The Charlotte Checkers take on the Chicago Wolves Saturday at Bojangles Coliseum in game one of the Calder Cup Finals. The Calder Cup is to minor league hockey what the Stanley Cup is to the NHL. It’s the Checkers first time playing in the cup finals.
Coach Mike Vellucci gives a lot of credit to how well the Checkers’ parent team, the Carolina Hurricanes, have drafted players in recent years.
“We have a good young core of players that are coming up that are eventually going to be Hurricanes,” Vellucci said. “We’ve had a lot of depth. A lot more depth now in our organization that we did say four or five years ago."
With the Checkers making their first appearance in the Cup finals, the team is getting more attention than it usually does around Charlotte.
“I’ve noticed it within the city how everybody has jumped on board and is excited to watch us possibly be able to win a championship,” Vellucci said.
The first two games are in Charlotte before moving to Chicago. The series is best of seven.
