AHL MVP race: Roadrunners’ scoring leader Mike Carcone a front-runner alongside Pacific Division trio

Tucson forward Michael Carcone enters the weekend as the AHL’s leading scorer with 80 points; he sits one point ahead of surging Alex Barré-Boulet of the Syracuse Crunch.

That’s not the race we’re talking about here, though that’s surely up for grabs, too.

Whether Carcone finishes atop the league’s point charts or not, the third-year Roadrunner in his eighth AHL season has been a clear-cut diamond in the league’s MVP race since his breakthrough month in December, when he earned the Player of the Month award after dropping 10 goals and 20 points in just 10 games.

With ballots from players, coaches and media covering the league across North America due Monday morning for the AHL’s year-end awards, the Roadrunners debuted their own campaign this week — which includes the unambiguously on-the-nose #CarconeMVP social-media hashtag — to push for their guy to win the league’s top honor this year.

“We see him every day in the gym and in practice. We’d all strongly argue he’s the best player in the AHL this season,” second-year Tucson forward Colin Theissen said earlier this week. “It’s been fun to watch him every single game do what he does. It’s definitely special.”

Carcone entered the weekend sitting in the top three league-wide in both goals and assists. Still, he’s hardly a runaway — perhaps not even the favorite — for the Les Cunningham Award, given to the AHL’s top player each season. It’s hard to tell if playing on a team fighting to earn one of the last playoff spots might hurt him against other contenders who have been with league-leading teams all season. But perhaps it even it helps him; Carcone has carried the Roadrunners offensively at various times, and Tucson wouldn’t be in the picture at all without his contributions.

Still, Carcone is among five candidates who stand out as favorites — a list that includes three others from the loaded 10-team Pacific Division, and a late-season streaking scorer from out east.

AHL experience: After eight AHL seasons with four teams Carcone has finally found a home, and his stride, with Tucson. He set the Roadrunners single-season goals record last year, only to shatter it this season, along with a whole host of other club marks.

2022-23 stats: 61 games, 31 goals, 49 assists, 80 points, 246 shots on goal, 97 penalty minutes, 14 power-play goals.

Breaking it down: Carcone has set Tucson records this season for goals, assists, points and shots. He’s not only a lock to be the first Roadrunner to hit 30 goals, 50 assists, and 80 points in one season, he’d be the only Roadrunner to hit any of those levels even on their own. He entered this weekend as the only AHL player in the top five in goals, assists and points.

Special sauce: When he’s on, he’s on. Carcone has more multi-point games this year than either one-point or scoreless outings. Carcone will also top 100 penalty minutes, but these aren’t just ticky-tack fouls. He’s a bruiser on a team of bruisers (Tucson as a team leads the AHL in penalty minutes). To be that physical while putting up that kind of production puts Carcone in rare AHL air.

• AHL experience: In just two full seasons with the AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames, Wolf has clearly been the league’s best goalie both seasons, and he plays a lot, averaging 50 games season in net.

• 2022-23 stats: 52 games, 2.08 GAA, .932 save percentage. 40-9-2 record, 7 shutouts

• Breaking it down: Wolf leads all AHL goalies in games played, minutes played, save percentage, wins and shutouts. His 2.08 GAA is second, but he’s played nearly twice as much as the league leader in the category. Wolf had a stretch last month of three shutouts in four games as Calgary tries to lock down the No. 1 seed in the Calder Cup playoffs.

• Special sauce: Wolf was tremendous last season, winning the AHL’s Baz Bastien Memorial Award as the league’s top goalie. There’s an argument he should have been MVP last year too. And he’s been even better in 2022-23 for the AHL’s top team virtually all season.

AHL experience: In his fifth year, all with Syracuse, Barré-Boulet’s success this season is nothing new. He’s averaged almost a point a game his entire AHL career.

2022-23 stats: 64 games, 23 goals, 56 assists, 79 points, 58 penalty minutes, 7 power play goals, 209 shots on goal

Breaking it down: Statistically speaking, Barré-Boulet has been as steady as it gets, only twice going pointless in back-to-back games — and never more than two straight — for the Crunch, who are second in the North Division.

Special sauce: Barré-Boulet kicked it into high gear this last week, notching eight points over four games to win the AHL’s Player of the Week Award and close the gap with Carcone for the scoring lead.

AHL experience: Tynan is in his 10th AHL season and doesn’t appear to be slowing down. He finished second in the league in points (98 in 62 games) last season and is the league’s two-time reigning MVP. This year would make it three in a row, a feat that hasn’t happened since Johnny Bower’s hat trick for the Providence Reds some 65 years ago.

2022-23 stats: 67 games, 8 goals, 66 assists, 74 points, 3 power play goals, 42 penalty minutes

Breaking it down: What might hold Tynan back this year: how great he was the last two seasons. As consistent as he’s been for a team solidly in a playoff spot, he was otherworldly a year ago, winning the MVP with Ontario a year after taking the trophy while with the Colorado Eagles in the COVID-shortened 2021 season.

Special sauce: Tynan is arguably the league’s most dynamic playmaker. But his lack of goal-scoring might hurt him here, too. Carcone has 31 goals this year, and Calgary’s Matthew Phillips has 34. Tynan has 30 combined over the last three seasons. But that also demonstrates that he’s far and away the league’s best setup man yet again.

AHL experience: A stalwart for five full seasons with the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Flames (prior to this year, they were the Stockton Heat before moving to their NHL club’s city this season).

2022-23 stats: 61 games, 34 goals, 39 assists, 73 points, 9 power play goals, 12 penalty minutes

Breaking it down: Phillips leads the league in goals, and the Wranglers (née Heat) have been by all accounts the Western Conference’s best team each of the last two seasons (and the entire league’s best this year). Phillips has been their top offensive weapon both seasons.

Special sauce: Phillips is legit, but he’s also on a team with another MVP candidate (Wolf). So as good as both have been, they could end up taking votes away from each other. It’s likely none of that will matter if the duo hoists the Calder Cup this year after falling in the finals to the Chicago Wolves last season.