It’s not usual to have multiple “3 Stars” within a few days; however, with the Carolina Hurricanes’ season ending in the final week of May, it’s given us the rare opportunity to have three stars of a series and a month. That being said, for the eighth and final installment of “Three Stars of the Month” from The Hockey Writers, we will honor the three Hurricanes players who stood out in their last month of the 2024-25 season.
Third Star: Sebastian Aho
There were some other candidates to make the 3 Stars of May list, but the one who stood out above the rest was Sebastian Aho. The Finnish forward finished the month with four goals and seven points, three of those goals coming in Games 4 and 5 of the Eastern Conference Final. He finished with a plus-2 between the series against the Washington Capitals and the Florida Panthers. Aho averaged 20 minutes of ice time while taking 237 shifts. His four goals came on 27 shots on goal, resulting in a 14.8% shooting percentage. While Aho was able to come up big in moments, his defensive game was servicable for the Hurricanes. He tallied 28 hits over the 10 games and even blocked seven shots.
Related: Carolina Hurricanes’ 3 Stars of the Eastern Conference Final
One area that helped Aho get over the top of other candidates was his 52.5 faceoff percentage (94-85). For a team that preaches winning faceoffs to control the flow, Aho being over 50% went a long way in the possession game. While he did score some important goals towards the end of the Eastern Conference Final, there was still more to be desired from Aho, who led the team in assists (45) and points (74) during the regular season.
Even though the series did not end how he wanted, Aho is still excited for the future of the Hurricanes with all of their young talent. He stated during the exit interviews on Friday, May 30, “There’s a lot to be excited for. We have young guys like Stanks and Nikishin, we already know what kind of player Jarvy is, he’s only gonna get better. Blakey… we’ve got good pieces on the team and obviously the core, or whatever you want to call it, we’ve been through quite a bit. It’s an exciting offseason, we do have the cap space and we do have some assets, I guess time will tell how it’s all gonna play out.”
Second Star: Jaccob Slavin
This is the third consecutive time in this series that Jaccob Slavin makes an appearance. The first time was the second star for April, and the first star for the Eastern Conference Final. Now, he is back once again in the second star spot for the Hurricanes. Just like the Eastern Conference Final, Slavin in the 10 games throughout May against the Capitals and the Panthers managed to take zero penalties over the two series. While Slavin was a plus-3 in the Eastern Conference Final, in May as a whole, he finished with a plus-8 rating, while averaging almost 23 minutes a game.
One of Slavin’s best abilities is his availability, especially on the penalty kill, and he is always tasked with shutting down the best offensive players on the opposing team. He managed to do all of that after tallying 269 shifts over 229 minutes of ice time. There were times in the Eastern Conference Final that head coach Rod Brind’Amour double-shifted Slavin, giving him 28 minutes and 25:38 of ice time between Games 4 and 5 alone. For Slavin to be almost double digits in the plus/minus category and not commit one penalty proves why he should be in more conversations as the best defensive defenseman in the NHL.
To reach Cale Makar levels of ice time and let his stick work do that gives Slavin the much-deserved respect for that honor. He got the overdue recognition on the national stage during the 4 Nations Face-Off and again in the 2025 NHL Playoffs. Slavin threw his body on the line in the playoffs during May, tallying up 28 blocks, nine during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final, and had seven hits. He is not someone who throws hits, but when it comes to the NHL Playoffs, you never want to leave anything on the ice. While Slavin only had one goal over the 10 games in May (Game 1 of Round 2 against the Capitals), he did his job as a lock-down defenseman. Safe to say, he did his part for the Hurricanes in May.
First Star: Seth Jarvis
As it has been for most of the 2024-25 season and the playoffs, Seth Jarvis makes another appearance in the “3 Stars” series. Furthermore, he’s back in the first star spot, which has happened several times for the Hurricanes. After the Hurricanes were eliminated, Jarvis was never satisfied and is always working on his craft. During the exit interviews, he described that feeling of always finding ways to score in the NHL: “There are still definitely levels I want to get in that department, but I think just figuring out how to score in this league is one of the biggest challenges,” he shared. “The league’s always changing and goalies are getting better, so it’s always a work in progress, but I think figuring out different ways to score, scoring from different areas, and just overall expanding my game offensively that way has been something that I’ve put a lot of focus into. I’m glad I’m starting to see the benefits of it.”
In the 10 playoff games in May, Jarvis had four goals and 11 points with a plus-3 rating for the Hurricanes. Compared to having an even rating, two goals, and six points during the Eastern Conference Final, it gives context as to why he led the team in assists (10) and points (16) for the entirety of the playoffs. Jarvis tallied 229 shifts over 184 minutes of ice time. He averaged a tad under 18 and a half minutes per game between the two rounds. That even includes missing game time during Game 3 after taking a hit from Niko Mikkola.
Related: Takeaways From Carolina Hurricanes’ End-of-Season Exit Interviews
While team success is usually the first priority when it comes to hockey players, in an instance like this, being an over a point per game player gives way to Jarvis stepping up when needed most. Furthermore, he did just more than contribute offensively; his two-way, 200-foot game was showcased in May during the playoffs. Jarvis racked up 35 hits and eight blocks against the Capitals and Panthers. While those two teams are known for their physicality, seeing a player like Jarvis not be afraid to throw the body as well indicates that players like that will throw everything they’ve got into winning a Stanley Cup. Regarding Jarvis, he has proven over the last two seasons and playoffs that his two-way game will only get progressively better as he is only 23 years old.
Counting the Days Until NHL Draft
The next big event for the Hurricanes will be the 2025 NHL Draft, which is scheduled for June 27-28, 2025. It will be held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, CA. This will be the first decentralized draft, with the teams making their picks at their home arenas. However, the top drafted players will be in attendance when their names are called. Regarding the Hurricanes, they are set to select 29th overall in the first round. It’ll be interesting to see who they will select with that pick, especially with all the draft capital they acquired over the season.
