Longtime Tucson Roadrunners forward Michael Bunting’s scorching run with the Arizona Coyotes has been well-chronicled.
He’s deposited nine goals since March 31, putting his name squarely alongside of the more revered modern NHL scoring threats.
But back in Tucson, Bunting’s seemingly-permanent departure has led to two of his former teammates taking flight.
As a result, forwards Michael Carcone and Tyler Steenbergen are both now at the top of the AHL charts.
Carcone’s nine goals over 13 games is tied for tops in the AHL. Steenbergen is one goal behind him with eight.
Steenbergen scored the first goal in the Roadrunners’ Feb. 7 season opener, then was held scoreless for the next 19 games. But over his last 13 games, Steenbergen has contributed one two-goal night, followed by six one-goal outings. He scored one apiece in Tucson’s back-to-back games against San Diego last weekend.
“Trusting the process was a big thing. … I think he was starting to have a little self-doubt. He was doing a lot of the right things. He was putting himself in positions to score, and they just weren’t going in,” Tucson coach Steve Potvin said this week as the Roadrunners prepared for Thursday night’s game at the Texas Stars. “It’s real exciting to see him start to get rewarded. Of any player he deserves it. He shows up every day in a quality way, he’s a good human, he’s always a positive person. He’s a pleasure to coach and a pleasure to be around.”
Most of Carcone’s goal-scoring output came in a two-day span last month, where he posted a team-record four goals one night and added two the next day. But against San Diego on Saturday, Carcone proved he had more than one trick in the bag. He posted four assists in Tucson’s 9-2 win.
“Quite honestly, it’s amazing how he can spring himself open,” Potvin said of Carcone, who’s on loan from the NHL’s Nashville Predators. “You can shake your head at it sometimes thinking, ‘Jeez, he’s on another breakaway.’ He gets two breakaways a game. It’s kind of laughable.”
Carcone may not be a one-trick pony, but he’s likely to be a one-year wonder. The better Carcone plays, the more value he brings to the Predators’ organization.
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