The Canes have recalled forward Drayson Bowman from the Charlotte Checkers (AHL).
Bowman, 22, began the 2010-11 season with Carolina, and played in the Hurricanes’ first eight games before being assigned to Charlotte on Oct. 31.
Bowman is in his second professional season and has scored 12 goals and earned 18 assists (30 points) in 51 games this season with the Checkers. In 107 career AHL games with Carolina’s top minor-league affiliates, he has scored 29 goals and earned 33 assists (62 points).
Bowman made his NHL debut with the Hurricanes on Jan. 16, 2010, and has scored two goals in 17 career NHL games.
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at
Comments
I try..
Fri, 03/11/2011 - 16:09 — louis12580not be too critical of the decisions being made personnel wise. I find that now I need to speak my mind. We all love Chad and what he represents, desire, heart, hustle. He works hard every shift and has become a fan favorite. That being said, it's somewhat disappointing that with Bowman called up it appears that either Bodie or Samson will sit tonight and Bowman will be on the 4th line. In Ovechkin, Semin, Knuble, and Arnott Washington have a lot of big forwards. Stekle can be thrown into the mix as well. They also have several blue liners with size. So why would a coach want to sit a player (Bodie or Samson) with size and play a 5'9" guy against that other teams size? Aside from being a team worst in the +/- category, Chad has shown a propensity lately of taking bad penalties. We now have players with some size and we need to use them.
Love the kids and young
Fri, 03/11/2011 - 15:55 — mokimanoLove the kids and young talent in Charlotte, but what does it really matter if they get pasted to the bench on a 4th line that gets 3 shifts a game by MO??? Bowman, Dalpe, Boychuk...none of those three have the skillset to play a checking role on a fourth line...Bowman is a goal scorer, with a call-up should come a clear message from JR to MO to place him in a role that he is going to succeed. Like a previous poster noted, anyone can be called up from the AHL and fill a 4 minute a night role on a fourth line...but Bowman is another example of a guy that has to be placed with offensive minded talent in order to utilize his skills.
LaRose could still be back...
Fri, 03/11/2011 - 12:31 — robotron2084if he accepts a significantly reduced contract and a role on the 4th line. In the end, he's an ideal 4th line player because of his energy and penalty kill skills. Yes, we need to make room for the Boychuks, Bowmans and Dalpes in the system, but I think we can also agree that those guys don't belong on the 4th line. Thus putting LaRose there shouldn't be an issue.
That said, you can say the exact same thing about Dwyer. So my guess is JR may try to keep LaRose, but if the price isn't right, he'll just sign Dwyer instead.
LaRose
Sat, 03/12/2011 - 08:53 — NetMinderDwyer is a better fit for this team than LaRose.
defense/offense
Fri, 03/11/2011 - 10:55 — redeyeIt seems to me that the Canes' problem has less to do with how their defensemen play defense and much more to do with how their forwards (don't) play defense well. The checking line is the notable exception as evidenced by their =/- numbers.
Rick C
I would say 4th line!
Fri, 03/11/2011 - 10:47 — hellfishIf i were to guess i'd say he will be buried on the 4th line and get about 6-8 min of meaning-less TOI as usual with the call ups...Try Bowman on the Power play where he can at least contribute and get in the flow of the game...Bringing the young guy's up and not getting real contribitions or real situational evaluations is kind of pointless...Yeah any player in Chalotte can be a 'body' out there for 6-7 min ,but Powerplay and top 9 minutes is what i want to see if they can be in Raleigh or Charlotte.
Bench LaRose
Fri, 03/11/2011 - 11:55 — gso_canes_fanbefore Samson or Bowman is a healthy scratch.
This Recall Solves Nothing...
Fri, 03/11/2011 - 09:03 — SkylinerAD, do you agree that the Hurricanes primary problem appears to be an absence of a satisfactory defense? I'd appreciate your view on that matter inasmuch as I see it as a real problem.
Watch the Buffalo or Pittsburgh defense; they are in constant motion, like sharks in the water, always moving, constantly circling for position, seeking out an advantage whereas our defense appears statue-like; seem to be just standing there waiting for something to happen then skating without purpose or any sign of urgency to a loose puck...which they more often than not do not pass, but dump down ice.
Even opposition announcers have begin to notice those tendencies.
They do not seem to have a fire in the belly or a passion to win. Also, I'm wondering why we acquired Derek Joslin, who had 2 points in 2 games, then we scratched him. What was the purpose in acquiring him, I wonder! It seems Ian White, whom we let go, is playing better than some of our regulars and even Babchuck has 32 points and is playing good defense.
My acknowledged limited knowledge of ice hockey tells me Gleason and Pitkanen seem to be providing sigtnificantly less than one should expect from them. Am I seeing this correctly? Don't want to offer unfair appraisals and this is not intended as criticism; just wondering if fans should expect more from veteran defensemen or am I missing something? I respect your opinion and would appreciate your views.
Thanks...
My Take On the Defense and Offense
Sun, 03/13/2011 - 09:21 — abramsdougI think the defense is vastly improved with the addition of Allen and Joslin. The front of the crease is much more of a war zone now than a picnic area. The issue the Canes have with defense is that we really need some more size and speed at the forward position. We also need more offensive firepower at forward so that teams can't continue to push in their own defensive scheme knowing that there is little risk of a counter-attack being finished. Specifically, there is an issue on the first line in finishing in general and in particular on the counter-attack. Staal and Ruutu are excellent hockey players. As now constituted, Stillman is the odd man out for this system. He truly has hands of gold and amazing vision. He is slow as a clock without a second hand. Teams have quickly adjusted to Stillman on the first line. Stillman has a brilliant hockey mind and is positioning is excellent; but the lack of pure speed means there is no risk of Stillman blazing down the ice with Staal and Ruutu. Stillman does many, many things well; but the lack of speed hurts the first line. The Hurricanes need big, fast, mean defensemen as long as the Hurricanes are depending on smallish, fast, skilled forwards to drive the team offfensively.
LaRose is the second odd man out. He has speed, but no finish. He also hurts on defense as is shown by his +/- statistics of -20 which is the worst on the team. He is not a great skater and is small. He losses his hockey brain too often and manages to get out of position. He also does not finish well, so whatever line he is on has trouble scoring. Defensively, he is a liability despite the fact he has a great attitude and loves to hit. The problem is in his skating and decision-making at even strength. He is quite good at the penalty kill because the choices are much narrower and the play is all in front of him.
Next season, the Hurricanes will have a decision to make about Harrison. He has had a great year and is the most improved player on the team, I think. Still, as the Washington game showed, he tends not to be able to keep up with the skating against higher end teams and sometimes his mental processing is just too slow. The second goal in the Washington game is an example of what I mean. I think the Hurricanes can upgrade over Harrison with either a player such as Dumoulin or Sanguinetti. It's possible either Biega or Faulk could be ready as well. The Canes need speed at all positions.
Much of the defensive lapses at forward would be solved by adding Boychuk and Dalpe. They have so much speed and offensive skills teams have to back off or they will be leading an odd-man rush. The Canes also could use a power forward with size and skill, such as a Vorchek, Neal, Malone, etc. In the draft, I would expect the Hurricanes to be able to get either Armia or Saad - both large, fast, physical forwards with skill.
This team is very, very close to being a top six team. There is a talent gap at present on the team; but the young prospects in Charlotte are already NHL ready. Once some contracts get cleared out and once the Charlotte prospects go through an AHL playoff chase, they should be fully NHL formed.
I will give a detailed
Fri, 03/11/2011 - 15:20 — abramsdougI will give a detailed response later; but overall I think the issue has to do with matching personnel and not the defensemen. I like what Jim Rutherford has done with the defensemen. I think, however, the issues are more with forward being able to maintain defensive coverage. Sutter is a beast and has such a great hockey mind, he makes great defensive plays after great defensive plays. Jokinen is also an excellent defensive player. When the Hurricanes have defensive issues, the forwards lag behind and perhaps the defensemen chase the puck. More later.
Agree with AD
Fri, 03/11/2011 - 17:03 — robotron2084Defense is not just about defenseman. At it's most simplistic, it's basic math. There are 3 forwards entering your zone. You have two defenseman and a goalie. So even ignoring the oppostion's defenseman, there better be a forward coming in to help or you're outmanned. And the other two better be negating the opposing defenseman. It's when this doesn't happen, or when your forwards decide to leave the zone prematurely that you get most of your defensive breakdowns.
Indoor soccer is not a dissimiliar game and one in which I have playing experience. As a defenseman, my first and foremost objective is to front the opposition (stay goal-side) and force them away from the center of the field. After that, I'm relying on the forwards to come back and create pressure. It's seems to be much the same in hockey. If they don't come back, it's just a matter of time before you lose containment.
Recalling Bowman; Who is Not Going to Play so Bowman can Play?
Fri, 03/11/2011 - 07:21 — abramsdougI wonder who will be scratched in order for Bowman to play. Bowman started slowly in Charlotte this season; but he has come on strong. Bowman's forte is his offensive game and his physicality. Bowman has a tremendous shot and is a player who can find the back of the net in a crowd. I would like to see what happens with a Bowman/Sutter/Tlusty line. If I were in charge, I'd strongly consider healthy-scratching LaRose if everybody else is healthy. It isn't because LaRose is not fine on the fourth line and with killing penalties. I believe, however, that Samson/Dwyer/Bodie have been playing quite well on the fourth line and deserve more playing time, so I wouldn't mess with that line. I'd be pleasantly surprised if Bowman were also given a chance on the power play. Despite the fact the absence of an effective power play by itself is the difference between the Hurricanes now being in 9th place instead of 7th place in the Eastern Conference, there seems to be little sentiment to change around the power play units.
Whatever happens this season, I think next season will see the emergence of Boychuk, Dalpe, and Bowman at minimum. These young prospects are highly talented and highly motivated players. It is hard to watch the Hurricanes struggle offensively now knowing that in Charlotte the Hurricanes organization has three excellent young prospects. On the other hand, all that I read says more prospects have their hockey development hurt by rushing them into the NHL before their training is fully complete. I'll defer to the hockey gurus in the Hurricanes organization; but I have no doubt that ultimately the RBC will be rocking some day with the crowd on its feet as a result of plays by Boychuk, Dalpe, and Bowman. I'm just hoping it is sooner rather than later.
Agree
Fri, 03/11/2011 - 12:12 — NetMinderAgree with sitting LaRose. Maybe it would wake him up, although it's pretty clear he has neither the skill nor the speed to keep pace with this team. Also, agree with Chad as a fourth liner, but why throw him into the mix when the fourth line as it now stands is doing just fine without him? It's becoming painfully obvious that the writing's on the wall for LaRose. JR has to make room for the Boychuks, Dalpes and Bowmans. LaRose is a UFA at season's end. This time, when he tests his marketability and nobody bites, my guess is he won't be coming back.