Throughout the course of an 82-game NHL season, there are moments from certain individual players that serve as a reminder of how gifted those players are. One such moment came for Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho in a 3-1 win over the New Jersey Devils last Saturday night, one of many in a brilliant rookie season for the young Finn.
Late in the third period with the Hurricanes leading 2-1, Aho went into a fight for a loose puck at the side of the net, taking on four Devils defenders. Aho somehow came up with the puck, firing a low shot past Devils goalie Cory Schneider from a sharp angle and providing a key insurance marker in a big win for the Canes. The play led Fox Sports Carolinas color analyst Tripp Tracy to say, “You just saw a shift that shows that Sebastian Aho is a winner.”
The marker against the Devils was yet another big goal in a key situation from Aho in his freshman campaign. He scored his first and second NHL goals in a 5-1 win over the Washington Capitals in early-November that sparked a five-game winning streak to rebound from a tough start to the season, and posted his first-career hat trick in a vital 5-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers in late-January. He also had two power-play goals in the third period in a come-from-behind win over the New York Rangers a couple weeks ago that started the team’s current 12-game point streak that has it back in playoff contention. The list goes on, and the Canes are 17-10-6 when Aho records a point this season.
“There’s multiple things,” Canes head coach Bill Peters said of Aho. “The thing that we like as coaches, we see it more than anybody else, is how competitive he is. He’s a competitive, competitive player. Loves this time of year, loves it when the chips are down. He’s been good on the power play; he’s been good on the penalty kill. He can do it all; he’s a good player.”
Aho’s strong showing in his first professional season has helped him to stand out among some tough company. The Rauma, Finland native has 23 goals and 47 points on the season, putting him third in goals and fifth in points in one of the best rookie classes the NHL has seen in years. He ranks second in goals on the Canes’ roster behind forward Jeff Skinner.
Those numbers are even more impressive when considering that Aho did not score a goal in the team’s first 13 games of the season, giving him 23 in the 62 games since he first broke through against Washington. It took Aho a little over a month to find his scoring touch, a perfectly reasonable adjustment period for a 19-year-old playing his first season of North American professional hockey. Just don’t tell him that.
“I think it could have been a little bit better,” Aho said. “The first 20 games weren’t that good, but after that, I got some confidence and I got more comfortable, so the game gets easier. Nothing’s new anymore; it’s gotten easier. You have your own game-day routine. I think it’s been a ride, but I think I can play even better.”
Aho has played in a variety of situations and with many different linemates this season. His first scoring burst came with fellow Finnish forward Teuvo Teravainen and two-way center Jordan Staal, but he has also found success playing with Swedish forwards Elias Lindholm and Victor Rask at times. He’s been productive on the man advantage, with 15 power-play points on the year.
During the aforementioned game against the Rangers, Aho took his first shift on the Hurricanes’ top-five penalty kill. He promptly came up with a steal and generated a strong shorthanded scoring chance, drawing a penalty himself to end a lengthy Rangers man advantage in the opening period. He then scored his first shorthanded goal against Florida six games later. Aho has demonstrated time and again this season that he can be relied on in any moment or phase of the game for Carolina.
“I try to be a versatile player,” Aho said. “I try to be a guy who can play in any situation, power play, penalty kill, anything. I just try to be a guy who the coach can put on the ice. I can’t say I’m a goal scorer or a passer, just one thing. I try to be them all.”
A long, hectic NHL season, particularly one as compressed as the current one, provides little opportunity for young players like Aho to stop and reflect on what they’re doing and think about what they enjoy most. It is not lost on the 2015 second-round pick, however, that he is living out a dream that every hockey player shares.
“It’s hard to say one thing,” Aho said. “It’s the NHL; it’s something you dream about and it came true. It’s pretty easy to be happy. My first year, it’s full of energy; everything’s kind of new. It’s nice to be here. I try to be a better player every day and help the team win.”
In addition to his obvious raw offensive skill as both a scorer and playmaker, one thing that has helped Aho to put up such a strong showing this season is how smart of a player he is. Particularly for a player so young with so little professional experience, Aho thinks the game at a very high level, a fact that has not escaped the Hurricanes’ coaching staff.
“He’s one of those guys, when you go through video, he gets it,” Peters said. “When we work on a concept, tonight, what we worked on this morning, he’ll put it in place. He understands the game, very good hockey sense, high hockey IQ. He reads the play that’s unfolding, which is sometimes tough for guys. It’s easy to watch on video and explain what’s going on, but he sees it live, which is important. He’s going to be a big piece moving forward.”
Aho’s intelligence has impressed his teammates as well, including one who knows a thing or two about a good rookie season. Skinner won the Calder trophy as the NHL’s top rookie in 2011.
“He’s just really smart I think,” Skinner said. “He’s probably one of the smartest players I’ve seen at his age. He’s got a ton of hockey sense; there’s a lot of things he sort of does instinctively that other players have to learn throughout their career and through experience. Obviously, he’s got high-end skill and he can skate well, but I think what separates him is his smarts. It’s fun to see because he’s only going to get better and better as he goes along in his career.”
While Aho, playing among a loaded rookie class, is unlikely to follow in Skinner’s footsteps as a Calder winner, he’s enjoying a great debut season of his own. Aho’s play has been a key factor in the Hurricanes’ late charge into the playoff picture. Whether the team gets in this year or not, the Canes’ future is bright with a player as talented as Aho helping to lead the charge up front, and the young Finn should have a long, productive career ahead of him.
Hurricanes forwards Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen celebrate Teravainen's goal during the first period of the game against the Washington Capitals in PNC Arena on Nov. 12. The goal resulted in the Hurricanes' second of the night, leading them to a 5-1 victory over the Capitals. Aho finished the game with one assist and two goals, his first two in the NHL.
