With the possibility that Ray Whitney and Tuomo Ruutu may miss games with upper-body injuries, the Canes are calling up forward Zach Boychuk from the Albany River Rats (AHL).
General manager Jim Rutherford said Boychuk probably would be on Jussi Jokinen's line with Erik Cole. Sutter may be on a wing today on Rod Brind'Amour"s line with Sergei Samsonov, he said.
Both Whitney and Ruutu will have MRIs and CTs today, Rutherford said. He said it's possible Ruutu could play Friday against Toronto, but Whitney may have to sit out a few games.
Boychuk, the team's first-round draft pick in 2008, has four goals and five assists in 12 games for the Rats. He played two games with the Canes early last season before being sent back to the Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL), his junior team.
The Canes already are playing without center Eric Staal, out two to four weeks with an upper-body injury.
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at 
Comments
TOI
Thu, 11/05/2009 - 18:43 — procellaeLet's just hope Mo doesn't give them 10 minutes each :D
Call up everyone
Thu, 11/05/2009 - 16:31 — hockey101Call up the rest of the river rats. The rest of the Canes have quit playing.
Good news ?
Thu, 11/05/2009 - 14:15 — esteban1949i am sorry that the Wiz and Ruutu are banged up. and like others i want them to heal up and be 100%. On better news...i too am looking forward to seeing Boychuk and what he can do to help the Canes get back on the right track..BTW, i checked the Everblades site...they do have a better record but they have played fewer games though...but still...and the thought of Boychuk,the juice on the same line...gives me goose bumps !!!
Go Canes !!
Boychuk Called Up
Thu, 11/05/2009 - 13:45 — abramsdougMy prediction is that Boychuk will make an equally favorable impression on the fans when he gets his time on the ice. I have watched him on the televised River Rats games and he has blazing speed. He made some moves that I've only seen a handful of NHL forwards make. I was able to speak with him briefly at the Hurricanes lunch and he impressed me with his maturity. He has a tremendous will to win and wants to prove himself every minute of every shift. I also predict Ruutu will play because I suspect it would take hospitalizing and restraining Ruutu to keep him off the ice. I'd love to see what a Boychuk/Jokinen/Ruutu line accomplished. I think that is one of the lines we will see next year if not this year. My guess is we will see Jokinen hitting Boychuk in the slot for a one-timer after a give and go.
Be patient with Boychuk. He
Thu, 11/05/2009 - 15:02 — ctillBe patient with Boychuk. He definitely has offensive skills, but in pre-season he hadn't yet adjusted to the speed of the NHL game. Opposing players would slip by him without much trouble. I don't know that playing in Albany helps make the adjustment, so I'm expecting Boychuk to have plus/minus trouble until he settles into the NHL.
Of course, some players make the adjustment immediately.
Agreed, I think the one
Thu, 11/05/2009 - 15:29 — dustinlammersAgreed, I think the one thing we'll see from Zach that has been missing is constant effort and some fight. This has been a problem with a few players so far. I expect him to provide a spark like Brandon Sutter did.
Injuries
Thu, 11/05/2009 - 13:13 — SWFAN24And the hits keep on coming for this team. At least we will get to see Boychuk.
Boychuk called up: Whitney, Ruutu injured
Thu, 11/05/2009 - 12:53 — hellfishNeed Bowman too!
Anything That Can Go Wrong....
Thu, 11/05/2009 - 12:30 — schelle92Will someone please do a cleansing ritual or a exorcism to our locker room! Apparently we have some bad juju or evil spirits or bad luck or something in there.
I hope we get to see Bowman
Thu, 11/05/2009 - 12:29 — dustinlammersI hope we get to see Bowman and Rodney sooner than later.... Whitney looked hurt when he took that hit coming across the middle, hopefully Ruutu isn't hurt too bad either.
When It Rains...
Thu, 11/05/2009 - 12:27 — WAStoutQuick recovery Wiz and Rutuu...100% please.
Let's see what Boychuk can do!
So I guess we are stuck with Mo, huh? Sheesh.