Checkers Have Bought In & Are Unbeatable

“It took a little bit of time but we’re understanding how we want to play,” Geordie Kinnier, the Charlotte Checkers head coach, said after another win. The Checkers have won seven of eight and are coming off a statement 7-1 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack. They are a machine right now and look like they’ve picked up where they left off from a season back.

The Checkers didn’t get off to a hot start, and it looked like a deep run in the Calder Cup Playoffs and turnover in the summer that comes with the American Hockey League (AHL) got to them. It’s hard to play the way the Checkers do, and it took a few months to buy into Kinnier’s system.

Now, the Checkers look a lot like the dominant team that steamrolled the rest of the Eastern Conference before losing in the Final to the Abbotsford Canucks. They aren’t the typical AHL team and certainly don’t have the typical head coach, with Kinnier seeing the game differently. That said, they are slowly becoming a great team and one capable of getting over the hump this time around.

The Style The Checkers Run

Every team likes to play fast and pressure the opponents. The Checkers are one of the few teams that do so effectively. The difference is that they love to put volume on the net. They are best when they get a lot of shots and get the rebounds for second-chance opportunities, allowing them to force the opponent into a mistake. It’s how they’ve run up the score multiple times lately.

It’s a style that the rest of the league admires but avoids. Coaches around the league are searching for quality shots and high-danger chances. Kinnier cares more about quality, getting the puck on the net, which comes off of rush chances, and the ability to get the forwards going and stretching out the defense. “The way Charlotte plays, that’s the new way. You’re pushing out your forwards and are aggressive. I like that style,” Todd Nelson, who was coaching the Hershey Bears, noted after losing to the Checkers in the 2025 playoffs.

This is an exhausting way to play, which is why teams avoid it. The players can’t play at this speed all the time in a game, much less a season, and still compete. “It’s not easy to play that way,” Kinnier added, as the team needs the players to play that way and have the defense that holds up. “It’s a little different and fits how the players that come here,” he added, and the Checkers are bought in, and it’s paid off.

Mirroring the Panthers

As the Florida Panthers affiliate, the Checkers are at a disadvantage. Specifically, they don’t have elite prospects because the team is in win-now mode, forcing them to move on from prospects and draft picks for veterans. On top of that, the Checkers team that made the Calder Cup run isn’t the same, with many of the players leaving in the offseason.

Yet, the Checkers look a lot like the NHL team with how they play. It’s because of the pressure they generate and make the most of the opposition’s mistakes. It’s also a benefit of the forecheck and defense that Kinnier implements, where the forwards set the tone for the rest of the team.

It’s a plus for the Panthers as they have an AHL team built to win. The players who get called up are ready for the NHL and are in a winning environment. It’s why the Panthers, even without a great prospect pool, have young players overachieving and who can fill depth roles when needed.

What The Checkers are Missing

The Checkers understand this time around that the season is a long one. The regular season is seven months, and this time of the year feels longer as the snow piles up and the freezing weather hits everyone. The playoffs are another marathon on top of that, something the young players are realizing.

The message to the veterans is that they must prepare for a Calder Cup run differently, knowing what it takes. The prospects are told that they need that extra gear if they want to make it in the NHL, especially in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which is the expectation from the Panthers. “We talk about what it needs to take on a daily basis,” Kinnier mentioned after the latest game.

The Checkers are prepared for the long season. The other layer is their preparation for the changes that come ahead of the playoffs. The games slow down and become heavier. The Checkers are built around speed and rely on it to win games. It’s why it’s still an adjustment for a team that is preparing for another playoff run.