Defenseman Beau Schmitz — who was an unsigned invitee to the Hurricanes' prospect conditioning camp and is currently playing in the Traverse City Tournament for Carolina — recently signed a two-way AHL/ECHL deal with the Albany River Rats, the Canes' AHL affiliate. Schmitz, who played for the Peter Karmanos-owned Plymouth Whalers last season, is an undersized (5-9, 185 pounds) blueliner who has some offensive upside. Although he went undrafted in the June, International Scouting Services ranked him No. 175 and had him as the fifth-most underrated player in the draft. A big thanks to Rat Byte at The Infestation for the heads up.