Brandon Sutter had played long and hard Friday night in the Albany River Rats' 2-1 loss to the Rochester Americans in Albany, N.Y.
The next morning, he was on a flight to Minnesota, called up by the Hurricanes. He sat through a weather delay in Detroit while changing planes, then arrived at Minneapolis-St. Paul International to find out his sticks didn't make it.
Sutter did make it to the Xcel Energy Center — a half-hour before the pregame warmups for the game against the Wild.
Wild? Yes, Sutter's day was just that.
"It was a long day, an interesting day," he said. "But at the end of the day I was just happy to be coming up and I was thrilled to be there."
Sutter had more than 12 minutes of ice time in the 3-2 overtime loss and centered the third line with Jussi Jokinen and Sergei Samsonov on the wings.
"Obviously I felt a little awkward at first, but once I got a few shifts in me it just kinda felt like any other game."
Sutter took a pop under his left eye on a high-stick on his first shift, leaving a reddish welt.
"It woke me up a little bit, so it was probably good for me," he said with a laugh.
Earler Saturday, the Canes placed Erik Cole on injured reserve. Tuomo Ruutu also received a three-game suspension from the NHL for his hit on Colorado's Darcy Tucker in Friday's game in Denver, although the decision to bring up Sutter was made before the team learned of the league's action.
On Monday, the Canes placed cener Stephane Yelle on waivers.
"That's the way hockey is," Sutter said. "When somebody goes down or something happens, it brings up an opportunity for someone.
"I'm just going to enjoy it and have fun with it and try to help the team and prove to them that maybe I can have the chance to stay."
Coach Paul Maurice said Sutter could be used at center or on a wing, although saying he preferred to have Jokinen at center.
"I think Brandon Sutter is a guy who can play more than one position and I think he's going to need to," Maurice said. "If he ends up playing in the fourth-line role now or three years from now, he's going to need more ice time that just that.
"In order to do that, he has to play more than one position. He'll have to get out of the middle. We may move him around. I don't think we'll lose anything immediately in doing that, but we may gain something down the road with him having experience at other positions."
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at 
Comments
Sutter and the Wing
Tue, 10/27/2009 - 10:17 — abramsdougSutter moving to wing will benefit him in the short run and the long run. I respectfully suggest that the move indicates the Hurricanes will attempt to re-sign Matt Cullen -- which is a fantastic idea. Sutter also adds speed, quickness, and height to the wings. I wonder why the NHL doesn't treat multi-purpose players like Sutter and Jokinen the way dual purpose guards in basketball trade positions seamlessly shift from point guard to shooting guard during the game. In basketball, it creates significant problems for the defense when they are not certain which guard will play the point. It would seem that the same approach could work in hockey; but then again, I defer to the expertise of others.
also, isn't Cole due to be
Tue, 10/27/2009 - 09:48 — jgrant641also, isn't Cole due to be coming back in a week or so, at least practice?
Staal's minutes
Mon, 10/26/2009 - 20:04 — JRs_FaultAny minutes (PK or even handed) that Sutter can take off Staal's plate at this point would be a benefit to the team.
If I recall correctly,
Mon, 10/26/2009 - 19:09 — ctillIf I recall correctly, Sutter had problems with faceoffs. Moving him to wing would hide this aspect of his game while he works on it. And I hope that Sutter plays on the PK instead of wearing out Staal.
Faceoff's
Tue, 10/27/2009 - 09:02 — GoShelfSutter & Jokinen are a wash in the faceoff circle, the big thing is Jokinen's experience playing defensively as a centerman, which is where PM probably thinks Sutter will be a liability in certain situations. I am guessing our forward lines look something like this (we'll dress 7 dmen)
That young man
Mon, 10/26/2009 - 18:53 — Hockeydogknows the game as well as many veterans, so shifting to the wing would be not difficult.
Yes, Sutter Can
Mon, 10/26/2009 - 18:03 — esteban1949Play the wing and i would agree with Mo...that that 3rd line needs to have the Juice at the center posistion...but the funny thing is...Jussi like brandon can play and play well at either slot...or that is the impression i get in watching them...Thanks for today's information Chip...none of the tv stations here excpet one ( owned by twc) even mentions the canes and if they do it is in passing...Bummer !!
Go Canes !!