Like many players, Michael Carcone was unsure what his immediate hockey future held during the pandemic.

Even when plans were formulated for a shortened American Hockey League season in 2021, the situation looked bleak for Carcone.
The Nashville Predators affiliate in Milwaukee opted to sit out the season leaving the winger without a place to play.

Following a productive two-year stint in the QMJHL, Carcone was an undrafted free agent who would eventually be snapped up by the Vancouver Canucks.

The 25-year-old would not see any time in the NHL during his time with the Canucks organisation, and has yet to do so in his career, and struggled to put up numbers during the first two years as a professional.

It was the third season, sometimes the most pivotal in a prospect’s career, when Carcone started to piece it together.
The Canadian forward recorded seventeen points in twenty games for the Utica Comets before he was traded to Toronto in exchange for Josh Leivo.

Assigned to the Marlies, Carcone had a few bumps along the way but became an integral part of a team looking to defend and retain a Calder Cup championship.

In 42 regular-season games, he netted fourteen times and accrued 27 points, heading into the post-season with a lot of confidence about his game and form.

He would be tied for second in Marlies’ scoring during the playoffs with ten points including six goals.
Toronto would fall short, losing to the eventual and still current champions, the Charlotte Checkers.

The Maple Leafs’ moved on from Carcone in free agency that summer, trading his rights to Ottawa who penned the Ontario native to a two-year deal.

It never really worked out for either player or Belleville in Canada’s capital and Ottawa opted to trade the speedy winger to Nashville in December 2020.

Carcone wouldn’t even get to play a game in the Nashville organisation before he was loaned out to Tucson earlier this year.

Having always played on the east coast throughout his career, how would the Ajax native cope with a new way of life out west, still amid a pandemic?

It wasn’t an ideal situation to be thrust into.

The Tucson Roadrunners were not a particularly good team during the most recent season and that’s being kind.

After a promising 5-1-0 beginning, Tucson lost five straight and would only win eight of 27 games during the remainder of their campaign.

The Roadrunners were the lowest scorers in the Pacific Division on goals per game average and were the fifth-worst team (of seven) in goals against.

Carcone led the line admirably for the team offensively and finished second in team scoring with 25 points in 35 games.
His fifteen goals not only led Tucson but also matched Carcone’s seasonal career-high set during his sophomore year over 68 games for the Comets.

The winger consistently shot the puck more, a knock I had against him during his time in Toronto.
He averaged over three shots per game which is well above his career average of two.

Carcone was named AHL Player of the Week on April 12, 2021, and produced many fantastic performances.
Those included a four-goal haul against San Diego and a four assist game against the same team.

A weakness of Carcone’s game can be his decision-making without the puck and seven of his nine penalties were stick infractions.

However, on this occasion that should not detract from what he achieved offensively.

Despite having a total of 21 different linemates through the course of the season, Carcone was a beast when it came to accumulating primary points.

Twenty-three of his 25 points were primary markers.

Of those, nine were accrued on the power play.

Ironically the only two secondary assists of his campaign were accrued in the last game of the season.

The offensive production in less than ideal circumstances prompted the Arizona Coyotes to offer Carcone a two-year, two-way contract and a fresh start to his career.

Arizona is in flux amidst a rebuild and the NHL is a more achievable goal in the Coyotes organisation than many across the league heading into 2021-22.