"Everybody wants winners," Poturalski said, "and that's what we've preached all year long."
The AHL affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago defeated Springfield (St. Louis Blues) in five games to win the Calder Cup Final.
It was the first Calder Cup championship since 2019, when the Hurricanes' previous affiliate, Charlotte, won the title. The AHL did not have playoffs the past two seasons because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Members of that Charlotte team are all over the NHL now.
Jake Bean (Columbus Blue Jackets), Patrick Brown (Philadelphia Flyers), Julien Gauthier (New York Rangers), Morgan Geekie (Seattle Kraken), Steven Lorentz (Hurricanes), Martin Necas (Hurricanes), Alex Nedeljkovic (Detroit Red Wings), Nicolas Roy (Vegas Golden Knights), and Dustin Tokarski (Buffalo Sabres) played in the NHL this season after being part of that Charlotte championship run. Coach Mike Vellucci graduated to the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he is an assistant.
This Chicago roster is similarly positioned to deliver NHL-ready talent to the Hurricanes, and the rest of the League too.
Pyotr Kochetkov
celebrated his 23rd birthday Saturday by winning the Calder Cup. The goalie returned to Chicago after the Hurricanes lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Second Round to the New York Rangers. A second-round pick (No. 36) in the 2019 NHL Draft, he teamed with veteran
Alex Lyon
to provide exceptional goaltending in the playoffs.
Kochetkov played -- and won -- Games 2, 3, and 4 of the Final, including a 36-save shutout in Game 3. Lyon finished the series with a 28-save shutout in Game 5.
In six AHL playoff games, Kochetkov was 5-1, and his 1.65 goals-against average and .950 save percentage each ranked second among AHL goalies. Following his arrival from Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the Kontinental Hockey League in mid-February, he was 13-1-1 with a 2.09 GAA and .921 save percentage in 15 regular-season games. He was named AHL Rookie of the Month in March before his promotion to the Hurricanes.
Forward
Jack Drury
is another second-round pick who looks to be a key part of the future for the Hurricanes. Carolina selected the forward No. 42 in the 2018 NHL Draft and the 22-year-old had 52 points (20 goals, 32 assists) in 68 regular-season games this season. He then broke out in the Calder Cup Playoffs to finish third in the league with 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 18 games.
Defensemen
Jalen Chatfield
,
Joey Keane
and
Maxime Lajoie
also could be candidates to play in the NHL.
Chatfield, an undrafted 26-year-old, has emerged as a late bloomer and had three assists in 16 regular-season games for the Hurricanes. First signed by Carolina to a one-year contract July 30, 2021 following four seasons in the Vancouver Canucks organization, he signed a two-year contract with the Hurricanes on Jan. 21. He had 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) in 44 regular-season games with Chicago and eight points (two goals, six assists) in 18 playoff games.
Carolina acquired the 24-year-old Lajoie from the Ottawa Senators for forward Clark Bishop on Jan. 12, 2021; Ottawa had selected him in the fifth round (No. 133) of the 2016 NHL Draft. He played five regular-season games with Carolina and had 33 points (four goals, 29 assists) in 62 games to tie Keane (seven goals, 26 assists in 60 games) for the scoring lead among Chicago defensemen during the regular season.
Keane, 22, came to the Carolina organization in a trade for Gauthier on Feb. 18, 2020, and led AHL defensemen in Calder Cup Playoff scoring with 12 points (one goal, 11 assists) in 18 games. The Rangers selected him in the third round (No. 88) of the 2018 draft.
Chicago coach Ryan Warsofsky also is a candidate to move up to the NHL in some capacity. An assistant with Charlotte in 2019, he was promoted to coach with Charlotte on July 10, 2019 and then shifted to Chicago with the affiliation change. In three AHL seasons, the 34-year-old is 105-47-11-7 (.671) in the regular season.
