The Hurricanes hope to have prospect Jamie McBain under contract soon, possibly by Thursday.
McBain was a second-round draft pick of the Canes in 2006 and has played college hockey at Wisconsin for head coach Mike Eaves, the father of the Canes' Patrick Eaves. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound defenseman is one of the finalists for the 2009 Hobey Baker Award for the nation's top hockey player, and was the Badgers' leading scorer.
McBain, once signed, can be assigned to the Albany River Rats (AHL), a team official said.
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at 
Comments
McBain would be an excellent
Thu, 03/26/2009 - 08:29 — C_LeaguerMcBain would be an excellent asset to have on hand for the playoffs. I doubt that he'd play much, maybe a game or two late in the season if the Canes position was set in stone. His true value would come in being a replacement for an injury, possibly even #8 right behind Frank Kaberle.
I'm actually very happy this is going to happen. A d of Pitkanen, Gleason, McBain, and Babchuk would be quite formidable. If Corvo and Seidenburg can be retained for reasonable sums then McBain could start on the third pair and work up from there.
I do hope
Wed, 03/25/2009 - 21:21 — esteban1949we sign him as one can never have too many good D-men
Huh ???