Canes’ Jaccob Slavin finds his place as a rookie

Jordan Staal was the team’s most valuable player, Justin Faulk named an NHL All-Star and Jeff Skinner the leading scorer this season for the Carolina Hurricanes.

But no one made a bigger move than Jaccob Slavin.

Slavin’s first move was from the tiny visitors locker room at PNC Arena. That’s where the defenseman started preseason training camp, sharing cramped space with the Canes’ other young prospects.

Slavin next moved to the Canes’ main locker room during camp, but with a makeshift stall set up in a hallway near the weight room.

“Slowly,” he said, smiling, “I got to the big room.”

And stayed. And now should be a fixture in the big room.

Media from other teams often asked Canes coach Bill Peters about rookie defenseman Noah Hanifin, and with good reason. Hanifin was the fifth pick of the 2015 NHL draft and was 18 when the season began.

But opposing coaches soon began mentioning No. 74, Slavin. The NHL scouts who came to games quietly talked about Slavin’s poise, his sound positional play, his ability to make the good first pass in the defensive zone, his mobility in jumping into the rush.

Slavin, 21, began the season in Charlotte, with the Checkers of the American Hockey League. He ended it in the Canes’ top defensive pairing with Faulk, playing 63 games and averaging nearly 21 minutes a game in ice time, second among the NHL’s rookie defensemen.

Slavin has received no mention for the Calder Trophy, given the league’s rookie of the year. But he joins Hanifin and defenseman Brett Pesce, who played 69 games as a rookie, in firming up Carolina’s future on the back end.

“If they’re here for the long haul and play like I think everyone here thinks they can, we’re in very good hands,” veteran defenseman Ron Hainsey said. “They can all skate and have good smarts and know how to play the game at a young age.”

Called up

Slavin expected to spend much of the season in Charlotte. After two years and 66 games at Colorado College, he signed his entry-level contract with Carolina in July and geared up for his first professional season, unsure how it would unfold.

“Leaving college early, I knew I was getting my toes wet,” he said.

Drafted by Carolina in 2012, he came to the team’s rookie development camp that year as a lean 6-foot-2, 165-pounder, fresh-faced, all arms and legs. He weighed in at Canes camp last fall at 205 pounds, with a hint of a beard. He also was married over the summer and his wife, Kylie, was with him to support him.

“I wouldn’t be here without my wife,” Slavin said. “It was tough for her, a little bit, but she hung in there.”

Slavin was first called up by the Canes on Nov. 18, making his NHL debut two days later against the Toronto Maple Leafs at PNC Arena. After six games, he was sent back to the Checkers but quickly recalled after the Canes’ dismal loss Dec. 3 to New Jersey.

By mid-January, Slavin was playing more than 20 minutes a game, taking on an even bigger role when Faulk was sidelined with an injury much of February and March.

“He got to play against the other teams’ top lines all of a sudden,” Hainsey said. “He had an 18-, 19-game run where he was out there in all situations and we continued to play well. When that happens it’s an opportunity to start a career, and he took full advantage of it, in my opinion.”

All three rookies did. Slavin, Hanifin and Pesce handled the grind, accepted the challenge.

“We had to throw them into the fire early,” general manager Ron Francis said. “They’re hungry. They want to be here.”

Twists and turns

Slavin said his “welcome-to-the-NHL” moment came in an exhibition game against Washington, when the Caps’ Alex Ovechkin pushed the puck through Slavin’s legs and scored. There also was a game against the New York Rangers when Slavin whiffed on a pass in the Carolina zone and the Rangers stole the puck and scored.

“It’s not easy as a young guy to come into the league and be successful, especially on the back end,” Faulk said. “There’s a lot of pressure.”

But there were a lot more good times than bad for Slavin, who finished with a plus-1 plus/minus rating, incurring just four minor penalties. He scored two goals and had 18 assists.

Asked if he surprised himself, Slavin nodded, saying, “I think so. A little bit. I think I’m pleased with the year … just getting used to the whole lifestyle and how to be a pro. And all the games. I’d never played that many games. I definitely wish we had a better result as a team but personally I think it went pretty well.”

It’s interesting how things can turn out in hockey. On Jan. 20, 2012, soon after a game against the Caps, the Canes traded forward Alex Ponikarovsky to New Jersey for defensive prospect Joe Sova and the Devils’ fourth-round pick in the 2012 draft.

Sova played a few games for the Checkers in 2012 and has spent the past four years in the minors. With that fourth-round pick, 120th overall, Carolina took Slavin.

“Every day is a new day and you have to compete every single day,” Slavin said. “I just want to continue to grow each and every game.”

And keep moving up.

This story was originally published April 15, 2016 at 2:25 PM with the headline "Canes’ Jaccob Slavin finds his place as a rookie."