Boychuk Dodges A Bullet

I know I held my breath when Team USA d-man Teddy Ruth flattened Zach Boychuk during Thursday's Group A tilt between Canada and the Americans at the World Juniors in Ottawa. Boychuk was slow to get up and gimped to the bench, and while I was rooting for the U.S. and glad to see the Americans respond with some big hits after being beat around and cheap-shotted a few times, this one was scary for Canes fans.

But there's good news, according to TSN: an X-ray on Boychuk's left ankle came back negative and the speedy forward is listed as day-to-day.

As for Team USA, if you want a chance to see Carolina prospect Drayson Bowman in action, the U.S. is taking on Slovakia today in the quarterfinals at 3:30 p.m. on NHL Network. Be sure an watch USA's Jordan Schroeder, the lone draft-eligible player on the U.S. team this year who is surely improving his stock (he's been listed as a top-10 guy, but is looking more like a top-five pick) with his play so far in the tournament.