NFL
By: Allan Erickson
It has been a rough rebuild for the Carolina Hurricanes, 8 seasons without a playoff birth is a tough pill to swallow. Last season, the Hurricanes traded away long-time captain, and face of the franchise, Eric Staal. This season, the Canes are 5 points back from a wildcard birth, and in the thick of things in February. It’s been a long time since the fans have been this excited. Even if the Canes don’t make the postseason this year, there’s great hope in this team’s future.
Brett Pesce and Jaccob Slavin form the leagues best young shutdown pair, with a young Noah Hanifin playing solid hockey, as well. Justin Faulk continues to dazzle with his point blasts. Brock Mcginn and Derek Ryan have been phenomenal assets to the Canes since being recalled from Charlotte. Jordan Staal is a grinding two-way forward, paired with snipers Elias Lindholm and Jeff Skinner. With all of this young talent, Canes fans have a ray of hope for the future. By the way, all of the aforementioned players are under 30 years of age. However, it all starts with the biggest steal in the 2015 NHL draft. With the 35th overall pick, the Carolina Hurricanes select- Sebastian Aho, Forward from Finland.
At only 19 years of age, many wondered if Aho would need time with the AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. Now we’re 49 games into the NHL season, Aho has played in every game, and is the 3rd leading scorer for rookies, only trailing Auston Matthews and Patrick Laine, the first and second overall picks in the 2016 NHL Draft. Aho has tallied 15 goals and 15 assists in 49 games played, including 3 game-winning goals, and 2 assists on game-winners. He’s a minus 3 on the year, and has dealt with head coach Bill Peters’ consistent changing of his line-mates beautifully. Aho is a great hockey player, but what’s most impressive about young Sebastian, is his incredible understanding of the game of hockey. He has the appearance of a 12-year old. At only 5’11 inches, 172 pounds, you’d think he’d be outmatched and physically dominated, at the level he’s competing. Not so fast. Aho has a knack for making plays you’d expect from a 12-year veteran. His hockey senses are in the top 5 percentile in the league, and despite his small stature, he plays a physical style of hockey, with the dekes and poise the likes of a Sydney Crosby.
Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Flyers, Aho brought the crowd at PNC arena to their feet, with his first career hat-trick. His first goal started with Jordan Staal’s forecheck, forcing a turnover, and finding a streaking Aho. Sebastian did the rest, with a beautiful backhand to forehand deke, around a Philadelphia defenseman, leaving the goalie with zero chance to stop the breakaway. His second goal came from a great individual effort. He made a critical play to trap the offensive zone, gave a cross-ice backhand feed to Elias Lindholm, then skated to the slot and delivered a goal, a one-timer on the dish from Lindholm. His third goal came on the power play in the second period (side note, credit Bill Peters and assistant Coach Steve Smith for their work on what has been a dreadful man advantage for the Hurricanes, this season. The Canes took advantage of Philadelphia’s penalties, capitalizing with 2 goals on the power play, a huge sign of encouragement for the Canes and their fans.) Parked in the slot, Aho received a sweet saucer-dish from Lindholm, and sniped the puck over the glove-side shoulder of Philadelphia goalie Steve Mason. To top of his hat trick, Aho earned his fourth point of the evening with an assist to Justin Faulk in the third period, to put the Canes up 5-0.
The canes as a whole performed admirably in as close to a must-win game as you’ll find midway through the season. The Flyers are the team sitting in the second wildcard spot, with the Hurricanes, and others, giving chase. A game like this one, at home against a team currently holding the playoff spot your team wants, that’s when the stars come out, enter Aho. On a team with such a young core, it’s easy to be excited about the future of this franchise. Carolina, the third youngest team in the league by average age, will be a force for years to come. But the Hurricanes haven’t had a superstar in quite some time, and while it may be a little premature, if you’re watching closely, Sebastian Aho is already a superstar. Caniacs have fallen in love with this young man, and from the bottom of our hearts, we’d like to thank every single General Manager who passed on Aho, allowing him to fall all the way to 35th in the draft. We’ve been giving a blessing from the hockey Gods. This kid is a special hockey player, and in 15 years, I look forward to reading this article, reflecting on the career that Sebastian had, and knowing he was going to be sensational. The future is bright for the Hurricanes, and Sebastian Aho is the shooting star this franchise has been missing for some time.
