Checkers’ Carlsson is an Underrated Man of Many Talents

The Charlotte Checkers are 25 games into their 2023-24 season in the American Hockey League (AHL) and they currently sit sixth in a log-jammed Atlantic Division. They are sitting at 13-10-2-0 with 28 points, only three points behind third-place Wilkes/Barre-Scranton Penguins. What has helped keep them so close in a tight division race is scoring by committee on the Checkers squad as they look for another Calder Cup Playoff appearance. Beyond that, one guy is leading the way in more ways than one. Some might think it could be their captain in Zac Dalpe or even a young star in Mackie Samoskevich. However, it is neither one of them despite that they are playing well this season. The man leading the way is none other than Lucas Carlsson.

Carlsson Leads Way for Checkers

Carlsson is having himself a season that any defenseman wishes they could have. After 25 games into the 2023-24 season, the 26-year-old Galve, Sweden native has tallied eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points. That currently leads all Checkers skaters with Samoskevich being the next best with 17 points. Carlsson also leads the team in goals and assists as well with the aforementioned eight goals and 12 assists. Furthermore, he also leads the team in shots with 98. No, that is not a typo. He really has 98 shots on goal this season after 25 games played. That is 43 shots more than the second-place guy on the team, Zac Dalpe, with 55.

To put that into perspective, he is second in the entirety of the AHL in shots. He is only three shots behind Henderson Silver Knights forward Sheldon Rempal who has 101. The next defenseman in the whole of the AHL in shots is Colorado Eagles Brad Hunt who has 81. That is 17 more than the next defenseman in the whole league. That speaks to how impressively Carlsson is shooting at will for the Checkers this season.

Stats, Stats and More Stats

The only offensive stat that Carlsson doesn’t lead for the Checkers is points per game (Pt/G) where he has .80. However, that is only .01 behind Samoskevich who has .81 on the season in 21 games played. The interesting thing is that in penalty minutes and penalty minutes per game, he does not lead in either one of those categories. While he does have 32 penalty minutes in 25 games played, Riley Bezeau leads the team with 42 in 14 games played. For Bezeau, that’s 3 penalty minutes per game which is astounding for a guy who’s played in 11 fewer games than Carlsson. Carlsson carries only 1.28 penalty minutes per game which is fourth on the team.

Not only is he leading in pretty much all scoring categories, but he manages to stay on the ice more than being in the penalty box. While he does average less than a penalty per game, he is the catalyst on both sides of the ice for the Checkers. Just the simple fact that he plays a phenomenal two-way 200-foot game for the Checkers speaks a lot for the Swede who head coach Geordie Kinnear can rely on in any situation.

Carlsson Making His Mark in Charlotte

All of these stats make people wonder why he hasn’t been called up to the Florida Panthers. For the most part, the NHL parent club is stacked at the position and unfortunately there isn’t a spot for Carlsson. However, the Checkers have been enjoying keeping him around for his now third season with the team. During the 2022-23 season, he had 20 goals and 54 assists in 61 games for the Checkers and is on his way to possibly beat all of those stats. If he can have another career year in Charlotte, it will show that he has nothing else to prove in the AHL. He is 26 and is having another stellar year for the Queen City team.

Will he finish the season leading the AHL in shots? There is a good chance and people around the league might be happy seeing him do it. Will he lead the Checkers in points? The way he has been playing so far this season, it could quite possibly happen. Nonetheless, it will be fun to watch and hopefully, more people will take notice of the Swedish defenseman who’s turning heads in Charlotte with his brilliant play. It’s time for the AHL to take notice of Lucas Carlsson.