‘CANES REASSIGN MATSUMOTO, RODNEY TO CHARLOTTE
Players were recalled for Wednesday’s game at Ottawa ALSO…Recalls from ECHL Florida
RALEIGH, NC – Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has reassigned forward Jon Matsumoto and defenseman Bryan Rodney to the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL). The players were recalled to Carolina on Wednesday and skated in the team’s 4-0 win last night at Scotiabank Place against the Ottawa Senators.
Matsumoto, 24, returns to Charlotte after being recalled to Carolina for the second time this season. The Ottawa, Ont., native is in his first NHL season, and has scored two goals and averaged 7:31 of ice time in 11 games with Carolina. Matsumoto (6’0”, 184 lbs.) has notched eight goals and earned 11 assists (19 points) in 20 AHL games this season with the Checkers. Philadelphia’s third-round pick in the 2006 Entry Draft, Matsumoto has tallied 89 goals and 103 assists (192 points) in 271 career AHL games with Philadelphia, Adirondack and Charlotte. Carolina acquired Matsumoto from the Flyers on June 26, 2010, in exchange for Carolina’s 2010 seventh-round draft pick.
Rodney, 26, returns to Charlotte after being recalled to the Hurricanes for the second time this season. The London, Ont., native leads Checkers blue liners in scoring, and ranks tied for 18th among AHL defensemen with 18 points (5g, 13a) in 30 games this season. Rodney (6’0”, 195 lbs.) made his NHL debut with Carolina on Dec. 11, 2008, and has scored one goal and earned 12 assists (13 points) in 33 career NHL regular-season games with the Hurricanes. Carolina signed Rodney as a free agent on May 12, 2008.
The Carolina Hurricanes will host the New Jersey Devils at the RBC Center on New Year’s Day (7 p.m., FOX Sports Carolinas HD, Hurricanes Radio Network) in the first game of a two-game home stand. For information on 2010-11 Carolina Hurricanes ticket packages, please visit www.CarolinaHurricanes.com, or call 1-866-NHL-CANES.
GRAHAM, PISTILLI RECALLED FROM FLORIDA
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Charlotte Checkers general manager and head coach Jeff Daniels announced today that the team has recalled defenseman Ethan Graham and forward Matthew Pistilli from its ECHL affiliate, the Florida Everblades.
Graham, 28, has been up with the Checkers on three occasions, recording three assists in 12 games. The Xenia, OH native currently has nine assists in 17 games with the Everblades. Graham is a former member of the ECHL Checkers and helped the Texas Stars (AHL) to the Calder Cup Finals last season.
Pistilli, 22, was recalled on Dec. 10 and earned one goal and three assists in five games with the Checkers before being returned to Florida. The undrafted winger currently ranks tied for second in the ECHL with 15 goals in 27 games. Pistilli signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on 5/20/09.
The Checkers (18-10-4) will battle the Admirals again tonight (7:15 p.m.) in Norfolk before returning to Charlotte Saturday, Jan. 1 to host the Binghamton Senators. The first 3,000 fans through the door that night will receive a Checkers winter hat. Call 704-342-4423 or head to www.gocheckers.com for more information.
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