Checkers play themselves in the competition | TheAHL.com

Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer

The Charlotte Checkers will host the Stanley Cup on Saturday.

The multi-story Hockey Cup will be at Bojangles Coliseum with the Checkers facing Bridgeport as Charlotte celebrates a championship won by its NHL affiliate, the Florida Panthers, in June.

And the way the Checkers were playing, they might be making themselves Calder Cup players this spring.

Just ask the Springfield Thunderbirds, a tough team in their own right. The Thunderbirds came to town with an 8-1-2-0 record in their last 11 games, but the Checkers made a statement of their own with back-to-back, back-to-back wins after the teams' two games. set this week.

Charlotte started 6-1-0-0 and quickly looked like it could be a top contender from the Atlantic Division this season. A November slide where they went 1-3-1-2 dented that early momentum, but a revitalized Checkers club has won eight of its last 10 games and sits six points behind first-place Hershey with four games in hand entering. play this weekend.

As expected, the Bears in their back-to-back Calder Cup championships look dangerous. As often seems to be the case, Providence is growing after a slow start. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton looks to be on the mend after several years without power. But in the mix are the Checkers, thanks to the partnership with the Panthers who have flourished since their inception in 2020.

The same management team that helped build a Stanley Cup winner in South Florida applied that same high standard in Charlotte. Shortly after the Panthers won the Stanley Cup for the first time, the organization began working on rebuilding the Checkers.

The protector Trevor Carrickwho won the Calder Cup with the Checkers in 2019, returned to Charlotte on a two-year AHL contract; is second among all league blueliners in scoring (24 points). Another veteran, Jacob Megnaadded later, includes incoming prospects Marek Alscher again Mikulas Hovorka. Tobias Bjornfot2019 first-round pick by the Los Angeles Kings, restarted in Florida organization after being claimed off waivers last March; he has become a reliable figure for the Checkers this season. Experienced frontrunners Kyle Criscuolo again John Leonard signed in with Checkers. Aidan McDonoughan AHL offseason signing from the Abbotsford Canucks, has arrived and is tied for the team lead with 10 goals. Oliver Okuliarwho had 24 goals last season with Czech team Mountfield HK, already has 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in 21 games for Charlotte.

Florida also went out and found reliable insurance to participate, it delivers Chris Driedger returned to the organization as a free agent after helping lead the Coachella Valley Firebirds to last season's Calder Cup final. Ken Appleby came south from Bridgeport on an AHL deal in Charlotte and provided another strong hand in net.

In between all those hockey years came off-ice changes. Zawyer Sports & Entertainment purchased a controlling interest in the Checkers in a deal that brought new growth potential while maintaining stability. Michael Kahnmajority owner of the club since 2006, remains in the organization as the largest minority partner and former Checkers front office led by chief executive. Tera Black he remained strong.

This Checkers team is punishing in many areas. One-third of the way through their schedule, Charlotte has converted 33.7 percent of its power plays (32-for-95). The penalty kill is seventh in the league at 85.1 percent, and they have scored a league-leading six goals. The Checkers lead the league in scoring, averaging 3.83 goals per game, and are first in both (32.54) and (24.75) shots on goal per contest.

There is talent throughout the lineup, too, something the Checkers needed as they were injured. Tuesday was a rookie Ben Steeves his third-period equalizer clinched a 5–4 victory over Springfield. On Wednesday, Charlotte trailed by two before winning 4-3, with another goal by Steeves early in the third period to tie the game. Wilmer Skoogwho scored 22 goals last season, scored one in the last minute.

This week's assignment left the head coach Geordie Kinnear impressed. Not one to admire, these Checkers earned respect from their head coach, a tough, punishing defenseman who came through a tough 1990s New Jersey Devils run program. Lou Lamoriello that produced one hope after another.

“I give the guys a ton of credit,” Kinnear told reporters following Tuesday's win. “You look for opportunities to build resilience throughout the year, and tonight we built it.”

Kinnear called Wednesday's win “gutsy.” It was a theme that could lead the Checkers to great things this season.

In the American Hockey League for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams and currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL's James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the league's top scorer in 2016.