Noesen contributing in playoffs after reviving NHL career with Hurricanes

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Stefan Noesen is enjoying the ride of his NHL career with the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference First Round against the New York Islanders.

After a rejuvenating campaign in the American Hockey League last season, the 30-year-old has found a niche with Carolina this season as a versatile forward and its net-front player on the power play. He's played a key role against the Islanders with four points (two goals, two assists), all on the power play, putting the Hurricanes on the verge of advancing with a lead 3-2 in the best-of-7 series heading into Game 6 at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on Friday (7 p.m. ET; TBS, SN360, TVAS2, MSGSN, BSSO).
"It means a lot," Noesen said. "I would say it's a dream come true, but I've gotten in almost 300 NHL games now, so can't really say it's a dream come true."
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The dream could have ended last season when, after signing a one-year contract with the Hurricanes on Aug. 1 2021, he was sent to the Chicago of the AHL. The previous season, he was relegated to the taxi squad when he wasn't in the AHL and didn't have a point in six NHL games - five with the San Jose Sharks and one with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"He was trying to find his way," said Ryan Warsofsky, Chicago's coach last season and an assistant with the Sharks this season. "He was probably struggling a little bit on the mental side of being a professional athlete. It's not just you show up to the rink and this is who you are. We almost had to rebuild him a little bit as far as his mentality."
The No. 21 pick by the Ottawa Senators in the 2011 NHL Draft, Noesen was at a crossroads after eight professional seasons that included NHL stints with the Anaheim Ducks (2014-2017), New Jersey Devils (2017-2019), Pittsburgh Penguins (2019), Sharks (2019-2021) and Maple Leafs (2021).
He'd overcome tearing the MCL and ACL in his left knee in 2013-14, a torn Achilles tendon in 2014-15 and another left knee injury in 2018-19, and being claimed off waivers twice, by New Jersey and San Jose.
So, though frustrated, Noesen was determined to turn his assignment to Chicago into an opportunity. That's what it became after he led the AHL with 48 goals, including 13 on the power play and a league-leading 13 game-winning goals, in 70 regular-season games last season. He scored nine more goals, including five on the power play, and had 25 points in 18 playoff games to help Chicago win the Calder Cup as AHL champions.
"It was so much fun," he said. "It was so enjoyable. Our team was so good and to able to have the camaraderie we did and the coaching and the player personnel and everything, that's an experience that I hold strong."
It led to a two-year contract with the Hurricanes last summer and the chance to spend an entire season in the NHL for the first time since 2018-19 with the Devils. Playing up and down Carolina's lineup, Noesen had an NHL career-high 36 points (13 goals, 23 assists) in 78 regular-season games. He tied Sebastian Aho for second on the Hurricanes with seven power-play goals, behind Martin Necas with nine.
Noesen has carried it into the playoffs, scoring power-play goals in each of the first two games against the Islanders, including the game-winning deflection goal in a 2-1 win in Game 1, and assisting on two power-play goals in the Hurricanes' 5-2 victory in Game 4.
"Last year was just such a weird year in general with how things transpired from training camp on and going down [to Chicago] and being a veteran guy down there and leading our team," Noesen said. "It's a different experience coming here. You're kind of the small man on the totem pole, give or take, even though I'm top 10 in oldest guys, which is kind of weird. But it's fun. It's interesting. You're learning a lot from these guys."

Although Noesen rarely played on the power play previously in NHL -- his lone power-play goal in the League was with the Sharks in 2019-20 -- Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said it was "an easy decision" to put him net front on their first power-play unit this season.
"He scored 50 goals in the minors later year from about five feet," Brind'Amour said. "So, pretty simple. … We know the player and he had a great year last year and that's kind of where he made his living."
Noesen's size (6-foot-1, 205 pounds), strength and knack for deflecting pucks make him a natural for playing in front of the net on the power play. He played there in junior with Plymouth in the Ontario Hockey League, scoring 14 of his team-leading 38 goals in 2011-12 on the power play.
"He's one of the best I've seen in front of the offensive-zone net," Warsofsky said. "He just creates space. He can get his stick on pucks like I've never seen anyone else do."
To Noesen, it's about effort and opportunity.
"Not the most skilled. Not the fastest," he said. "There are a lot of guys that are way more skilled than I am. The job that I do is very simple. It's effective and these guys appreciate it."
That much is evident by how well-liked Noesen is in the Hurricanes locker room.
"It's awesome," said Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis, who converted a backdoor feed from Noesen for a 5-on-3 power-play goal in Game 4. "You never want to give up on yourself and I don't think he's lost confidence in his game or who he is as a player. So, for him to be able to come in and contribute like this at such an important time is awesome."
After being through so much in his career, Noesen has learned to cherish these moments, and hopes there are more ahead for in the playoffs.
"We've worked really hard, my family, my wife," he said. "We've worked really, really hard to get back to this position and you don't take it for granted any single day. You work your [butt] off just to make that sure you can provide for them and now we're in a position to do something special, hopefully, and we leave it out there every single night."