RALEIGH, N.C. - The last few years for Noel Gunler have been a roller coaster, to say the least.
Selected in the second round of the 2020 draft by Carolina, the skilled forward was signed to an entry-level contract in March 2022.
Coming to North America right away and immediately playing in 21 games (regular season + postseason) with the Chicago Wolves, he was a member of the Calder Cup-winning group.
But things went sideways the following year.
Playing in just 31 games for the Wolves, Gunler dealt with injuries that prohibited him from getting to the level of offensive production that his game had become synonymous with.
After surgery cut his season short, the injury bug continued to bite him while he played in Finland for the 2023-24 campaign. Dressing for Karpat, he was only able to skate in 24 games before going under the knife once again.
"It's been really tough. For the last year and a half, I haven't played hockey without anything bothering me," Gunler said on Monday. "It's been tough, mentally."