ll start to focus on scoring now that he high confidence in his defensive game he can shift focus a bit; there is more upside there for sure. Saku has a real chance to stick around if he continues to score the type of goals he’s scored – goal-scorer’s goals. We don’t have enough of that.
Curtis is a great story and may be able to perform at this level for another few years, but his age is going to catch up with him eventually. I’d like to keep him around unless we get too good an offer for him at the Deadline.
1) Big Mac. It did not occur to me that we would find a solution in goal from the waiver wire. Once we picked him up, though, I predicted that he would stick.
2) Bishop. He also wasn’t on my radar. As CT said I think he may have been essential to demonstrating to all of our prospects that they can step in and be successful.
3) All of them! Hockey is a pure team sport where each player must play their role with excellence for the team to succeed. Given recent history though McElhinney is making the biggest impact to outcomes.
1. Saku – with the recognition of how close we came to losing him. He was benched for a game or two at the beginning of the AHL season for lack of effort (Vellucci effectively wield the hammer of ice time when it comes to accountability) and came back with the message received, and Vellucci had nothing but praise for him. But by December the word was out that he was thinking of leaving for the KHL, where he would be much better paid.
He has proved himself an effective 4th liner – although his low-effort start in CLT makes me wonder how driven he is as a player.
2. Bishop is the obvious choice, per ct.
3. Wallmark. Mac’s knee issue have flared up (which I think will limit his availability the remainder of the season) and RBA indicated they do not expect Staal back in the lineup “anytime soon”. He is going to be called upon to continue doing what he has been doing.
If the team continues to play at this higher level (recent), RBA is my choice for MVperson!
Rookie coaches don’t frequently get good in less than a year or two!