I wouldn't be surprised to see Saarela at LW and Necas at RW on the 3rd line next season. With a fourth line of Foegele/Martinook/McGinn and Mckegg as the extra. So maybe Maenalanen is added to a trade.
Playing two rookies on the third line worked this year. Staal, given his experience and playing style, might be an ideal center. Unlike most, I think Wallmark will be fine next season. So far in his professional career he has increased production at least 75% (from year 1 to year 2 and year 2 to year 3 in the SHL; from year 1 to year 2 in the AHL). Watching him in Charlotte it was obvious that he focuses on defense and technique then becomes much more comfortable and finds his playmaking creativity.
Necas and Saarela would add a lot of speed. There would be some transition challenges, but likely not as many as Svechnikov had.
Just like Ned being ready--this a GOOD problem to have.
I don't see Rod putting 2 rookies with Staal, no matter how good he is defensively. While we like a lot of our bottom 6 guys because of their heart, effort, and grit, I'd guess that more than a couple of them won't be with the team next season.
Like you 42, I'm okay with Wallmark's season and think he's going to be just fine as a 3C/4C going forward. He's very talented distributing the puck, responsible defensively, and will definitely improve on his "whiff" factor.
Necas is a lock and out goes Wallmark. Warren and Brock are not going anywhere, out goes Mana and out goes McKegg. Hello Gauthier and Saarela/Geekie.
I don't buy this at all. I think Necas makes the team but he'll start at RW. Both Martinook and Foegele will likely be back. I'm guessing so will Brock McGinn. Who knows about Saku and Kegger. There's no way Geekie is going to make the team next season, barring a significant injury. Saarela will likely battle for a role, but as other's have said, he's going to have to overcome whatever Rod saw in him in camp last season. If it was an effort thing, I believe Vellucci got that message through to him (see Maenalanen, Saku).
That’s 4 guys for your top 6, with 2 Cs left over in Staal and Necas.
I'd be surprised if Necas was in the Top 6 to start the season. Look for him to get similar treatment to Svechnikov/Martinook.
Personally, I think the Top 6 is set for next season with Niederreiter/Aho/William and Svechnikov/Staal/Teravainen. The question, for me, is will the team pick up another secondary scorer (a 3c, perhaps)? If that's the case then maybe there's a slot for a winger somewhere, but I'm not sure that's the case.
Personally, I think there's a tweaking of the 3rd line, a firming up of our goaltending (as in a decision being made on Mrazek/Nedeljkovic/McElhinney), and the 4th line remains a petri dish.
I see this as a good thing. Instead of having to ***** about the team not being in the playoffs again, the biggest criticism is what Brett Finger tweeted about the Charlotte Checkers and that Sara didn't have to ask the tough questions this season. Bizarro world in HFCanes.
Having a good AHL club with realistically good prospects is indeed a good thing. I also remember thinking that Boychuk, Dalpe, Bowman, and Terry were all future NHLers. Having "journalists" fawn over the Checkers doesn't bother me, especially given the season that they're having.
I've evolved enough to realize the Carrick is nothing more than a 7/8 defender. But I do believe that both Saarela and Gauthier deserve some of the recent approbation. In their last 20 games Gauthier and Saarela have 11 and 13 goals respectively. That's a distinct uptick in performance at a time that's important. That's also a skill set that this team still could use (Carolina currently is shooting at a blazing 8.6%). Vellucci commented on how Saarela's two-way game has improved and how Gauthier has been scoring "clutch" goals for them. In my mind, these are reasons to be optimistic and hopeful for camp next season. But given the Canes youth and current run of play, nobody deserves to be handed a spot, even Necas.
And given he's been a strong performer AND is a right shot, maybe Poturalski should be given a bit of an extended look next training camp.
I'm not condoning homer-sim from the local press, but let's put some of these things into perspective. Our AHL club is more talented than ever and some of those guys just might be actual NHLers.
I won't be impressed until his brother does.
We all want a little piece of Bradley....
