Colby Guy
With Sasha Barkov out for an undetermined amount of time with a suspected left knee injury, the Florida Panthers may eventually need to call up a center from the Charlotte Checkers.
The good news is the Panthers have plenty of options — both in Florida and with their AHL team in North Carolina.
The Checkers are 7-6-1 and are tied for third place in the AHL’s Atlantic Division after losing Friday night to Kevin Dineen’s unbeaten Utica team.
A lot of their success has to do with the center depth they have on their roster, something Florida has succeed with throughout the organization.
Here are four candidates who could receive a call-up if the Panthers need reinforcements while Barkov is out:
Zac Dalpe
Dalpe already saw action with the Panthers this season after both Joe Thornton and Sam Bennett went down with an injury, playing 6:08 with a minus-1 in Florida’s shootout loss to the Boston Bruins on Oct. 30.
The 32-year-old has some NHL experience, playing in 154 games since entering the league in the 2010-11 season, including a 55-game season which saw him record four goals and seven points with the Vancouver Canucks.
Dalpe currently has three goals and five points in 11 games with the Checkers but serves a more defensively-minded role on the team.
With Barkov’s penalty kill minutes gone, he’s a guy who can eat up some of those minutes if needed.
Dalpe is the most NHL experienced player among potential Charlotte call-ups whom Bill Zito knows extremely well from his days in Columbus and with the AHL Cleveland team.
He has been known as a grinder throughout his career, standing at 6-2, 197 pounds, while being able to make plays in the defensive zone.
Dalpe’s offensive game isn’t entirely there, so don’t think he can replace Barkov’s scoring numbers. But Florida would not be asking him to.
Aleksi Heponiemi
For a lot of teams, young, talented two-way forwards from Finland don’t grow on trees.
Apparently, they do in Sunrise.
With Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen already in the fold, Aleksi Heponiemi is a guy who can serve in a similar role as a player who can both kill penalties and put up points.
He saw his first NHL games last season with the Panthers, scoring a goal and an assist for two points in nine games.
Heponiemi looked very promising in the defensive zone as well.
This season with the Checkers, it’s more of the same, as Florida’s 2017 second-round pick currently has three goals and eight points in 14 games so far.
The 22-year-old brings a lot of what Florida is missing, a strong offensive game with the ability to kill penalties.
While it isn’t at Barkov’s level, it still fills voids that he leaves in the lineup.
The big issue with Heponiemi is his size.
He only weighs 155 pounds at 5-9, so he doesn’t have the strength you’d like to see out of a center in the offensive zone.
His skill does make up for it, so it would be interesting to see how he can utilize that skill at his size on NHL ice.
Logan Hutsko
Perhaps one of the better offensive players on the Checkers this season, Logan Hutsko earned the right to be considered for a call-up.
The Tampa native currently leads all Florida prospects on the team in points with 10 and is second in goals with four. Only Seattle prospect Alex True has more points with 14.
Florida’s 2018 third-round pick is quickly showing a complete game on the offensive end of the ice, being able to work in the dirty areas and score goals any way he needs to.
Hutsko also possesses a strong playmaking ability and is able to dish the puck to his linemates.
He currently plays as a right wing on Charlotte’s roster, but he played the center position in the past.
In his freshman season with Boston College, he played some minutes at center and went 23-19 (54.8 percent) in the face-off circle.
While he since moved to the wing, his offensive prowess could be worth giving him a look at wing or shifting over another player on the roster to center to give him a look on the roster regardless.
With the season he’s having, it’s worth a shot.
Cole Schwindt
Cole Schwindt seemingly came out of nowhere to enter consideration for a call-up.
After not recording a single point in his first seven games, Schwindt now leads the team in goals with six after recording eight points in his last nine games.
He played junior hockey with Owen Tippett with the Mississauga Steelheads, so the two of them would be able to re-kindle some chemistry if they were to play together.
In the 2018-19 season, Schwindt had 19 goals and 30 assists for 49 points in 68 games, playing some of his games alongside Tippett.
The 20-year-old kills penalties in Charlotte and currently shares a league lead in shorthanded goals with two of them.
He is still a dark horse in this race, but his penalty-killing ability and his scoring ability that seemingly caught on fire as of late give him a chance to make an impact.