3 Canes Who Could Take A Step Forward This Season

RALEIGH, N.C. - Every season has its twists and turns.

Some players produce career-bests, while others "go through it" and have a down year.

Last year, Jackson Blake not only made the season-opening roster, but he also went on to be one of the brightest stories of the season, surpassing the expectations that many had for him. Who will that be this time around?

As we approach the 2025-26 season, here are a few candidates primed to leap forward.

Pyotr Kochetkov

The netminder said himself that he didn't have the 2024-25 season that he'd hoped, yet there were still many positives to be highlighted.

Looking solely at his year-over-year growth, the now 26-year-old started the 2023-24 season in the American Hockey League. This past campaign, he graduated to becoming a full-time NHLer for the first time in his young career.

Now, it's about improving on his game while he's here.

Recording 27 wins (T-14th among all NHL goalies, including even with Igor Shesterkin) is nothing to sneeze at, but Kochetkov will eye getting his save percentage back on the right side of .900.

As we know and love with PK, he thrives in scrambling situations, and his high-danger save % ranked in the 92nd percentile among all NHL goalies, per NHL Edge. However, there were a few gaffes that led to easy-looking goals for opponents last year, posting just an .887 Mid-Range Save %.

If he is able to clean some of those up, it would lead to brighter pastures for #52.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi

When we last heard from Kotkaniemi at the end-of-season interviews, he was asked if he felt there was another level for his game to get to. His answer was, “I hope so. [I] feel I got drafted as a big skill guy, so you know I haven’t got there yet. But hopefully, that’s coming.”

Well, let's see.

Since 2021, there have been flashes of Kotkaniemi becoming the player the Canes had hoped he would when he was acquired via offer sheet from the Montreal Canadiens, but he's yet to reach his full potential consistently.

Is this the year?

With a slew of uber-talented wingers who could be on his side (Jackson Blake, Nikolaj Ehlers, Taylor Hall, Seth Jarvis, Logan Stankoven, and Andrei Svechnikov), Kotkaniemi could be in a prime position to be successful if he is back in the spot we've seen him in recent years.

His $4.82M AAV is certainly manageable with a growing salary cap; however, the team will only go as far as its players take them.

Whoever is paired with Jaccob Slavin...

What better position to be in than with the best defensive defenseman in hockey?

We don't know who will be beside #74 this season, but whoever it is, they'll be in a position many defenders around the league would love to be. Slavin paced the Canes' blue line with an average of 18:27 played at even strength per night, so the player beside him will be getting their fair share of minutes.

K'Andre Miller? Welcome to the organization. Let's see if it's a spot he can "unlock" some of the offensive capabilities Rod Brind'Amour talked about.

Sean Walker? He appeared to get better and better as his first season with the team went on. Is there more in store with more opportunity?

Shayne Gostisbehere? We know he has the offensive attributes that could be the yin to Slavin's yang; it's really just a matter of his comfort level on his off-hand side.

Alexander Nikishin? What better way for him to get acclimated to the system than knowing he's covered at all times?

Jalen Chatfield? He and Slavin have a close-knit relationship off the ice, and he's become more and more relied upon by Tim Gleason in each season with the team. His high-motor could lead to an absolute shutdown defensive pairing.