Notebook: Taking the Positives
AHL Charlotte Checkers

Notebook: Taking the Positives

Published on November 5, 2025 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release


The Checkers' first extended road trip of the season is in the books, and the three-game swing was marked by a variety of highs and lows throughout.

"Each game was different," said head coach Geordie Kinnear.

The first leg of the trip was a midweek visit to Hartford, where the Checkers struck first before surrendering four straight goals - including three in the second period - to fall 4-1.

"Hartford game, I think you like a little bit of the structure," said Kinnear. "Didn't give up a whole lot, but what we did give up was grade A's. Obviously they capitalized on the chances but you don't want to be the team that gives up free chances. I felt that some of their goals were on us. They had to execute, obviously, but those are mistakes that we don't want to give up when we're playing at our best."

The Checkers bounced back two nights later in Springfield, building a big lead and weathering a late push to claim a 5-3 victory in a penalty-riddled contest.

"In Springfield, guys did a great job adapting," said Kinnear. "I thought we were in sync as a group. You don't like having nine power plays [against], but we got a lot of work on the PK, which is a positive. Guys were getting opportunities that they haven't had and you saw our identity and how we want to kill. But overall you like the amount of chances, the zone time, etc."

The weekend wrapped up in Providence, where the Checkers went toe-to-toe with the Eastern Conference's top team but ultimately fell 5-2.

"Then you go to Providence, they're an elite team," said Kinnear. "If you're looking on paper, probably one of the best teams you're going to see in the American Hockey League. Skill level of the team they had last year, then they add two top scorers in the American Hockey League [Matej Blumel and Alex Steeves]. Good lesson for us."

It was a less than ideal final result for the Checkers, who now sit in the middle of the Atlantic Division with a .500 record, but nine games into the season the focus is on building out of these moments.

"You don't love the two losses," said Kinnear. "But every game you take out of it a little more experience, a little more chemistry. Coaches are learning the group a little more - how they learn, how they need to play. It's all positive, we're just going to continue to work and build as a group."

That message has quickly permeated the room.

"Take the positives out of each game, try and keep things loose in the dressing room," said Checkers captain Trevor Carrick. "Obviously you want to be winning hockey games. But if you're seeing every game that you're getting better, guys are building chemistry and you're seeing the difference, I think it's a little easier to come and keep building and working. It takes time. It's a long year, you've got a lot of hockey games. You just have to have that short term memory and move on from that to the next one."

With a younger-skewing roster, the veteran voices on the team are using their experience to help guide their teammates through the ups and downs that come with the pro game.

"Not making up any excuses, but it does take time to gel and build chemistry," said Carrick. "I think the biggest thing is just having some of the younger guys let their personalities out and get comfortable around the room and more importantly on the ice. I think we're starting to see it a little bit. There are some really good hockey teams in our division, especially with Providence and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, so we're playing some good teams. You learn quickly that you have to bring your A game every night. That's professional hockey, you can't really take any days off."

FINDING THE BACK OF THE NET

Part of Charlotte's early growing pains have been on the offensive side of the puck. Over the last five games the Checkers have scored 10 total goals - five of those came in the lone win over that stretch, while five came across the other four contests in which the team went 0-3-1-0.

The coaching staff has long preached the value of monitoring their team's chances as opposed to getting too wrapped up in the results, but there wasn't too much to show in the team's two losses last week.

"The Hartford game especially, we didn't really create a ton," said Kinnear. "We had some zone time for sure but didn't really create a ton."

In terms of jumpstarting that part of his team's game, Kinnear knows which areas to focus on.

"Some of that is chemistry, some of that is working without the puck," said Kinnear. "The tendency for a young group is to watch the guy with the puck do all the work and then it's like, 'Why am I not getting any chances?' Well, you're not really working hard without the puck to create chances. That's part of it."

Over the first nine games of the season the Checkers have had seven rookie skaters suit up. Combined with six skaters in their second pro seasons and two more in North America for the first time, there's certainly a learning curve facing the squad.

"You get young players that in junior could create on their own, but you have to create with five guys now," said Kinnear. "We're working through that a little bit."

With some time now to collect themselves - they play exclusively on Fridays and Saturdays for the entirety of the month of November - the Checkers are returning to their tried-and-true mantra to get things rolling offensively.

"It's nice to have a little week here just to kind of get back to the basics, even though we don't want to leave the basics," said Carrick. "Build some chemistry in practice, work on some things and just keep moving the needle and getting better every day."

IN THE BOX

One trend across Charlotte's start to the season has been a penchant for getting into penalty trouble. The Checkers rank 16th in the AHL in penalty minutes but are tied for 7th in minor penalties called against them. They have been shorthanded four or more times in five of the first nine games thus far and 25 times total over the last five games alone.

"I talked about the situation here in the Wilkes-Barre game, I didn't love how that was handled - how we ended up short," said Kinnear referencing the overtime loss to the Penguins on Oct. 25. "Besides that, it's a young team taking a lot of stick penalties."

That influx of penalties causes a ripple effect throughout Charlotte's game, even beyond special teams play.

"We want to be consistent," said Kinnear. "Some of that is for guys to start learning what's being called at this level. We definitely need to clean it up, we don't want to have that many kills because we get out of the flow."

The good news for Charlotte is that its penalty kill has been fairly up to the task. Despite allowing a power-play goal in four of their last six games, the Checkers successfully killed 24 of 29 opportunities over that stretch - an 82.3-percent clip.

That success is certainly a silver lining, but the Checkers will be happy to not have to lean so much on that unit moving forward.

"Whatever circumstance we're dealt, we have to learn how to deal with it," said Kinnear. "If we have to kill nine penalties, we have to kill nine penalties. But you want some discipline with regard to taking those stick penalties."

INJURY UPDATES

The Checkers were without injured forward Tyler Motte during this past road trip, and they're preparing for another stretch of games without him in the lineup.

"Definitely week-to-week," said Kinnear. "But it could be longer than that."

On a more positive note, Kinnear provided more clarity on the status of Jack Studnicka, who exited Charlotte's game on Oct. 25 after a kneeing incident in which he had to be helped off the ice.

"We got the best news we could," said Kinnear. "He's going to be longer term but not as long as we originally thought. We got the best news possible, we're excited that he's working his way to get back in our lineup - not in the near future, but the future."

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