My column for tomorrow's paper is about the changes Kirk Muller has made to the power play, and how they're starting to show results, but the comparison between what he's doing here and what he did in Montreal last season bears some further examination.

Montreal's efficiency jumped four percentage points in the final 35 regular-season and playoff games, and P.K. Subban scored seven of his 11 power-play goals over that span. Over the past four games, Carolina is converting at a 24.0 percent clip, up from 12.2 percent under Paul Maurice.

Muller has given new roles to Justin Faulk and Tim Brent on the first unit, and he's starting to see results.

RALEIGH – The Carolina Hurricanes announced this morning that defenseman Justin Faulk has been assigned to the team's AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers.
 
Faulk, 19, made his NHL debut with the Hurricanes in the team’s season opener on Oct. 7 against Tampa Bay. The South St. Paul, Minn., native has played in three of the Hurricanes’ six games this season, averaging 18:59 of ice time per game.

The Hurricanes drafted Faulk in the second round (37th overall) in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
 
 

The Canes will finished up play today in the Traverse City (Mich) rookie tournament with a 4-2 loss to the host Red Wings and finished eighth. But the event is more about talent evaluation that results on the ice.

General manager Jim Rutherford said today defensemen Justin Faulk and Ryan Murphy have been the two most impressive prospects. That's not a big surprise  -- Faulk joined the Charlotte Checkers for the AHL playoffs last season after helping Minnesota-Duluth win an NCAA title as a freshman, and Murphy was the 12th overall pick of this year's NHL Entry Draft.

Murphy starred for the Kitchener Rangers (OHL) last season and arguably was the best offensive-minded defenseman in the 2011 draft. Many have wondered if he can follow the lead of his former Kitchener teammate, Jeff Skinner, and make the jump from junior hockey to the Hurricanes this year at 18.

Rutherford isn't ruling anything out but said the comparison was not "apples to apples."

Defenseman Justin Faulk is among the 27 NHL rookie prospects who have been invited to Toronto next Tuesday for the 2011 NHLPA Rookie Showcase.

Faulk, 19, was a second-round pick by the Canes in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. He helped Minnesota-Duluth win an NCAA title as a freshman last season, then signed an entry-level contract with the Canes and joined the Charlotte Checkers (AHL) for the Calder Cup playoffs.

Panini America and Upper Deck, the official trading card partners of the NHL and NHLPA, will photograph the rookies in their NHL team uniforms at the event outside Toronto.

The Hurricanes have agreed to terms with defenseman Justin Faulk on a three-year, entry-level contract. Beginning with the 2011-12 season, the contract will pay Faulk an average of $750,000 per season at the NHL level or $67,500 per season at the minor-league level.

Faulk will receive a $270,000 signing bonus as a part of the contract, and will immediately join the Hurricanes’ top minor-league affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL), for the Calder Cup playoffs.

Faulk, 19, completed his freshman season at the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2010-11, and led all Bulldogs defensemen in goals (8), assists (25) and points (33) in 39 games, helping UMD capture its first NCAA Championship. The South St. Paul, MN, native ranked tied for sixth among NCAA defensemen, first among freshman blueliners and tied for eighth among all first-year NCAA skaters in scoring (33 points).

In the past year, defenseman Justin Faulk has played for Team USA in the IIHF World Junior Championship and won an NCAA championship with Minnesota-Duluth as a freshman.

"I guess I can't ask for a better year than that," Faulk said today.

Faulk says he now faces a big decision: return to college for a sophomore season or begin his professional career. The Hurricanes, who made him a second-round pick (37th overall) in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, would like to get him in the fold and assign him to the Charlotte Checkers for the AHL playoffs.

"I'm not sure yet what I will do," Faulk said. "I've been talking to an adviser and weighing my options."

Two weeks ago, defensemen Justin Faulk and Danny Biega were at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, hugging family members and celebrating after being chosen by the Hurricanes on the second day of the NHL Entry Draft.

Today, after the fourth day of the Canes' prospects conditioning camp, Faulk and Biega assessed their stay in Raleigh -- trainer Pete Friesen's strenuous off-ice workouts, the on-ice work at the RecZone, the Southern heat and humidity.

"It was pretty fun, all around," said Faulk, a second-round draft pick and 37th overall choice. "The thing I'll take out of it the most is just the conditioning level, knowing where you have to be at."