The Canes assigned 12 players Thursday to the Charlotte Checkers, their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate. The Hurricanes’ training-camp roster now stands at 24 players.
Sent to Charlotte were forwards Drayson Bowman, Zach Boychuk, Jerome Samson, Chris Durno, Jon Matsumoto, Brett Sutter and Chris Terry; defensemen Justin Krueger, Bobby Sanguinetti and Mathieu Roy; and goalies Justin Peters and Mike Murphy.
Among those still in camp are center Riley Nash, and defensemen Ryan Murphy and Justin Faulk.
Zac Dalpe and Jiri Tlusty appeared to have won open roster spots among the top 12 forwards. Canes coach Paul Maurice noted Tlusty, who had offseason shoulder surgery, has played "at a man's level, an NHL man's level" without any dips in his performance throughout a "great" camp.
Tuomo Ruutu returned to practice today and was back at center with Jeff Skinner and Jussi Jokinen on the wings. Skinner was used at center Wednesday in the 3-1 loss in Winnipeg.
Maurice said Ruutu, who was sidelined with a lower-body injury, would not play in both the Columbus game Friday or Saturday against Nashville. That allowed Nash to stay.
"He had a good camp (and) made incredible progress from last season," Maurice said of Nash, who played his first professional season with the Checkers. "We look at him as a player who will play games for us this year."
Maurice said no decision had yet been made on Murphy staying with the team beyond training camp. The Canes' first-round draft pick could play as many as nine games for Carolina before a decision was made to either keep him and pay him an NHL salary or send him back to the Kitchener Rangers (OHL).
Maurice said defensive improvement still must be made but said Jay Harrison has had a strong camp and that Faulk came in "kind of out of nowhere" to put himself into the mix on the back end.
Maurice said the Canes likely would carry 21 or 22 players early in the regular season.
Maurice said Cam Ward would start in goal against Columbus and then a decision made on Nashville. "If (Ward) feels he needs another one, then he'll go again," Maurice said, adding Ward and Brian Boucher could split the Nashville game.
Forward Anthony Stewart traveled with the team to Winnipeg but quickly returned to Raleigh for the birth of his son, Mason Anthony Stewart.
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at
Comments
Bowman/Boychuk
Sat, 10/01/2011 - 10:15 — hellfishIt's not Bowman or Boychuk i wonder about ,but the high praise that Mo gives Tlusty is what's puzzleing to me ,along with the one way contract he was basically handed. Bowman especially can play on the power play which Tlusty is a non factor and the Defensive responsibilty difference is unmeasurable ,and Bowman has arguably the best shot on the team???
The powerplay is where the team is still struggling ,so the personel/scheme has to change no matter which player's get mad about getting there PP time trimmed or lost ,because the team simply cannot be in the bottom third/half of the league again on the PK or PP and have a shot at getting to the playoffs.
So far it looks like the same PP as in the past with nobody in front of the net or not even trying to get open in the slot area ,and the bone headed penalty's at the most critcal times...Something has to change!
abramsdoug views
Thu, 09/29/2011 - 16:07 — gso_canes_fanare something I look for as he obviously has a good hockey IQ. To this 83 year old who has not been close to hockey for 40+ years it helps.
Excellent contributions...
Fri, 09/30/2011 - 12:53 — ocolumnI agree wholeheartedly but would add that we have a number of excellent commentators on this site. The other day I found myself readily agreeing with points made by Sittler and feeling pretty dumb. He was making a very logical argument against a comment I had added. Please, guys, keep the comments coming and let's keep this a friendly site. Go Canes.
Boychuk and Bowman
Thu, 09/29/2011 - 14:53 — abramsdougI know Boychuk and Bowman are disappointed to be sent back to Charlotte. I like both of them; and hope they will channel their disappointment into positive energy. I know the coaches are looking to see if any of the players sent to Charlotte mope around or whether they use their time in Charlotte to hone their skills.
I continue to believe Boychuk and Bowman have what it takes to be solid NHL players. One factor is the the Hurricanes talent pool has increased significantly over the last two or three years; so the competition is intense. It's a matter of inches. They'd both be staying on the roster, if shots that hit the post had been a couple inches different.
Brett Sutter also continues to improve and to impress. He is ready for fourth line duty as it is.
Work Ethic
Fri, 09/30/2011 - 22:06 — CanarseThe story I hear is that several of the younger players do not have the work ethic the Hurricanes are looking for. This work ethic issue is on and off the ice. Does that come with maturity? I'm not so sure. Boychuck has had a load of chances, but can't seem to stick. I don't think his offensive prowress is an issue. It has to be his defense, positioning and work ethic. How does a guy like Nash vault over Boychuck and Bowman? It certainly isn't newly found ability. Work ethic and hockey intelligence are the only logical answers.
boychuk and bowman
Fri, 09/30/2011 - 13:47 — louis12580This is now Boychuk's fourth training camp. There has to be a reason, and a good one at that, why he's not yet a permanant part of the team. He has the skill and speed, but does he maybe not have "it"? The "it" being that hockey sense? Bowman is a curious case as well, but not as curious as Boychuk's. His might be that he needs one more year to develop. The player that a lot of people in the organization are talking about is Nash. They agree that he's made significant progress between last years camp and this years camp. I don't know how much more time the team is willing to give Boychuk. i know they will be patient as they don't want him to go somewhere else and then become that player they thought he was going to be as a first round draft pick. Only time will tell.