All The Way Back: Hurricanes Recall Casey Borer

Defenseman Casey Borer, who missed nearly a year after breaking his neck in a Feb. 19, 2009, bus crash with the Albany River Rats, has been recalled by the Hurricanes and will be available for tonight's home game against Montreal. Borer played 11 games with the Canes in 2007-08, then three more last season, but has been derailed by injuries the past few seasons. He missed the 2008 postseason after suffering a season-ending knee injury, then was injured in the accident last year.

Here's the release from the Hurricanes (after the jump):

HURRICANES RECALL DEFENSEMAN CASEY BORER

AHL’s Fred T. Hunt Award winner available to play tonight against Montreal

RALEIGH, NC—Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has recalled defenseman Casey Borer from Albany of the American Hockey League (AHL). Borer will be available to play in tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens at the RBC Center.

Borer, 24, has one goal and eight assists (9 points) in 30 AHL games this season for Albany. On April 2, the Minneapolis, MN, native was named the winner of the AHL’s Fred T. Hunt Award, as the player who best exemplifies the qualities of sportsmanship, determination and dedication to hockey. A third-round selection of the Hurricanes in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Borer was among those most seriously injured in the River Rats’ Feb. 19, 2009, bus crash on the Massachusetts Turnpike. He suffered a fractured neck vertebra, ending his 2008-09 season, and underwent surgery on his neck in September. After spending nearly a full year recovering from the injury, Borer returned to Albany’s lineup on Jan. 23, 2010.

Borer made his NHL debut for the Hurricanes during the 2007-08 season, and has totaled three points (1g, 2a) in 14 career NHL games with Carolina.