What is better than having one Slavin in an organization? How about two Slavin’s? On Sunday, July 7, the Carolina Hurricanes inked Josiah Slavin to a two-year, two-way deal that sees him be with the organization through the 2025-26 season. He will join his brother, two-time Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winner Jaccob Slavin, within the Hurricanes organization. The 25-year-old Erie, CO native will be looking for some stability for the first time since the 2021-22 season when he was in the Chicago Blackhawks organization. What does the younger Slavin bring to the Hurricanes as the forward counterpart of the two brothers?
Following in the Older Slavin’s Footsteps
Josiah joins the Hurricanes after playing the 2023-24 season with the Toronto Marlies in the American Hockey League (AHL) where he tallied 10 goals and 24 points in 70 games. It was his first full season with one team since playing for Colorado College back in the 2019-20 season when his brother Jaccob played in college. The younger Slavin has followed in his big brother’s skates since their Colorado Thunderbirds days in the T1EHL 18U/16U back in Colorado. Both Slavins played with the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League (USHL) at one point in their careers along with different stints for Colorado College in the NCAA. Fast forward and now they are back together once again, sort of.
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Slavin’s new two-year, two-way deal features him getting paid $775,000 in the NHL and $150,000 in the AHL. Furthermore, part of his contract comes with a $450,000 guarantee. His best season production-wise came during the 2021-22 season with the Rockford IceHogs, the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate, where he tallied 18 goals and 32 points in 49 games along with a plus-18. The 2023-24 season with the Marlies was his first full season with one team in a long time after being bounced back and forth between the IceHogs and the Blackhawks two seasons ago. Slavin was traded partway through the 2022-23 season to the Anaheim Ducks organization and finished the year with the San Diego Gulls.
While Slavin won’t shoot the lights out or be a prolific goal scorer, he can provide the two-way play that could help the Chicago Wolves in the AHL during the 2024-25 season. He is an opportunistic scorer who can score on rebounds or when the shot presents itself. The hope is to find stability in his game and comfortability after being with three different AHL teams over the last two seasons. Furthermore, his experience in the AHL, more so the Central Division, can help the Wolves make a push for the Calder Cup Playoffs since missing the last two seasons. Unless there are a lot of injuries in the center position, there is a good chance the younger Slavin might not see any NHL action this upcoming season. However, just like the famous Staal family photo capturing Jordan, Eric, and Jared all together in a game, there might be a chance to see both Slavins together in a preseason game for family memories.
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When asked about the newest Slavin, general manager Eric Tulsky stated, “Josiah is a smart, two-way forward with good size. He competes hard, brings high character and has some NHL experience. We’re thrilled to add him to our organization.”
Over his 201 AHL game experience that he will bring to the Wolves, he has accumulated 38 goals and 81 points over that span between Toronto, Rockford, and San Diego. Slavin will more than likely see time in the top six for the Wolves along with some special teams minutes. It could come down to time on the penalty kill more than the power play unless it’s on PP2 for head coach Cam Abbott’s squad.
Final Thoughts
In the end, this is more of a depth option to help bolster the lineup for the Wolves. Furthermore, this two-year deal will give stability to Slavin who has been bounced around the AHL over the last two seasons. He will be looking to bring a Calder Cup title back to the Wolves who are five-time champs. Could we see both Slavins together in the preseason for the memories like the Staal’s? One can hope so just for the moment for the Colorado brothers who played with the same organizations throughout their careers at different times. Regarding the 2024-25 season, expect the younger Slavin in the AHL hunting for a Calder Cup while the older Slavin will be on a quest to bring another Stanely Cup back to Carolina.
