Earlier this morning the Carolina Hurricanes announced they have recalled Jerome Samson from the Charlotte Checkers and have reassigned forward Drayson Bowman to Charlotte.

Samson, a native of Greenfield Park, Quebec, will enter the lineup tomorrow night against the Montreal Canadiens. He was recalled earlier in the season and played in three games before an injury forced him from the lineup. He recorded his first NHL goal on January 10, 2012 in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers, and he has tallied four points in his last three games with the Checkers.

The official press release from the team follows.

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A rather interesting press release made its way into the Canes Country mailbox this afternoon. The Charlotte Checkers announced that they will no longer use "Rock N Roll (Part 2)" as their celebration anthem after Checkers goals "due to the circumstances surrounding former performing artist Gary Glitter". I'm not going to bother going into those circumstances because they're well-known and rather lewd, but feel free to Google if you'd like.

Now, for the moment, the Hurricanes still have "RNRP2" in their rotation, although it isn't regularly played - usually only after a goal in a blowout. So, with that in mind, three questions:

1. Did the Checkers make the right call in dumping "RNRP2"?
2. What should be the replacement song? (Note that anyone suggesting Satriani's "Crowd Chant", which is played at so many arenas that it might as well be called "Rock N Roll Part 3", will be tarred and feathered.)
3. Should the Canes follow suit in taking "RNRP2" off their playlist?

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On Friday night, after the Hurricanes' 3-0 shutout of Washington, I talked to Zac Dalpe (click to listen) about his back-and-forth season between Charlotte and Raleigh, and the conversation ended with the following exchange (off the mic):

Me: "I'm heading to Charlotte next Friday. Hopefully I won't see you there."

Dalpe: "Yeah (laughs), me too."

Well...looks like I may see a familiar face when I head to the Queen City on Friday after all.

The Canes on Tuesday reassigned Dalpe to the Charlotte Checkers, who play three times during the NHL All-Star break beginning tonight in Norfolk and continuing with a back-to-back set Thursday and Friday against Rockford at Time Warner Cable Arena.

But don't panic. The Canes did this last year too, sending Zach Boychuk to Charlotte during the All-Star break to keep him fresh. I'd be stunned if Dalpe wasn't on the shuttle back to Raleigh next weekend. In all honesty, Justin Faulk likely would have been reassigned too had he not been selected to participate in All-Star weekend in Ottawa.

The release from the team is after the jump.

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Here are a few Hurricanes related items that might be of interest:

First up is an article from the Shutdown Line regarding Zac Dalpe and ice time.

Zac Dalpe in the top-six | Statistical Analysis
Does Dalpe need more ice time to be successful?

Peter from the Raleigh Examiner has a recent article about Keven Weekes being a mentor for young black hockey players.

From Willie O’Ree to Kevin Weekes – hockey pays it forward in Carolina - Raleigh Carolina Hurricanes | Examiner.com
Former Boston Bruin Willie O'Ree's legacy of becoming the first black hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL) reaches it’s 54-year milestone.

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And so it begins...

In news released after the game last night, the Hurricanes traded winger Alexei Ponikarovsky to the New Jersey Devils for defenseman Joe Sova and a fourth round draft pick in this year's draft. This should be just the first of many deals to come for Carolina roster players before the ensuing trade deadline.

With Poni gone, that opens a spot for Chad LaRose, who might be ready to return from his injury. LaRose was dressed in a suit and was ready to travel with the team last night.

Sova has played in both the ECHL and AHL so far this season. He will be assigned to Charlotte for now. The team's official press release follows:

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As has been wildy anticipated, today the Carolina Hurricanes have officially activated Jeff Skinner from injured reserve. The 2010-11 Calder Trophy winner has been sidelined for 16 games after suffering a concussion in a game against the Edmonton Oilers on December 7th. He has been skating with the team since early January and was recently cleared for contact. He is now eligible to play tonight against the Washington Capitals. We'll have more details about tonight's game against the Capitals in the game preview.

The full press release from the team follows.

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The Carolina Hurricanes had an earlier-than-usual practice this morning in preparation for their game tomorrow night when the Buffalo Sabres are in town. The shoot-out loss Tuesday has led to some roster adjustments with Zac Dalpe and Derek Joslin assigned to Charlotte yesterday.

It appears Patrick Dwyer has not yet been cleared for contact (same for Skinner) which leaves the Canes with just 11 forwards. This opens the door for another emergency recall. Per Chip Alexander, the call goes to the Checkers captain, Brett Sutter. This will be Sutter42's first audition in front of the new Coach. We'll update this with the link when the Canes make it official. 5:25PM: It's Official.

Post practice audio from Coach Kirk Muller today - 4 minutes, including discussion of the who's why's and when's.

Canes likely to recall Brett Sutter- Chip Alexander, Canes Now ★★★★★ Muller had Staal centering Tuomo Ruutu and Jussi Jokinen, moving Jokinen back to a wing.

"We're trying to look at the options," Muller said. "They're three veteran guys and put a little onus on them to lead the charge up there, to produce as a top line. (Jokinen) has had some chemistry with 'Staalsy' and 'Ruuts' is playing harder. I think it's important that we establish that type of a line."

LATE UPDATE: Muller Will Get First Look at Brett Sutter - Tracking the Storm ★★★★★ Brett Sutter will be up with the big club for both games. With Sunday a scheduled off-day, news on Skinner or Dwyer’s return most likely will wait until Monday in advance of the Hurricanes’ game with the Philadelphia Flyers at home on Tuesday.

Jamie Kellner was at practice yesterday and put together a ★★★★ flickr photo set of the more informal setting at RCI.

Hurricanes send Dalpe, Joslin to Charlotte - NewsObserver.com ★★★★★ with attention paid to how the coach determines lines and TOI:

"I think the message overall is we've got to compete, we've got to compete hard and we've got to win battles," Muller said. "It's consistency that we're after. We've got to be a hard team to play against, with the puck, without the puck. One-on-one battles, everywhere on the rink."We can't have any exceptions. That's the way we have to play to get results on a consistent basis."

After the jump, Canes-focused news and links, including speculation on those players who are here now, but might not be by the trade deadline, checking in with Victor Rask at World Juniors, and a few other updates from across the puckwebz.

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Since Friday last, the speculation on the nature of Jeff Skinner's undisclosed injury seemed to focus on numerous views and reviews of a hit delivered by Andy Sutton in Edmonton in the final minutes of the game there last Wednesday. [Link to video.]

Today, the Carolina Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford confirmed the team's doctors had determined that Skinner was concussed. He also had the same diagnosis to report for Joni Pitkanen, who left the game in Calgary the night prior and returned to Raleigh last week.

When interviewed on 99.9 the Fan this afternoon, Rutherford added that Jay Harrison, who has been out since Thanksgiving, was also recovering from a concussion. It's possible Harrison will be cleared to play Sunday when the team travels to Florida.

All the links from Raleigh, reaction across the League, Muller's early reviews, plus stories on the Hurricanes prospects making news around the world.

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