The Carolina Hurricanes have recalled Drayson Bowman from the Charlotte Checkers on an emergency basis to fill in for Jeff Skinner. The Canes are in Toronto where they will play the Maple Leafs on Tuesday. The press release describes Skinner as "out with an undisclosed injury."

Skinner missed Friday's game in Winnipeg and, at the time, there were conflicting reports of whether this was due to "flu-like symptoms" or an upper-body injury. There is nothing in the team's statement as to whether Skinner's injury is connected to a huge open-ice hit delivered by Andy Sutton on Skinner in the final 2 minutes of the Canes game vs the Oilers in Edmonton Wednesday. Link to video of the hit.

This is Bowman's second recall from the AHL this season. He played two games in early November, recording no points in either of those appearances.

The team has also placed back-up goaltender Brian Boucher on the injured reserve (LBI) to make room for Bowman with the 23-man roster limit. Both Joni Pitkanen and Jay Harrison are out with UBI's, but are not on the IR.

The Canes have a 3pm practice this afternoon at the Air Canada Centre.

The full text of the release is after the jump.

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The official announcement on the new head coach was released at noon today.

RALEIGH, NC – Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that Kirk Muller has been named the team’s new head coach. Muller had been serving as the head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League. He will be introduced at a news conference later this afternoon.

"Kirk is a proven leader and motivator, and he has strong communication skills," said Rutherford. "He was a captain and a Stanley Cup winner as a player, and did excellent work as a coach with the Canadiens and the Admirals. We feel confident that he is the right man to lead our team now and in the future."

Muller, 45, becomes the 12th person to serve as head coach for the franchise, and the third to be head coach since the team relocated to North Carolina in 1997. The Kingston, Ont., native had a record of 10-6-0 with Milwaukee this season, after taking the job as head coach for the Nashville Predators’ top affiliate in July 2011. Prior to joining the Admirals, Muller spent five seasons as an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens, helping the Habs reach the playoffs four consecutive seasons. He also has experience as a head coach with the Queen’s University Golden Gaels, and an assistant for Team Canada in the 2005 Lotto Cup and the 2006 Under-18 World Championship. Current Hurricanes alternate captain Brandon Sutter was a member of that 2006 Under-18 World Championship team. 

The rest of Muller's bio is after the jump. We'll have plenty more on this all day and from the presser later this afternoon.

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The Carolina Hurricanes have sent two of their young offensive talents, Zach Boychuk and Zac Dalpe, to their AHL affiliate in Charlotte and recalled the hard-checking Brett Sutter for the game tonight in Philadelphia.

Boychuk had seen few minutes in this stint with the big club, except for one game in New York when he played on Eric Staal's left flank two weeks ago. Dalpe was recalled Saturday to fill in if Patrick Dwyer was not able to play vs the Maple Leafs Sunday. Dwyer was good to go and Dalpe was a healthy scratch.

Brett Sutter played four games with the Hurricanes this season with one assist and used only on the fourth line. The full text of the release is after the jump.

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The Carolina Hurricanes have signed their second round pick from the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Victor Rask, 18, is currently leading his team, the Calgary Hitmen, in points (4G, 6A, 10Pts in 8 games) and leading all WHL rookies in points/game.

Rask, who is a native of Sweden, was enigmatic in his comments since the draft as his plans for this current year were evolving. That he has signed now, while playing junior hockey is an excellent sign that both sides are looking forward to his future playing hockey in North Carolina. 

The full release is up after the jump include the specifics on compensation, which include a $277,500 signing bonus. Rask will receive $550,000 his first year in the NHL, escalating to $650k and $750k in the following years of the three year deal. He will make $70,000 annually if in the minor leagues.

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The Carolina Hurricanes have assigned 19-year-old rookie defenseman Justin Faulk to the Charlotte Checkers. Faulk surprised many with his tremendous conditioning and play in the preseason, to the point where Jim Rutherford was quoted to say he was among the top four defensemen in the organization.

After playing in all 6 preseason games and three rough outings to start the regular season, Faulk was scratched in place of Jamie McBain. The Hurricanes have not lost since.

The Canes now have 7 defensemen on the roster, with Derek Joslin as the only one who hasn't yet seen any action in the regular season. Joslin came into Training Camp with mononucleosis. 

Related: Chip Alexander tweeted that Canes prospect and Boston College standout Brian Dumoulin attended last night's game vs the Bruins and sat with healthy scratches Joslin and Faulk for the game. Dumoulin and Faulk played together in the World Juniors tournament for Team USA last winter.

The Checkers will be playing three games in three days this weekend, so Faulk should expect to see a lot of ice time in the top pairing. The full release is after the jump.

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As anticipated, the Hurricanes called up a forward from Charlotte to replace Zac Dalpe who is out with a lower body injury. His status, we are told, is "week-to-week".

Brett Sutter, the newly named captain of the Checkers will be joining the team today and will fly out this afternoon for the game in Boston vs the Bruins tomorrow night. Others who might have expected the call are Zach Boychuk, Drayson Bowman, Riley Nash, or Jerome Samson. Checker's center Jon Matsumoto has 9 points in the first 4 games, tops in the AHL, and also had to be in the mix. Sutter will likely be slotted on the 4th line with Tim Brent.

Sutter, at 24, is normally waiver eligible, but this move is considered an "emergency call-up" because the Canes have only 11 available forwards with Dalpe on the sidelines.

Sutter played one NHL regular season game for the Hurricanes last year, but had 18 games with the Calgary Flames before he was acquired by the Canes last fall.

The full release is after the jump.

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The Carolina Hurricanes have re-assigned six prospects this afternoon, reducing the number at training camp to 49.

From CH.com

Forwards Gregory Hofmann (Ambri - Switzerland) and Mattias Lindstrom (Skelleftea - Sweden) have been returned to their European club teams, while forwards Victor Rask (Calgary - WHL) and Brody Sutter (Lethbridge - WHL), as well as defensemen Austin Levi (Plymouth - OHL) and Keegan Lowe (Edmonton - WHL), will join their Canadian Hockey League teams. 

That Rask is returning to Calgary to play in the WHL for the Hitmen answers a summer of speculation by many from Sweden to Alberta as to where he would spend his next season. Other than clarifying Rask's next step, there are no surprises per se. Skelleftea was inquiring on bringing Lindstrom back to the SEL for another year. He is the only one of these 6 currently under contract.

Practice tomorrow will be two sessions, starting at 10 am and noon, at the RBC Center. Neither is expected to be a scrimmage game. The Charlotte Checkers Camp starts Monday, so we can expect significant cuts to the camp roster this weekend.

Following an impressive showing at the Traverse City NHL Prospects Tournament this week, the Hurricanes have signed their first round draft pick from earlier this year to a 3-year entry level contract. The announcement was made late this afternoon, the night before the team begins on-ice practices for their 2011 Training Camp.

Hurricanes Agree to Terms with Ryan Murphy

Carolina selected the defenseman with the 12th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft

Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has agreed to terms with defenseman Ryan Murphy on a three-year, entry-level contract. Beginning with his first full professional season, the contract will pay Murphy $832,500 per season at the NHL level or $70,000 per season at the minor-league level. Murphy receives a $277,500 signing bonus as a part of the contract.

"Ryan is a gifted offensive defenseman," said Rutherford. "He skates extremely well and is dynamic with the puck. He put up very impressive numbers as a 17 year old in the OHL, and he's put himself in a position to push for a spot on the NHL level."

The rest of the press release - including a reminder that Murphy may still be returned to his junior team, the Kitchener Rangers, if he doesn't make the NHL club this season - is after the jump. We'll have plenty more on Murphy's future with the Hurricanes as Camp progresses.

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