Hurricanes With Update On Future Blueliners - Justin Faulk in Frozen Four

A week or so ago, we caught a report out of Portland indicating that Carolina blueline prospect Brian Dumoulin had decided to return to Boston College for his junior year.  At the time, there was some speculation whether or not the defenseman had been offered a contract by the Hurricanes.

Well according to a report by Michael Smith published by CH.com on Friday afternoon, the Hurricanes were indeed interested in having him move up to the next level.

The following quotes are from that report:

"We certainly did talk to him about making the jump," said Jason Karmanos, vice president and assistant general manager of the Hurricanes. "But at the end of the day, you can’t force a player to leave school. That’s the decision of the player and his family, and the organization respects that decision."

"We agree that he needs to get stronger and that there are things he can work on, but we also felt that he was ready for the next challenge," he said. "It won’t hurt him to go back, though."

"We’re really encouraged by the progress he’s made in just two years of college hockey," Karmanos said. "He’s not too far away from playing at the National Hockey League level, but the player needs to be comfortable with the decision to leave early."

More after the jump:

It looks like Danny Biega and Mark Alt will return to school next year as well.

More quotes from the report, this time about Biega:

"Danny put up some big numbers in that stretch at the end of the season," Karmanos said. "Sometimes it’s difficult to judge a player who’s playing on a struggling team, but it’s good to see that when they were playing well, Danny was a big part of that push."

"He’s just a sophomore, so for him to be a leader on his team, that’s good to see," Karmanos said. "We look forward to not only him having an even better year next year, but hopefully the team as well so he can play in more situations."

Next, about Mark Alt:

"He’s the type of player that wants to play physical," Karmanos said. "With his big frame and his natural athletic ability, he was able to jump right into Minnesota’s lineup and play that style of game."

"Next year, we’ll look for him to build on this first year and take his game to another level," Karmanos said. "With a summer of solid conditioning under his belt, he will continue to add mass to that large frame of his."

Of the franchise's collegiate blueliners, last year's second round pick Justin Faulk might be the player to make a move this Spring.  Faulk's team, the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs will face Notre Dame's Fighting Irish Thursday night in the Frozen Four tournament.  The winner of that game will go on to the finals to face the winner of the North Dakota-Michigan matchup. 

Faulk, a freshmen, led all defensemen on his team in scoring this past season with 8 goals and 22 assists.  If you read into the quotes from Karmanos, an offer could be coming Faulk's way after the tournament.

"He’s had an exceptional freshman year. He shows a great two-way game and some exciting upside on the offensive side of things," Karmanos said. "He’s got a huge shot, and he knows how to position his body well to protect the puck all over the ice."

"He’s got a real comfort level on the power play," Karmanos said. "With his shot, his vision and his skating ability, we think he’s got all the tools to project as a defenseman that can make an impact at this level."

"Certainly with the year that he’s had right out of the gate, he’s put himself in a position where it’s not out of the question to think that he may be able to make the jump," Karmanos said. "But right now, obviously, his focus is on possibly winning a national championship. We’re excited for him that he’s in the Frozen Four, and we wish him the best of luck."

Will Faulk make the same decision that Dumoulin made and stay in school, or is he ready to move up?  We'll find out after this weekend.

Again, there is more on Michael Smith's report.